United Nations General Assembly Sixth Committee Legal Regulations Concerning Migrant Labor Introduction: Today we live in a world

that is defined by porous borders and intermingling of cultures and people. No longer do countries and nations only support their citiz ens only, but nowadays they play host to large groups of foreign population. The se foreigners that we refer to are not just tourists who flit in and out of the na tion but also immigrants who move away from their motherlands into new parts of the world with hopes of acquiring greener pastures. These immigrants in many cou ntries like Qatar and the U.A.E form the back bone of economic growth and progre ss. They represent a massive chunk of the labor force and their lifestyles affec t the way the nation shapes itself. They determine which the country will go, ev en though they are not citizens and are not afforded the same rights and luxurie s that a citizen is or would be. And that is exactly where the crux of the matter lies. That is in the treatment handed out to the migrant workers by the governments of nations that contain im migrants. In many places migrant workers and families are not treated properly a nd are not afforded the rights that they deserve as residents of that nation and as human beings. These groups are more often than not overlooked when it comes to welfare policies and schemes. And this is clearly not acceptable. Poor living conditions, exploitation by various groups, discrimination, lack of healthcare facilities and infrastructure are problems that these migrant workers face on a daily basis. And more often than not these migrant workers do not have the prope r facilities or resources to tackle these matters by themselves. In many cases t hey also are unable to migrate back to their homelands purely due to lack of job opportunities. This is merely a brief overview of what actually is a global crisis and phenome non. It is impossible to condense thousands of documents of research and data in to a single paragraph, but the aim of this introduction is to do exactly what th e title says, to introduce. Before any issue can be resolved or resolution is pa ssed it is essential to understand who or what the key variables in this equatio n are. It is important to do what is called a stake holder analysis. With the influx of migrant population there are essential three primary parties that are affected directly. They are: a) The State or Government b) The migrant population c) The citizens of the state It is these bodies that we must analyze and consider when creating polici es and resolutions with the hope of trying to ensure that no single party has to compromise anything that would hinder their activities. History: The term Migrant Worker is a term that was only coined in 1990 when the United Nat ions International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Wor kers and Members of Their Families was signed. This treaty marked the beginning of what was to be a massive movement to protect and empower of migrant populatio n. This treaty defines a migrant worker to be someone who is engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which he or she is not a nation al. Up until this point in time, there had been no legal framework established t o protect these families and individuals. Governments and various capitalist ind ustries viewed these people as cheap labor that could be used to drive down the cost of production and increase revenue margins. In fact this was an alternative to slave trade in many parts of the United State s of America, Britain and European nations. In order to understand the history o f the migrant labor regulations, it is essential to look at it from the standpoi nt of the United States and European nations as they were the major industrial p owers at that time. And as we approach the 21st century it will also be necessar y to look at this scenario through the eyes of the people in the Middle East, es pecially in the countries of U.A.E and Qatar. In the United States prior to the 18th century, the most flourishing industry wa

s the agricultural industry. With plantations cropping up everywhere, both in th e north and south, slave trade was most prominent as it was the cheapest option available to most farmers. However with abolishment of slave trade and the insti tution of the thirteenth amendment in the constitution in the constitution, fore ign labor became the next best option. Workers from China were the cheapest and most in demand but with the exclusion of Chinese laborers as a result of the Chi nese Exclusion Act of 1882, migrant workers from Southern American countries and Latin American states start to take up jobs previously occupied by the Chinese. Ethnographic accounts of migrant laborers in the northeastern United States ha ve revealed that migrant workers in the post-war period often lived and worked u nder very poor conditions; workers were entirely dependent on their crew leader to supply them with goods, which often compounded the debt they already owed the crew leader from the trip north. Furthermore, housing conditions were often aby smal, with many people sharing cramped and poorly maintained facilities. During this period, a large number of foreign migrant workers entered the United States illegally. During the Second World War, Mexican migrant workers could le gally work in agriculture in the United States under the Bracero guest worker pr ogram; however, the termination of this program marked the beginning of large-sc ale illegal immigration into the United States.