UN Committee: Bosnia hindered in implementing Migrant Worker Rights Convention

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The full implementation of the Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families is in Bosnia hindered by the complexity of the country’s constitutional structure and its difficulties to carry out legal reforms, the UN Committee on Rights of Migrant Workers said in its findings published on Friday.

The UN Committee examined Bosnia, Argentina and Columbia during its latest session which took place between September 2 to 11.The three countries are signatories of the Convention and are required to submit reports to the Committee, which is composed of 14 independent human rights experts.

“While welcoming Bosnia and Herzegovina’s efforts to promote and protect the rights of Bosnian migrant workers abroad and in the State party, in particular with respect to the right to vote and reintegration support, the Committee recommends that Bosnia and Herzegovina ensure that the rights enshrined in the Convention are guaranteed in all parts of the federal State and within its jurisdiction, without any limitation or exception,” the report said.

It said that the full implementation of the Convention at the legislative, administrative and practical levels was “still hindered due to the complexity of the State party’s constitutional structure and the difficulties of the federal Government to carry out legal reforms in some parts of the State party.”

The Committee also mentioned concerns about Bosnia’s ins insufficient border management capacities and the lack of infrastructure at border-crossings, as well as “the living conditions at the informal Vucjak camp” near the northwestern town of Bihac where migrants were transported to.

It recommended that Bosnia should “increase its capacity in this regard to ensure respect for the human rights of all migrants, regardless of their status.”

The Committee will hold its next meeting on March 30 next year, where it will discuss the situation in Chile, Paraguay, Cabo Verde and Rwanda.