[URBANTH-L]ANN: Migrant Children: Unprotected and Neglected in Migration Policies (Geneva, UN Human Rights Council Event)

[Angela Jancius]

Migrant Children: Unprotected and Neglected in Migration Policies?
Side Event to the UN Human Rights Council
Thursday 4 June 2009
1:00-3:00 p.m.
Room 27, Palais des Nations, Geneva

Migrant children throughout the world may be living with members of their 
families but can also be unaccompanied, living alone without their parents 
or guardians. Whatever their condition and their migration status, these 
children are affected by migration policies that are increasingly being 
developed within a framework prioritizing state security over concerns for 
the fundamental rights, well-being and safety of children.

Coinciding with the submission by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human 
Rights of Migrants, Mr. Jorge Bustamante, of a report on migrant children 
during the June 2009 session of the UN Human Rights Council, this side event 
aims to provide more visibility and recognition of the inherent rights of 
children within various aspects of migration policies throughout the world, 
with concrete examples from Europe and Asia.

The guest speaker for the program is Jorge Bustamante, the UN Special 
Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants. Michele LeVoy of the Platform 
for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) will speak 
about undocumented children in Europe. Naoto Higuchi from Solidarity for 
Migrants Japan (SMJ) will discuss issues concerning children of migrants 
(both regular and undocumented) in countries of destination in Asia and 
civil society initiatives in addressing their issues. Andrea Anolin of Batis 
Center for Women will discuss issues faced by children of women migrants in 
Japan and initiatives of Batis in organizing Japanese Filipino children, the 
Batis Yogi.

Chair:  Colin Rajah, National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights 
(NNIRR), a member of Migrants Rights International (MRI)

Speakers:

Jorge Bustamante, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of 
Migrants
Michele LeVoy, Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented 
Migrants (PICUM), member of Migrants Rights International (MRI)
Naoto Higuchi, Solidarity for Migrants Japan (SMJ), member of Migrant Forum 
in Asia (MFA)
Andrea Anolin, Batis Center for Women, member of Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA)

This event is co-organized by Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA), Migrants Rights 
International (MRI), Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented 
Migrants (PICUM), and National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights 
(NNIRR).