Rights Of Migrants Research Articles

‘Invisible Worldings’

Abstract This article explores the interplay between image and reality in the Thai seafood industry’s humanitarian engagements with migrant labour. Revisiting Aihwa Ong’s notion of ‘worlding’ and Peter Jackson’s discussion of the ‘Thai regime of images’, it examines the situated, informal interactions between migrant rights NGO s, fishing companies and state officials in the Thai port city of Samut Sakhon, on the outskirts of Bangkok. Through ethnographic case studies, this analysis illuminates the ‘invisible worldings’ that regulate spaces of migrant workforce from behind the scenes. As I show, migrant labour NGO s operate in a context-sensitive play of appearances and disappearances, humanitarian aid and migrant forced labour, and need to navigate local hierarchies of power in the service of Thailand’s international ‘image’ (phap-lak). It is argued that ‘invisible worldings’ sustain Thailand’s ongoing leadership in the fish trade and, concomitantly, the Thai military government’s cosmetic attempts to rebuild global reputation amid growing international scrutiny.

The carceral wet: Hollowing out rights for migrants in maritime geographies

Over recent decades, various governments have turned to the spatiality of the maritime realm in the pre-emptive policing of migration, deploying concentrated efforts of mobility regulation to territorial and extra-territorial seas. With and through this process of increased policing, the maritime has concurrently been expunged of frameworks of rights for migrants. This article explores the hollowing out of rights at sea and how it has allowed governments to use maritime environments and more broadly the condition of wetness as a means to hold migrants beyond the juridical order and administrative bodies of the state. This practice emerged in a discernible way in the United States in the early 1990s, when the Refugee Convention was ruled not to apply on the high seas. De-territorialising the maritime from the state's geography of protection allowed the US Government to re-territorialise the sea as a space of heightened policing. Similar strategies of de- and re-territorialising the sea subsequently developed in Australian policies of migration control. Through this, the maritime is used to contain migrants not only in a condition of partial rights and exaggerated policing, it is also used to relocate migrants, exposing a “disciplined mobility” that works through the sea. Interrogating these various legal renditions of the maritime exposes the carceral wet that has developed in migration regulation at sea.

The international governance of refugee work: reflections on the Jordan compact

For the past 70 years, separate international regimes have governed the economic lives of refugees and labor migrants. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) oversees all aspects of refugee resettlement, including livelihoods, while the International Labor Organization (ILO) is charged with addressing the labor rights of migrants. This division has become increasingly problematic as international actors have sought to move refugees into employment arenas from which they have been largely excluded since the end of WWII. This article uses a case study of the 2016 EU-Jordan Compact to illustrate the risks inherent in positioning refugees as workers in the absence of a commitment to a rights-based approach. The Compact was negotiated between the European Commission, the World Bank, and the Government of Jordan, in consultation with the UNHCR; the ILO played no role in crafting the agreement. It sought to place 150,000 Syrians in Jordanian garment export manufacturing jobs, replacing an existing migrant workforce in an industry notorious for low pay and poor conditions. This effort quickly foundered. Instead, large numbers of Syrian refugees have been channeled into informal employment in construction and agriculture in Jordan, where they and migrant co-workers face pervasive violations of labor standards. Without decent work as a central goal, the Compact ultimately concentrated some of the world’s most vulnerable workers in some of its least desirable jobs. To protect refugees and others alongside whom they labor, the article argues, refugee employment initiatives must be accompanied by attention to decent work from the outset. At the international level, this should include a critical role for the ILO, in recognition of its extensive expertise with the establishment and enforcement of labor standards for all workers.

