On International Women’s Day 2017, the Women in Migration Network (WIMN) has released the statement, “For Mobilization and Resistance to Claim the Human Rights of Women in Migration.”
WIMN states, “On this International Women’s Day, the Women in Migration Network (WIMN) affirms that human rights are extended to all migrants and refugees, regardless of citizenship or migration status.”
We are living in a context of heightened racism and xenophobia, with an upsurge of detentions, deportations and returns of migrants and refugees. On March 8, “WIMN reaffirms its call for human rights FOR ALL, and demands that states deliver on these rights, including economic and social rights, and fulfill their commitments to international law.
“WIMN embraces the spirit of the global call for an International Women’s Strike and for a feminism of the 99% that challenges neo-liberalism, racism and xenophobia, neo-colonialism, war, intervention, occupation, and militarization of law enforcement within national borders…WIMN member organizations will be joining marches today in New York, Buenos Aires and other cities,” among other activities.
The network joins global partners in affirming “No Borders on Gender Justice,” a call to stand together for gender justice and migrant rights. Inspired by the March 8th International Women’s Strike, this coalition works to ignite resistance to the conditions that have produced right-wing populism and given rise to authoritarian governance. New travel bans in the US have made it impossible for many in civil society to participate in United Nations deliberations such as the UN Commission on the Status of Women (UN-CSW). WIMN joins in demanding their access to this and other UN spaces.
WIMN also makes a call for “living wages, full human rights and labor protections for women, including women in migration, an end to austerity and women’s full access to all social welfare benefits necessary to live free of poverty, regardless of migration status” and an end to “all forms of violence, including gender-based violence, whether committed by private actors, police, soldiers, border agents or other state actors.” WIMN lifts up the call of Global Unions to end gender-based violence in the workplace, including the need for an ILO convention to address this reality.
The network pledges “to intensify our efforts to mobilize and advocate for full human rights for women in migration, their families and communities.”
For full document, click here.
