By Pateh Baldeh on 19-04-12 (40 reads) News by the same author
Justice Without Borders for Migrants and Justice Sans Frontiers Pour les Migrants et Migrants JWBM/JSFM on Monday briefs the press at the Kairaba Beach Hotel during the NGO’s forum.Speaking at the conference Ousmane Diarra President of JSFM said the event is an initiative of justice Without Borders for Migrants (JWBM) in partnership with the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS) and sub-committee on Migrant Rights at the NGO forum. He highlighted that the objective of the event is to highlight the violations migrant’s right trends in special African countries and transnational efforts underway. To explore legal means by which migrants rights in Africa can be effectively protected in the context of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights.
To engage the NGO community and the media on the means by which migrant rights can be effectively protected in the African context as well as explore strategies to mainstream key issues among all stakeholders including the working group on refugees, displaced persons and migrants and the members of the African Commission.
Various speakers express concern on the recent mass-expulsions from Mauritania to Senegal and Mali, from Morocco to Algeria and displacement following the Malian crisis. Speaking on the situation in Mali and Mauritania Mamadou Konate of (AME) and Maite Niane of ANDA describe it as a real concern for the continent; adding that Malians who are expelled from Mauritania have been living there for 100 years. They said most of the affected persons are schools going children and pregnant women. These people or their families have settled in Mauritania for years and their expulsion was not done based on any legal provision.
With the recent crisis in Mali the Human Rights Defenders said many people in this country have left their homes to other neighbouring countries caused by the recent armed take over and the rebels in the other side of the country. The crises they said made many to be displaced and people facing difficulties in moving from place to place. The junta they said has asked many people to leave the country or be executed, leading over 200,000 people to flee the nation.
The two Human Rights Defenders said the fundamental rights of these people were violated. As to the children they could not go to school. They called on intervention and for support to the victims.
For Senegal and Mauritania border it was disclosed that migrants are arrested and detained in schools even though they have their documents.
Speaking on Morocco and Algeria displacement of migrants, Stephane Julinet of GADEH said most of these migrants are from Sub-Saharan Africa who face lots of difficulties resulting to the loss of life. He gave an example that over 100 migrants were killed in October 2005 while hundreds were arrested and deported to Algeria and Mauritania. This, he said was also followed by intensified war of the Moroccan government and migrants were arrested by the Morocco police and detained and finally deported to the Algeria mostly at night. Others he said are arrested as they tried to enter Spain through a u-turn or swimming by sea. He said boats are turned and people pushed into the waters resulting to regular deaths and injuries. The deportation he said is not legally controlled as it is only the prosecutor who passed orders which makes it difficult to deport these migrants to their countries of origin as most of them are found with documents. He said the civil society have a role to play for the victims to have justice and rehabilitation. Other speakers include Madam Hanna Foster the Executive Director of the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights studies and Brahima Koni of CADDH.