[16] Illegal Mexican migrant work ers have to come to be seen as an important source of cheap labor in the southwe stern United States; attempts to increase enforcement against illegal migrants h as been met with hostility from growers who depend on illegal immigrants as chea p laborers.Furthermore, the United States government has granted amnesty to ille gal Mexican migrants based on their work in agriculture: under the US Immigrant Reform and Control Act (1986), illegal immigrants that could demonstrate 60 days of employment in agriculture since 1985 were awarded permanent residence. France has long been a country of immigration. By the outbreak of the First Worl d War, as many as 1.5 million foreigners had come to work in the country, many o f whom established themselves there permanently. Together with their descendants , these migrants account for the entire French aggregate population growth from 1850-1914.This trend accelerated in the decades following the Second World War, during which France, like many Western industrialized nations, witnessed spectac ular economic growth. The oil crisis of 1973, however, brought this to an end, s ince which time migration, both in terms of the control of incomers and the inte gration of those already present, has increasingly appeared as a problem to be c ontrolled rather than a phenomenon to be encouraged. That this remains the case today is made clear by the recent controversy over the wearing of headscarves an d other ostentatious religious symbols in schools. Prior to World War II, Germany was essentially a country of emigration. However, it soon became clear that the massive reconstruction projects necessary in the aftermath of the con ict had created a need for a considerable increase in the lab or force, particularly as women, who could have done much to ease the labor shor tage, were still not encouraged to participate at this stage. In order to ll the need for labor, the Government concluded a number of bilateral agreements with Italy, Portugal, Turkey, Spain and the former Yugoslavia, which led to the recru itment of around 3-4 million workers in the period leading up to the oil crisis. Although labor immigration did continue after this date, it was at a much reduc ed rate, with a focus generally on the selective admission of highly-skilled wor kers, and seasonal and short-term contractual employment. And finally Norway was, until 1945, a country of emigration second only to Irela nd in Europe in terms of emigrants per head of population. However, particularly towards the end of the 1960s, a combination of a booming economy and a populati on shortage meant that the country began to encourage the admission of immigrant workers, particularly from Morocco, the former Yugoslavia, Turkey and Pakistan. In 1975, however, in line with the stops on immigration imposed in other parts of western Europe, the Government introduced a moratorium on immigration, since which time Norway has gained a reputation for having a generous and welcoming as ylum program, but not a particularly developed immigration program, excepting pe rhaps in its shipping and oil industries, and seasonal employment (agriculture a nd forestry).

However with advent of time the focus of the world has shifted from these global western immigrant countries to the rapidly developing nations of the Middle Eas t, like Qatar and U.A.E. These countries have seen rapid progress since the begi nning of the 21st century and this is mainly due to the rapid influx of foreign skilled and unskilled labor force. In these countries the problem isnt the poor s tandard of living and exploitation of labor force, but instead it is the mainten ance of national culture, tradition and heritage, whilst adopting strategic migr ant regulation policies that promote financial and economic growth. These nations, especially the U.A.E have massive immigrant groups residing withi n the nation. A census carried out in 2009, indicated that in Dubai and Abu Dhab i the Emiratis accounted for only 17% of the population and the rest of the popul ation was made up of foreign residents who had no citizenship in the country. Th ese countries face an imminent problem and that is the loss of their heritage wi th the increase in incoming migrant workers. They must either support their trib e like bondage and culture, by regulating the inflow of immigrants or they must adopt western immigration and legislative policies. Regulation of migrant worker s is a matter of social balance and revision of legislative policies like sharia a law, that might very well spark civil unrest among the citizens of these natio ns. It is essential to understand the history of migrant workers in these countries and look at them in context with one another. The problems faced by the Middle E astern countries are not new and unheard off. Instead they could be tackled by l ooking at the past and using it to prevent and avoid any errors that might cause undue damage to any single person, society or state. Current Situation: Migrant labor regulation is a relatively new problem in the sense that it has on ly been addressed as a global issue since 1998. During the 1998 meeting of the G eneral Assemblys Sixth Committee the International Convention on the Protection o f the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families was ratified a nd accepted by nearly all nations that were members of the committee at that poi nt in time. And since then a number of institutions have been created in the pas t decade to uphold and enforce this legislation. Of these institutions the most prominent one is the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (CMW). The