The Experience of Indonesian Migrant Workers in Taiwan during Covid-19 Pandemic: A ‘right-based’ Analysis

Covid-19, which has attacked the world since the end of 2019, has had a global impact both economically and socially to the world community. Taiwan is one of country categorized as quite successful in dealing with Covid-19. From December 2019 until March 2021 there were 177,578 reported cases in Taiwan with a total of 976 positive cases and resulted in 10 deaths. A very small number compared to other cases that occur in other parts of the world. However, behind all that successful story, migrant workers in Taiwan are still forgotten during the pandemics. Migrant workers, particularly Indonesian migrant workers, who make up the majority in Taiwan, receive the least sympathy and understanding from the community. Several human rights issues confronted Indonesia Migrant Workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, including discrimination, loss of spatial public space, strict mobility limitations, concern for the family in Indonesia, a higher burden of common mental health, and a lower quality of life than local society, difficulty accessing health services and masks, and difficulty returning home. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how Indonesian migrant workers' rights were violated in Taiwan during the two phases of the Covid-19 pandemic. The data was collected through interviews, observation, and then was analyzed using the "rights-based" approach. The first phase lasted from December 2019 to March 2020, when the pandemic was still in its early stages, and the second phase lasted from March 2020 to January 2021, after the Taiwan government succeeded in controlling the pandemic

Human Rights Activism Among North Korean Refugees in the UK: Hope for a Democratic Future?

Social work plays a crucial role in defending the human rights of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees from systems of oppression. This paper explores the meanings and challenges of human rights activism and its driving forces among North Korean refugees in the UK. The data are drawn from life history interviews with 10 participants, together with two activists’ public speeches. The findings suggest that gaining awareness of human rights after their escape had significant implications for the activists, giving meaning to their life and sparking on their activism. Simultaneously, they expressed misconceptions and criticisms from other fellow North Korean refugees as one of the greatest difficulties they encountered in their work. I argue that to overcome such challenges human rights activism requires altruism and a creative imagination that envisions better future lives for other North Korean people. Based on this, I propose altruistic political imagination (API) as a concept that captures North Korean activists’ experiences, built on Passy’s (2001) notion of political altruism, to put emphasis on the visionary aspect of their activism. I maintain that the concept of API potentially has a wider appeal to those activists who face similar situations to North Korean activists, as well as social work practitioners who work with forced migrants and/or marginalised communities.

Cross Border Migration and the Spread of Infectious Diseases (HIV & TB): A Comparative Analysis of Nigeria and Benin Republic, 1999-2017

Cross border migration is the movement of people across their national boundaries, it is a phenomenon that cuts across tribes, religions, and status, it is a universal phenomenon, the quest for individuals to meet their basic requirements which will enable them to live a life free from fear and wants, engenders these phenomena. This paper examines the relationship between cross-border migration and the spread of infectious diseases: HIV and Tuberculosis in Nigeria and the Benin Republic. This study utilized a secondary method of data collection. Classical migration theory was the theoretical framework on which the study was anchored. Using descriptive statistics and Pearson Correlation Coefficient, as a method of data analysis, the findings revealed that cross-border migration contributed to HIV transmission among women in Nigeria and the Benin Republic; and Tuberculosis incidence in the Benin Republic. This study concludes that cross-border migration plays an essential role in the spread of HIV in women in Nigeria and Benin Republic respectively; and Tuberculosis in the Benin Republic. Based on the findings the study recommends; that governments of both Nigeria and Benin Republic should establish mechanisms for the screening of migrants and returnees at the point of entry to know their health status and improve health facilities by; providing rapid testing equipment, mobile laboratories, and clinics, formulate policies that will address the rights of migrants, provide health workers with adequate protective machines.

‘A brother is more than a neighbour’: Symbolic boundary work in Czech pro-migration discourse

ABSTRACT Since 2015, the latest so-called migration crisis has become a major discursive topic in the EU, even in countries like Czechia, which have not received many migrants, refugees, or asylum seekers. While researchers have looked at anti-migration discourses in the country, highlighting the ways in which symbolic boundaries around migrants are brightened, there exists a gap in looking at the other side, namely, how migrant rights advocates legitimate the potential acceptance of migrants, refugees, or asylum seekers. In this article, we adopt a cultural sociological approach to explore how two Czech initiatives to accept refugees, including Syrian orphans, variously blur and solidify symbolic boundaries. Our findings show that the migrant rights advocates involved in these two initiatives, who gained the attention of decision makers, follow mainstream discursive narratives, legitimating the acceptance of refugees based on similar arguments and symbols (both religious and security based) as those instrumentalised by the opponents of migration.

