As actors of civil societies in SubSaharan Africa, North Africa and
Europe, as activists fighting for migrants’rights and for solidarity
with the exiles, as indignant witnesses of the massacre increasingly
taking place off the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts, we refuse to
see humanity split between those who may freely move around the globe
and those who may not. We also refuse a world where borders are more
and more militarized, dividing continents and transforming every
group of countries into a besieged fortress.
We know that the origin of the socalled migration « issue » between
Africa and Europe first lies in Europe : Europe is not being invaded
by the demographically insignificant African migratory flow. The fact
is that European interests, protectionism and phobias, while imposing
trade agreements, transform Europe into a besieged fortress through
the successive closure of all borders. Europe points to foreigners as
a threat and fosters an intolerable amalgamate between migration and
terrorism. It misuses development aid funds as instruments for the
prevention of migrations, and transforms the right of asylum into a
right of rejection in order to vindicate police roundups and
deportations of rejected asylum seekers. Europe multiplies agreements
with countries south of the Mediterranean in order to impose that
they share the processing and repression of migrations. It sometimes
even pushes solidarity associations into keeping foreigners out.
Although the prime responsibility lies with the European states,
African countries also are to blame when their deficiencies and their
malfunctions lead to economic or political standstills that leave
their citizens with the only option of emigration. However, no one
can ignore the imbalance of power between African and European states.
Political and diplomatic trends over the last ten years or more, and
the most recent developments, show that institutions, especially in
the EuroMediterranean and EuroAfrican areas, are instilled with the
antimigration ideologies that prevail among the leading elites in
Europe and increasingly in North Africa. Within a few months of the
next intergovernmental conferences on the subject, we more than ever
fear that security and diplomatic technocrats agree on the selective
closure of borders to the people that are the most exposed to misery
and persecutions. We know that xenophobic nationalism has always been
and still is an easy frame of reference for governmental policies,
and that it is as dangerous to our future as it has proved to be
devastating in our past. That frame of reference may be linked with
market considerations promoting the selection of the useful labour
force and brain drain policies. We think that there is a real risk
that agreements across the Mediterranean bring about an elite
consensus dissociating the interests of elites and those of ordinary
people, and leading to the creation of buffer zones and the
segmentation of Africa.
Such are the reasons why :
We call on those who are active in civil societies in North Africa,
SubSaharan Africa and Europe to participate in the EuroAfrican
nongovernmental Conference on the respect of the fundamental rights
of migrants, on freedom of movement for all, on development and
prosperity sharing policies devoid of security concerns, on the fight
against securitarian policies and their consequences, on policies of
admission and integration that can restore the right of asylum and
secure the recognition of immigrants’rights as workers and citizens.
At the end of the conference, the first EuroAfrican non governmental
manifesto on migrations, fundamental rights and freedom of movement
will be adopted.
Organizations calling the conference :
ABCDS (Morocco), AFVIC (Morocco), Alterforum (Morocco), AMDH
(Morocco), AMERM (Morocco), APDHA (Spain), ARCI (Italy), ARCOM
(Morocco), ASDHOM (France), ATMF (France), ATTAC (Morocco), Caritas
(Morocco), CESAM (Morocco), Chabaka (Morocco), CIMADE (France), CIRE
(Belgium), Collectif des réfugiés (Morocco), Conseil des migrants
subsahariens (Morocco), GISTI (France), Hommes et environnement
(Morocco), MIGREUROP, Plateforme Migrants PFM (Morocco), Pateras de
la vida (Morocco), SOS migrants (Belgique), réseau TERRA (France)
To join the associations that call the conference :
conferencemigrations@gmail.com
secretariat for the steering committee : Association Moroccoaine des
Droits de l’Homme
Structure of the conference :
The conference will take place in four parts, each with a specific
deliberative assembly that might split into smaller working groups.
Friday, 30 June 2006 : morning : PLENARY SESSION
Opening
Presentation of the participants and aims of the Conference
Organization of deliberative assemblies for each session and of the
working groups
Friday, 30 June 2006 : afternoon : THEMATIC SESSIONS
Group work on each of the four themes (one acting secretary in each
group)
Theme 1 : Respect of fundamental rights, freedom of movement for all,
rehabilitation of the right of asylum
Theme 2 : Facing securitarian policies and their consequences
Theme 3 : Development and prosperity sharing
Theme 4 : Policies of admission and integration for the rights of
migrant workers and citizens
Saturday, 1 July 2006 : morning : THEMATIC SESSIONS
Separate meetings of the four deliberative assemblies
Pooling of proposals and synthetic conclusion on each of the four themes
Collective discussion on the draft report for each theme
Exploratory discussion on the strategy for « promulgating » and «
activating » the conclusions
Saturday, 1 July 2006 : afternoon : PLENARY SESSION
Final synthetic conclusion