CM W held its first session in March 2004, and has continued to do so since then. T his committee meets twice a year in Geneva, where all member nations are expecte d to submit reports to the committee explaining how the rights are being impleme nted. The Committee will also, under certain circumstances, be able to consider individual complaints or communications from individuals claiming that their rig hts under the Convention have been violated once 10 States parties have accepted this procedure in accordance with article 77 of the Convention. Aside from the CMW the International Labor Organization is also committed to the protection of such legislations. It is also responsible for the establishment o f new treaties and policies regarding migrant labor. In 2004, the 92nd Session o f the International Labor Conference of the ILO adopted a Resolution concerning a fair deal for migrant workers in a global economy which called on the ILO to c arry out a Plan of Action for Migrant Workers designed to assist countries to im prove their migration policies and practices. The main components of the Plan ar e: the development of a non-binding multilateral framework for a rights-based ap proach to labor migration action to promote wider application of international l abor standards and other relevant instruments, support for implementation of the ILO global employment agenda at national level, enhancing social protection for migrant workers, strengthening social dialogue, provision of technical assistan ce and capacity building, and improving the information and knowledge base on mi gration. Since the advent of the 21st century the focus of the world has shifted from the se developed countries such as USA, England, France, Germany and Russia. These c ountries have enough financial and political to mitigate and control their immig ration policies and to institute new ones. It is the developing countries or Thir

d World countries that face major problems with regards to illegal migration of l aborers. Hence most of the legislations and policies in the past few years have been aimed at trying to better the living conditions of migrant laborers and fam ilies in these nations. The ILO Regional Office for Africa, in close collaboration with the Internation al Migration Program in Geneva, is implementing a project on Improving institutio nal capacity to govern labor migration in North and West Africa with the financia l support of the Spanish government. The project seeks the realization and maxim ization of benefits from international labor migration for the development of bo th countries of origin and destination by undertaking actions focused on promoti ng good governance and effective management of labor migration, based on ILO s M ultilateral Framework on Labor Migration. Another recently introduced concept was the project "Technical assistance to bet ter manage migratory flows from Senegal, Mauritania and Mali to Spain", launched in 2006, designed to support efforts to maximise social and economic benefits o f migration for the region of the Sahel, for Spain, and for migrant workers, in line with the principles of equality and nondiscrimination, has been extended un til end of 2012. Strengthening institutions on migration to contribute to the development of Ande an countries, in January 2008, a two year project was launched focusing on migra tory flows from Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and the Andean Community towards Spain. T he project aims at establishing an inter-sectoral coordination mechanism on labo r migration in each country and it will contribute improving labor migration gov ernance and regulation of migration policies through better information. These projects and policies are only a partial solution to the problem of migran t labor regulation. They do not tackle every aspect of the problem and in most c ases they omit the business aspect of this topic. International stakeholders are increasingly holding businesses accountable for the treatment of migrant worker s in their supply chains, much in the same way as other labor rights issues in c ontract facilities. Media and civil society attention to migrant worker treatmen t in numerous countries has uncovered egregious labor violations, bringing the t opic onto many companies agendas for the first time. Migrant workers are valued f or numerous attributes including: filling local labor shortages; lower wages; li mited taxes and social security payments; reduced likelihood of absenteeism and low turnover; and willingness to work overtime. However, migrant workers also po ssess enhanced vulnerabilities, as illustrated by the common violations describe d below. COMMON VIOLATIONS INCLUDE: Passport withholding Incidents of bonded labor Contract substitution Non-payment of wages and/or illegal deductions/withholdings Lack of protection under national law Lack of access to functioning dispute resolution channels Lack of access to organized labor and/or civil society support networks These violations create unique needs of migrant workers relative to national wor kers, needs which too often go unaddressed in global supply chains. To date, the reaction from business to such violations has been based almost entirely on ris k avoidance in particular geographies. Such reactive policies can be ineffective and have limited impact on issues that are global in scope. Moreover, policies introduced under such circumstances can prove unsustainable. Therefore there is a need to examine the South-South labor migration system as a whole, and to begi n to address the systemic issues throughout company and business supply chains a nd beyond in order to achieve meaningful and sustainable impact on migrant worke rs rights protections. The current system of labor migration within the global South is fraught with c hallenges, but also presents opportunities for both focused and systemic change. The lack of effective regulation within the current system of labor migration e nables treatment of migrant workers as commodities. This commodity approach has permeated beyond the private sector and both origin and destination country gove

