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Who are we ...
IMA is a broad international alliance composed of progressive and anti-imperialist migrant organizations of different nationalities. It shall act as the voice and force of migrants of various nationalities in advancing the rights and interests of migrants, refugees and displaced people in different countries.
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Written by Ramon Bultron
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Sunday, 06 July 2008 |
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General Program of Action Adopted and Approved during its Founding Assembly held in Hong Kong last 16 June 2008
The GPOA of IMA will be for three years to coincide with the next Assembly. Generally, the stress will be on deepening the understanding and grasp of IMA’s basis of unity as expressed in the Preamble and Aims and Purposes of our Constitution. To achieve this main objective, the following undertakings will be implemented by all member organizations of IMA. A. Education and Information 1. Immediately publish the proceedings of the Assembly and make use of this, together with the Constitution and GPOA as educational materials to unify the members of member organizations of IMA. 2. Make use of the existing website to upload relevant information and national international issues for the knowledge and information of all members. B. Campaigns and Mobilization 1. Determine issues and launch campaigns on an international level. IMA strives and works to unite all its members and nonmembers develop relations for the advantage of migrants and labor forces and it launches periodic campaigns on issues in an effort to advance our international networks and coordinationThey may cover the following issues and concerns: a) Maximizing the UN related Conventions like the International Convention for the Protection of the Rights and Welfare of Migrant Workers and their Families and ILO conventions. IMA can put pressure to governments to ratify and implement this Convention. b) Campaign to protect and promote the labor and human rights of undocumented migrant workers and stop criminalizing undocumented workers.c) Launch internationally coordinated campaigns/celebration of the following dates: UN Dec 18 International Migrants Day; UN June 20 Refugees Day; May 1 International Worker’s Day and March 8 International Women’s Day, May 17 Day against Homophobia, December 10 International Human Rights Day.d) Work on thematic issues: Wages, Job Security, Remittances and GATS Mode 4; War on Terror, Immigration and Refugees and the Criminalization of Undocumented Migrants; Violence against Women Migrants, Trafficking and Globalization; Health, Family and the Social Costs of Forced Migration; e) Actively support the campaign on Domestic Work as Work 2. Support campaign of member organizations politically through such activities as pickets, protest statements on the issue, representations with members of parliament, cultural activities, websites, documentaries, etc. C. International Advocacy 1. To attend international meetings and conferences to project our sectoral issues and concerns and projecting IMA to the broader audience, especially among advocates. 2. Strong lobbying at the UN on issues and concerns that have global implications on Migrants, immigrants and refugees like the US unjust war in Iraq and Afghanistan. 3. Launch parallel activities of grassroots organizations (migrants themselves) to expose the real intent and agenda of the government sponsored, WB and OECD backed GFMD (Global Forum on Migration and Development). This coming October 2008, the GFMD meeting will be in Manila, Philippines. Last year, it was held in Belgium. 4. Establish alliances with social and civil organizations to build a common front that will fight for the demands of indigenous migrants and non-indigenous migrants; will present this united front to state and municipal governments for their needed attention. 5. Sustain all struggles for the defense of migrants’ human, worker and identity rights; will make known the fight against the criminalization of undocumented workers and the need for a humanitarian and just migration reform; will say no to the new proposition to reactivate the Guest Worker Program (Bracero Program). D. Organizational 1. Encourage the establishment of country chapters of IMA to facilitate the coordination between the ICB and the member organizations. 2. Expand the membership of IMA. 3. Hold conferential meetings and/or facilitate exchanges of experiences on line of work (education, cultural/information, campaigns, organizing, lobby and advocacy, etc). The meetings and exchanges will strengthen and bring about a network of those exchanges will strengthen and bring about a network for those engaged in the various line of work. 4. Make a working budget for the implementation of IMA’s program and plans. 5. Devise a means for easy and fast exchanges of information and dissemination of the same to all members. |
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A corporate Designed Immigration Reform
The debate in the nation on immigration reform is definitely on and the cards are once again stacked. The Gutierrez-Flake STRIVE ACT of 2007 is a corporate monster most of the way. It doesn't come close to meeting the human rights standards set forth by the international community for the more than 200 million migrants in the planet who, by designs of corporate globalization and its rising capitalist transnational class, have been forced to leave their home countries in search of a new life.
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