Ratification of Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers and their Families disappointing

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has asked Europe not to be selective when it comes to respecting human rights.

In a speech to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France on 19th October to mark the 60th Anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights, Mr. Ban said: “When it comes to human rights, there should be no selectivity. Human rights are not a menu, from which we just can pick and choose. Yet we see precisely this when bona fide advances are made in overcoming poverty or hunger, at the same time that other freedoms are downplayed as if they are merely ‘icing on the cake’ and not central to development itself. And we see it in democratic countries that choose not to ratify certain international conventions … or re-interpret conventions to which they have subscribed.”

He gave the example of the Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers and their Families saying that its ratification in Europe has been disappointing. “Twenty years after it was adopted, none of Europe’s largest and most wealthy powers have signed or ratified it,” Mr. Ban said.

He observed that in some of the world’s most advanced democracies, “migrants are being denied their basic human rights.”

Mr. Ban pointed out that there are many parts of the world where human rights are grossly violated. “Let this be the moment when governments reaffirm their commitment to the highest human rights standards for all,” he said.

He called for flexibility in the way human rights issues are handled. “While our standards are universal and unchanging, our methods should not remain static. That is why we must strengthen our compact on human rights through an approach rooted in an awareness of culture, time and place. We must respect cultural diversity – while never compromising our fundamental principles and never tolerating intolerance,” Mr. Ban said.

He urged all to “nurture, encourage and support” lasting social change including respect for human rights and particularly women’s right. “After all, the objective is not simply for governments to pass laws, but to ensure that those laws are implemented,” Mr. Ban said.

Much can be achieved if governments and international institutions include faith-based organizations in their work to promote human rights, he added.

The UN boss praised human rights defenders, civil society groups and the media for the good work in promoting and defending human rights. “These dedicated men and women work, often, at tremendous risk to themselves, their families and their friends. Around the world, they stand up to speak out, tweet in the name of justice. Individual activists are growing in number and influence bringing abuses to light, exposing wrongdoing and standing up for the vulnerable people. In the battle for human rights, they are the foot soldiers – and often, the sergeants and generals too. We must fight for the freedoms of assembly and of expression that make their work possible. When their voices are stifled or silenced, we are all diminished. We are all less secure,” Mr. Ban said.

In a separate address to the European Parliament, Mr. Ban called for tolerance of diversity. He said: “Migrants suffer disproportionately, whether from within Europe or beyond. Unemployment. Discrimination. Unequal opportunities in schools and the workplace.”

He said a new dangerous trend is emerging, describing it as “a new politics of polarization” where some public figures play on people’s fears. “They seek to invoke liberal values for illiberal causes. They accuse immigrants of violating European values,” Mr. Ban said, adding that too often it is the accusers who subvert these European values.

“Today, the primary targets are immigrants of the Muslim faith. Europe cannot afford stereotyping that closes minds and breeds hatred. And the world cannot afford a Europe that does this,” Mr. Ban said.

By Stephen Ogongo Ongong’a

It affects around 85 million people in the European Union

Minimum income schemes should be introduced in all EU Member States to combat poverty, says a European Parliament resolution adopted on 20th October.

The resolution was made three days after the annual UN Eradication of Poverty Day (17th October) and as European Year against Poverty (2010) draws to a close.

Poverty affects around 85 million people, or 17% of the EU's population. The risk of poverty is greater for children and young people up to 17 years of age (20%) than for the population as a whole. Older people (19%) also face a higher risk of poverty, says the resolution, which was drafted by MEP Ilda Figueiredo.

Minimum income schemes - consisting of financial support plus easier access to services for people on low incomes - are the most effective way to guarantee an adequate standard of living and foster social integration, says the Parliament. Such schemes should be pitched at 60% of the median income of the country concerned. The European Commission has been asked to present an initiative in this area as a first step towards an EU action plan.

MEPs also highlighted the increasing number of working poor. They stressed that a living wage must always be above the poverty threshold and that workers who remain below that threshold should receive top-ups that are unconditional.

The resolution also says that efforts must be made on pay and minimum wage levels since the poverty affecting people in employment implies inequitable working conditions.

Black people 26 times more likely than white people to be stopped and searched by police

Mr. Chuka Umunna, Member of Parliament for Streatham, has called for an urgent debate in Parliament on stop and search after it emerged that black people are 26 times more likely than white people to be stopped and searched by police.