rnments currently prioritize regulation around increasing or decreasing headcoun t of workers, rather than rights protection. Origin country migration policies are generally aimed at increasing the numbers of migrants going abroad for benefits in the forms of remittances and reduced pr essure on domestic unemployment. With migration policy objectives set in this di rection, relevant ministries come under pressure to increase numbers of labor mi grants, and incentives are passed down to recruitment agencies. The current Viet namese system, for example, has since 2006 focused on increasing the headcount o f workers going abroad, while protection policies are just beginning to be devel oped. Beyond initial licensing requirements for recruiting agencies, no policies or incentives currently exist to improve the quality of the migration process. In destination countries, migration policies focus on the increase or reduction of legal migration to meet current business needs. The focus is almost entirely on managing temporary migration, which explicitly requires that migrants will re turn to their country of employment after their contract terms. Monitoring worke r treatment and maintaining accessible channels for reporting and prosecuting ma ltreatment are not commonly prioritized. Those channels that are in place genera lly favor the employers perspective and often disregard the nuances of migrant wo rker circumstances. For example, to file a dispute in Dubai requires a passport and a formal report written in English or Arabic, conditions most migrant worker s cannot fill. It would be unfair to say that our current systems of operation and functioning are broken and hold no value. They do work rather efficiently despite many short comings; however they need to be redefined on a fundamental level to reflect the principles of a vibrant and robust global community. The base already exists, b ut now it is time to begin the construction of the upper stories, and to enhance our infrastructure to meet the rapidly growing needs and demands of a global so ciety. Committee Directive: Regulation of Migrant Labor is rather new concept that only sprung up towards th e end of 19th century. Up until then migrant and laborers and their families wer e treated like commodities and still are in some parts of the world. Considering that these people are desperate for an opportunity to make a living in a countr y that is not their own, they are more often than not exploited. They are provid ed with inadequate wages, no healthcare and no support or benefits whatsoever. A s seen during the industrial revolution these migrant laborers were seen as ways to drive down operation costs and drive up revenues. The origin nations are looking to drive up the number of citizens migrating to different countries, destination countries are looking to contract their stay an d deport them once they no longer have use for these laborers and the businesses and corporations in the middle seek to find cheap labor to meet their own needs . Hence there is a desperate need for policies to be instituted that look into t he welfare of these migrant laborers as well. Therefore the resolutions passed in the committee must focus on three key areas. The first area of focus must be the institution of healthy business practices t hat promotes the welfare of migrant laborers, especially in the South- South Asi an Migration belt. These discussions should focus on current practices and suppl y chain systems and how they could be enhanced to stimulate industry health whil st ensuring the overall welfare of migrants. Secondly, the delegates must be able to look at the Migrant regulation policies of Middle Eastern nations and determine how these nations could retain their cul ture and heritage. These talks should focus on the balance between indigenous pr actices and how they can be assimilated into the overall judicial framework. Tha t would require the delegates to have a working knowledge of the religious and c ultural practices of these nations, the law of these lands and what impact these legislative and judicial policies would have on migrant families who constitute a large section of the population. And finally, the delegates must be able to look at the above problems from the c ontext of human rights as well. The committee looks not to decrease the flow of

migrants from one place to another, but rather enforce the protection of univers al human rights in every corner of the globe. This would require an understandin g of the basic human rights and certain naturalistic rights that everybody is af forded. Merely skimming through the rights will not be sufficient. The resolutio ns must contain comprehensive strategies to enforce human rights without trying to generate more bureaucracy. Organizations to reference: 1) Business for Social Responsibility 2) International Labor Organization 3) Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Mem bers of their Families Also look into David Mednicoff and his discourse on Migrant Labor in the Middle East.