Despite the fact that we almost all have a family migration story within two or three generations, it is still counterintuitive for many that migrants have human rights, whatever their status or absence of status. Actually, the same rights as citizens except two. Political discourses on migrants are often irresponsible for lack of political accountability: in the absence of a constituency, electoral scapegoating of migrants, presenting them as a risk or a threat (to public health, the economy, “our”… Show more security…), brings votes. Migrant don’t vote and rarely protest, for fear of detection, detention and deportation: the usual migrant strategy is to “move on”, not to stand for their rights. Governments, employers, landlords, all take advantage of the precariousness in which many migrants find themselves, especially if there are in a temporary migrant worker status or without status (which, although a violation of administrative rules, isn’t a crime). The legal empowerment of migrants will be key in allowing their voice to be heard by the powers that be: lawyers, tribunals, courts, national human rights institutions and many other actors have a role to play in reminding us of the rights of migrants. At international level, there has been recently a small steps taken towards a more comprehensive global migration governance framework that would include the human rights of migrants.
Speaker :
François Crépeau, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, and Hans and Tamar Oppenheimer Chair in Public International Law, at the Faculty of Law of McGill University.
François Crépeau is Full Professor and holds the Hans and Tamar Oppenheimer Chair in Public International Law, at the Faculty of Law of McGill University. In 2011, he was appointed the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants (2011-2017), by the United Nations Human Rights Council. In this capacity, he has conducted official visits to Albania, Tunisia, Turkey, Italy, Greece, Qatar and Sri Lanka. He has also produced several thematic reports: the detention of migrants, the protection of migrants’ rights at the external borders of the European Union, climate change and migration, global migration governance, labour exploitation of migrants. He is guest professor at the Université catholique de Louvain (2010-2016). He has given many conferences, published numerous articles, and written, edited or coedited nine books: Human Rights & Diverse Societies (2014), Terrorism, Law and Democracy: 10 Years after 9/11 – Terrorisme, Droit et Démocratie : 10 ans après le 11 septembre 2001 (2012), Recueil de droit des réfugiés: Instruments, Jurisprudences et Documents (The Refugee Law Reader) (1re éd. 2010, 2e éd. 2012), Les migrations internationales contemporaines – Une dynamique complexe au cœur de la globalisation (2009), Penser l'international, Perspectives et contributions des sciences sociales (2007), Forced Migration and Global Processes - A View from Forced Migration Studies (2006), Les juridictions internationales: complémentarité ou concurrence? (2005), Mondialisation des échanges et fonctions de l'État (1997), Droit d'asile : De l'hospitalité aux contrôles migratoires (1995). He heads the “Mondialisation et droit international” collection at Éditions Bruylant-Larcier (Brussels). He is a member of several editorial boards: Journal of Refugee Studies, International Journal of Refugee Law, Refuge, Droits fondamentaux, European Journal of Human Rights . He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and was a Fellow 2008-2011 of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation.
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