Enforcing the rights of migrants with irregular status: City ID cards as a remedy?

Migrants who live in Switzerland without valid residence papers find themselves in a complex and contradictory legal position. Even though they are entitled to a great number of rights, they are rarely able to claim them in practice. This paper analyzes the challenges that migrants with irregular status face when enforcing their rights. Furthermore, a strategy that could potentially serve as a remedy to their lacking access to justice is explored; the approach of urban citizenship and the introduction of city ID cards.

How is COVID-19 reshaping temporary and circular labour migration: Serbia and North Macedonia perspectives

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused migrant workers worldwide to face numerous and specific challenges. This study aims to determine how the COVID-19 pandemic and its societal impact have influenced temporary and circular migrants from Serbia and North Macedonia. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 50 participants to gain a deeper understanding of their challenges and migration practices. Temporary circular labour migration from Serbia and North Macedonia are most intensive towards EU countries, which are geographically close and well-connected by traffic, and with which migrants have well-established migration ties. The results show that after the outbreak of the pandemic, respondents faced termination of employment contracts, reduced working hours and earnings. Most of the respondents returned and only a few found formal employment in the country of origin. Job-related impacts of COVID-19 on respondents are determined by temporary residence, a form of employment and the employment sector. Temporary and circular migrant workers from Serbia and North Macedonia involved in the essential sectors in EU countries are less likely to be severely affected by the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results suggest that temporary and circular migration schemes should be improved after the pandemic, in a way that is sustainable even in times of sudden changes. In that regard, in addition to considering the needs of the labour markets of countries of origin and destination, the needs and the rights of migrants, should be prioritized in common solutions. © 2021 University of Craiova, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Geography. All rights reserved.

Tunisia’s migration politics throughout the 2011 revolution: revisiting the democratisation–migrant rights nexus

How does democratisation affect the politics of migration? This paper analyses Tunisian immigration and emigration politics in the decade before and after the 2011 revolution, drawing on 57 interviews with Tunisian high-level civil servants, as well as representatives of civil society and international organisations. It shows that the democratisation of policy processes and the expansion of citizens’ political freedoms did not result in pro-migrant rights reforms, but instead led to the continuation of restrictive migration policies inherited from Tunisia’s authoritarian past. The paper explains this by dissecting the ambiguous effects of democratisation on political legitimisation, as well as on inter-institutional and transnational dynamics of migration policymaking. It demonstrates that despite the unprecedented dynamism of Tunisian civil society and efforts of various institutional actors to reform Tunisia’s security-driven migration policy, there were both domestic and international forces that put brakes on migration reform. By focussing on the intricacies of Tunisian migration policymaking, this analysis allows to advance theory-building on the link between political regimes and migration politics, to revisit regime transformations from the inside and to overcome the still-dominant Eurocentrism in scholarly debates on North African migration policies.

Undocumented in the time of pandemic: exploring legal violence, health care and human rights of irregular Filipino migrants in Italy and the UK

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of states’ pandemic responses to the conditions and vulnerabilities of undocumented Filipino migrants in Italy and the UK. It also explores the role and strategies of migrant organisations in addressing the issues and concerns of undocumented workers.Design/methodology/approachQualitative approaches are used to collect and analyse the narratives of the migrants and migrant organisations. This paper used government reports, policy briefs and documents from international organisations in analysing the socio-political vulnerabilities of undocumented migrants in the context of the global pandemic. In addition, we interviewed leaders of migrant organisations, which are involved in supporting irregular migrants.FindingsThe study reveals that states have exercised a regime of legitimate violence against undocumented workers in Italy and the UK. This regime is imposed not only by the stringent laws and policies that directly and indirectly cause economic, social and even cultural suffering to the migrants but also by the “symbolic violence” manifested in structural and social inequalities, and the exploitative economic order amid the pandemic. Responding to the “regime of fear”, migrant organisations provide immediate relief and “safe spaces” for the undocumented workers.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the ongoing conversation on state practices in regulating migration by framing the conditions of undocumentation as legal violence that structurally deprives irregular migrants access to health care and human rights amid global health crisis.

