Maputo – The UN Migration Agency (IOM), International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), are collaborating today to enhance the ability of Mozambique government officials to report on and provide technical guidance to the implementation of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (CMW).

The four-day National Training on Treaty Body Reporting and Workshop on the socialization and domestication of the CMW also aims to improve the government’s capacity to review its legal, policy and institutional framework in Mozambique.

The Convention sets minimum human rights standards for migrant workers and members of their families, with a special focus on eliminating labour exploitation in the migration process.

“Mozambique is member to seven international treaties and optional protocols since 2013 and it was one of the three countries in Southern Africa to ratify this convention,” IOM Mozambique Chief of Mission Katharina Schnoering said in her opening remarks.

“I want to take the opportunity to congratulate the Government of Mozambique for this important step. Now, it is also important to work on the domestication of the Convention into the Mozambican legislation so that these commitments become a reality.”

The facilitators team is comprised of four human rights specialists working at UNOHCHR Pretoria, the Regional Office for Southern Africa and Geneva headquarters. The trainers team includes two members of the Mozambican inter-ministerial committee, representing the Ministry of Justice, Constitutional and Religious Affairs, and the Ministry of Labour, Work and Social Security.

The training focuses on the reporting mechanisms to the treaty bodies, while the workshop aims to provide a direction on how to initiate the process of domestication and explain the obligations that come with domestication of the CMW. It will also help participants to identify legal, policy and institutional gaps in Mozambique.

“The main objective of the reporting process is that the treaty bodies evaluate the level of implementation of the State duties regarding the treaties,” said Marcoluigi Corsi, the acting UN Resident Coordinator and UNICEF Representative in Mozambique.

“The reporting of the member state works as an opportunity to evaluate and debate human rights issues in the country and identify problems and areas that require more attention.”

Mozambique is a country of origin, transit and destination for people engaged in complex mixed migration movements and the country has increasingly seen mixed movements coming from the East and Horn of Africa. Due to their immigration status, inability to speak the local language and unfamiliarity with the Mozambican context, migrants are often not afforded access to justice or the rule of law. Providing technical support on the domestication of the CMW, will ensure that the rights of migrant workers are guaranteed and applied.

For more information please contact Linda Manjate Magaia at IOM Mozambique, Tel: +258 823078342 Email: lmanjate@iom.int