Mr. Umunna raised the issue with Leader of the House Sir George Young in the House of Commons on 21st October.

In reply, the Leader of the House promised to raise the issue with Home Secretary Theresa May and ask her to respond on the issue.

Recent research by the Open Society Justice Initiative and the London School of Economics, analysing Ministry of Justice statistics, found that there are 41.6 searches carried out by police under Section 60 for every 1000 black people and 1.6 for every 1000 white people. This was the widest ‘race gap’ which the research found internationally.

Mr. Umunna became one of the first ever Members of Parliament of Nigerian descent when elected in May and is the first ethnic minority MP for one of the three constituencies covering the Brixton area, which is considered to be the Black capital of the UK.

In Parliament, Mr. Umunna said: “International research has been cited in The Observer showing that black people are 26 times more likely to be stopped and searched in England and Wales. The researchers said that that was the most glaring example of racial profiling that they had seen. That figure is shocking.

“May we have an urgent debate on the matter, to discern whether the police in England and Wales are using their powers of stop and search appropriately?”

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Vaz: "We need to know in a full-ranging inquiry why he was treated in the way he was treated”

Security Minister Baroness Neville-Jones has described the recent death of an Angolan man who was being deported from the UK as "extraordinarily regrettable".

Police and the London Ambulance Service were called at 20:25hrs on 12th October, to reports of a man unwell on a British Airways flight preparing for departure from Heathrow Airport to Angola.

Mr. Jimmy Mubenga, 46, was being deported from the UK under escort by civilian security guards.

He was taken by London Ambulance Service to Hillingdon Hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

Metropolitan Police said the post-mortem examination done at Hillingdon Mortuary on 14th October proved inconclusive. Further tests will be conducted in due course in order to establish the cause of Mr. Mubenga’s death.

On 18th October police investigating the circumstances surrounding Mr. Mubenga’s death arrested three men. They’ve all been released on police bail to a date in December pending further enquires.

Mr. Keith Vaz, chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, who called for a full-ranging inquiry told BBC London: "This is a shocking incident.

"We need to know in a full-ranging inquiry why he was treated in the way he was treated. Why was he being deported while his family are still in the country?

"What steps are being taken by the airline and the immigration services to make sure they checked his medical records?

"These are very serious issues which affect every single person that is being deported."

Metropolitan Police said the death was being treated as “as unexplained at this stage”.

Labour's Lord Judd told the House of Lords on 20th October: "This issue is not only grave in itself, the trouble is that when something goes wrong it plays directly into the hands of those who are trying to manipulate opinion in support of militant rebels, militant terrorists and the rest.

"It is therefore essential to get the administration of policy in this area right and humane in the cause of winning hearts and minds."

Baroness Neville-Jones, who agreed with Lord Judd, said that the findings of any investigations into Mr. Mubenga's death would be taken "very seriously".

She said: “This is the first time that there has been a death of an escorted individual and it is extraordinarily regrettable. We entirely take the point that this is exactly what we do not wish to happen. We will take the consequences and the findings of any investigation very seriously.”

An inquest will be opened at West London Coroner's court in due course. Detectives from the MPS Homicide and Serious Crime command are investigating the death. It is also being investigated by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.

Tom Brake, MP, chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary policy committee, said: "We need to be absolutely certain that a proper risk assessment was carried out and we need to be certain the security firm that was used are using the appropriate restraint techniques, ones that don't endanger people's lives.”

Baroness Neville-Jones said: "Escort staff receive training on issues such as welfare, first aid, use of force and restraint. Prior to removal, escorts are provided with a risk assessment for the individual that will include known facts on medical condition, the risk of self-harm, likelihood of any attempt to escape, known criminal activities or violent behaviour."

Richard Edwards, a spokesperson for London NoBorders, stated: “This is yet another example of the violence of border regimes. Every year hundreds of people are deported from Europe, often by physical force, to face uncertain futures and sometimes persecution and death. Meanwhile hundreds die trying to enter the EU.”

London NoBorders said that violence during deportations from Europe has been well documented and has been happening for many years. “In 1998 for example, Semira Adamou died from suffocation during an attempt to deport her from Belgium. And on 17th March this year, Alex Uzowulu died on a flight from Switzerland after police handcuffed him and placed a helmet on his head,” London NoBorders said.

Mr. Mubenga leaves behind his wife Makenda Kambana and five children.

By Stephen Ogongo Ongong’a