Самобытность российского общества в связи с миграционными процессами: правообразующий аспект

Purpose: definition of national identification in Russia in connection with modern migration processes. Methods: analysis of methodological aspects of restricting the rights of migrants in connection with the problem of preserving the identity of Russian society. Findings: the current state, problems, directions of development and implementation of migration legislation are considered, the analysis of methodological aspects of restricting the rights of migrants in connection with the problem of preserving the identity of Russian society is carried out. Conclusions: The need to consolidate the potential of the public authorities, to focus the efforts of society on defending the interests of the Russian state and national identification.

Legal mobilization via preliminary reference: Insights from the case of migrant rights

Over the years, many theories have tried to explain the puzzle of cross-national variation in preliminary reference rates before the ECJ. Most of the contributions focused on the role of national judges, examining their legal education, policy preferences, workload, and attitude towards higher courts. This article adopts, instead, a legal mobilization perspective that decentralizes the role of courts and redirects the focus to the litigants and their political context. Relying on empirical research and on a comparison of three country case studies in the field of migration, the article argues that national patterns of mobilization influence the emergence of preliminary references. Moreover, it identifies three factors at the national level that help understand when legal mobilization occurs via preliminary reference: altruism, Euro-expertise, and EU legal opportunity structure. The article makes both an empirical and a theoretical contribution by bridging the scholarship on legal mobilization and EU judicial politics.

Shattered Dreams: Bangladeshi Migrant Workers during a Global Pandemic

Overseas labor migration (OLR) is currently one of the most important contributors to Bangladesh’s economy and is a highly profitable form of labor for Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) countries. Despite the high rate of migration between these countries, the OLR sector remains complex and often leaves migrants susceptible to human trafficking, forced labor, and modern slavery. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed migrant workers to additional adverse situations, increasing their vulnerability to forced labor and COVID-19 related health risks. This rapid assessment addresses critical questions about the short- and long-term impacts of the pandemic on Bangladesh’s OLR industry. Findings from this assessment will inform migrant rights protection policies and programs.

Perspectives on the Rights of Climate Migrants in the Horn of Africa: A Case Study of Somalia

Perspectives on the Rights of Climate Migrants in the Horn of Africa: A Case Study of Somalia

Exchange rates and immigration policy

What explains cross-national and temporal variations in migrant rights? This article argues that policymakers implement more exclusionary or inclusive policies toward migrants in response to exchange-rate fluctuations. Since exchange rates affect the real value of remittances, exchange-rate depreciation of the host state’s currency makes migration less valuable for existing and potential migrants, while exchange-rate appreciation increases the degree of migrant pressure on the host state by doing the opposite. This well-documented relationship between exchange rate valuation and migration movements affects how host country governments craft immigration policy. Under exchange-rate depreciation, policymakers will implement more inclusive policies to deter the “exit” of migrants and maintain a stable supply of labor. Under exchange-rate appreciation, increased migration pressures heighten public anxiety over immigration in the host country, in turn causing policymakers to restrict further immigration by implementing more exclusionary policies. Consistent with the argument, the empirical results show that the purchasing-power-parity (PPP) currency values of migrants’ home countries are positively correlated with more pro-migrant policies in host countries.

La Lucha Obrera No la Para la Frontera (There Are No Borders in the Workers’ Struggle)

The 1970s was a time of growing government repression, incarceration, and subsequent radical activism across the United States and Mexico. This is reflected in the migration, incarceration, and organizing efforts of José Jacques Medina, a Mexican activist who fled to the United States to escape political persecution after his involvement in the 1968 student movement in Mexico City. After the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) apprehended and incarcerated Medina inside an immigration detention facility in El Centro, California, activists, inspired by radical movements such as the Black Panther Party and the Third World Left more broadly, organized to gain Medina political asylum and avoid deportation. This story of radical transborder organizing highlights the connections between the carceral state and migration, prison movements and migrant rights. It also exposes the increasing power of the detention and deportation regime in the United States as the INS collaborated with federal agencies such as the FBI to repress political dissent and control migration.

THE PRINCIPLE OF “SELECTED MIGRATION” IN FRS AND THE POSSIBILITIES OF ITS USE IN THE PROCESS OF REGULATING THE RIGHTS OF LABOR MIGRANTS IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

The purpose of the research. The article examines the principle of “selective migration” as a modern pragmatic approach to the regulation of migration processes; analyzed the features of its use in the migration policy of France; the possibilities of using the French experience in the process of regulating migration and the rights of labor migrants in Russia are determined. The article determines that the principle of “selective migration” is aimed at providing national economies with highly qualified labor force, while the countries of the “third world” are currently suppliers of high-quality labor resources, which requires their active involvement in the struggle for minds, abilities and talents. The French experience of using the principle of “selective migration” is analyzed, it is noted that during the twentieth century this principle was transformed, although throughout the history of its development it carried a “pragmatic element” based on the national interests of France. At the same time, the pragmatics of this principle came into conflict with the general principles of law, until at the present stage it acquired the features of a social concept of ensuring the rights of labor migrants, which is enshrined in the relevant documents. The attractive aspects of the French approach, which are “softness” to regulation based on the principle of “selective migration”, are noted, it is determined that the French model can be adapted to modern Russian conditions. Output. As a result of the study, it was determined that the French version of the implementation of the principle of “selective migration” is most consistent with modern socio-economic development and the ability of our country to compete with Western countries in this aspect of migration policy. The article provides a number of recommendations regarding the use of the French experience in regulating migration processes, notes the need to combine the “principle of selective migration” with the protection of the social rights of migrants, which corresponds to the French model.

The Role of the ‘Cities for Change’ in Protecting the Rights of Irregular Migrants in Spain

Have the new municipalist pro-migrant policies succeeded in protecting the rights of irregular migrants? Cities in Spain have powers to design and implement services and programs aimed at the reception and integration of immigrants. Cities can also include those who are in vulnerable conditions, guaranteeing them access to healthcare, minimum income coverage or labour training, regardless of the immigration status. However, old municipal politics have been characterised by pragmatism, being mainly focused on regular immigrants. Besides, there has been a restrictive and punitive turn in immigration policy directly connected to the economic recession and austerity as of 2008. To explore what possibilities do cities have to expand and protect the rights of irregular immigrants, we analyse in this contribution the cases of Madrid and Barcelona for the years 2015–2019 when progressive municipalists fronts ruled the cities. Based on the textual analysis of policy documents and in-depth interviews with political parties, street-level bureaucrats and activists, we first examine the competencies that municipalities have in migration matters and mainstream approaches in Spain. Then we discuss the action of the new municipalism, focusing the analysis on four political measures that have been rebel and innovative in protecting irregular immigrants, namely, the proactive census, the prevention of irregularity, access to healthcare and changes in police protocols. These real experiences allow us to argue that cities can achieve changes in the way state control is enforced. However, the analysis also shows tensions between the political will and institutional constraints.

THE PORTUGUESE APPROACH ON UNDOCUMENTED MIGRANTS ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE DURING THE PANDEMIC

Despite being an old problem, the current coronavirus outbreak has shed a light on the lack of access to proper healthcare by undocumented migrants, which is one of the many violations of fundamental rights they face not only in Europe, but also all over the world. However, amidst the global response to the pandemic, the Portuguese policy of granting those migrants full citizenship rights in order to ensure full healthcare coverage has been a much-applauded one. It was of great value to public health and to the protection of other fundamental rights of migrants. This essay addresses the subject from the perspective of the European Union framework, presenting an overview of migrants’ access to healthcare in Member States, especially in Portugal. Finally, it raises the question of the Portuguese approach of granting undocumented migrants access to healthcare during the pandemic can be the first step towards a more inclusive standard policy not only in Portugal, but also in Europe.