Graziano Battistella, Origini, sviluppo e prospettive della Convenzione internazionale sui diritti dei migranti

The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families entered into force in 2003, thirteen years after being adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations. This long interval is rather unusual for a UN instrument. However, it is not a surprising delay if one thinks of the long process to draft the text of the Convention and the profound changes that took place in the international and migratory context during the years. This paper identifies three phases in the development of the Convention: the years that led to the decision to have a Convention for the protection of all migrants; the years in which the text was drafted; and the years to obtain the necessary number of ratifications for the Convention to enter into force. Increasingly restrictive migration policies, the basic disregard of receiving countries for this instrument and the tendency to approach migration from the perspective of national security do not augur too well for a wider ratification of the Convention.

Roberto Baratta, La Convenzione sui diritti dei migranti e la normativa italiana sull’immigrazione

The paper deals with the impact that the “International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families”, adopted in 1990 by the General Assembly of the United Nations, might have on the Italian immigration law if Italy becomes a Party to the same Convention. The analysis compares the regimes both of the Convention and the Italian system of law, insofar as the latter already incorporates some international agreements that are relevant to the matter. On the whole, it can be argued that the basic principles of the United Nation Convention on Migrant Workers and those which govern Italian immigration law do not show deep inconsistencies. In other words, although the comparison points out some differences among the two regimes, both of them aim at safeguarding the fundamental rights of migrant workers and members of their families. Consequently, the accession by Italy to the UN Convention would imply neither a radical change, nor too many innovations of Italian domestic law, particularly if the acceptance of the Convention will be joined, at an international level, by a cautious use of the envisioned instrument of reservations.

Fulvio Vassallo Paleologo, La Convenzione ONU del 1990 sui diritti dei lavoratori migranti e dei membri delle loro famiglie in rapporto alle normative ed alle prassi dell’Unione Europea

None of the present or would-be EU member states has ratified the “International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families”. The fear that the ratification of the Convention – which indeed contains specific norms on the protection of migrant workers with irregular status – may prove to be an obstacle in the implementation of expulsion procedures of clandestine foreigners prevailed almost everywhere. The recognition – though partial and not unconditioned – of the fundamental rights of irregular migrants, as stated in the 1990 UN Convention, seems therefore in contrast with the current migratory policies of the receiving countries; in particular, the EU member states are introducing substantial limitations to the yearly quota of intakes, and are making access to asylum procedures more difficult (envisioning the detention of asylum seekers and immediate refoulement, without any provision of suspensive appeal). If an opposite trend is not encouraged in migration and asylum policies (starting from the full implementation of communitarian provisions against discrimination), barriers would appears at the EU external borders but also within the nation-states, with serious risks for a peaceful coexistence and inter-religious dialogue. The ratification without reservations of the UN Convention – also recommended in the 2002 Action Plan approved in Durban – might indeed represent an important occasion to face ethnic and social conflicts arising in wealthy societies, and so guarantee the effective application of the principle of non-discrimination and security of all citizens, both immigrants and natives – the only chance of cohabitation in multiethnic societies.

Bruno Nascimbene, Politica sull’immigrazione e progetto di Costituzione europea

The areas of immigration, border controls and asylum have been subjected to a decisive transformation in the legislative communitarian framework: first they were included in the Treaty on European Union, then with the Amsterdam Treaty were disciplined in the founding Treaty of the EU. This essay underlines the transition from intergovernmental cooperation to actual integration, typical of the communitarian system. It is furthermore envisioned a possible evolution of the immigration policy, in the light of the forthcoming European Constitution Treaty. The draft Constitution, discussed by the intergovernmental conference between October and December 2003, has not been finalised, due to the insufficient level of agreement among member States. The policy of immigration represents one of the profiles of the space of freedom, security and justice, together with judicial, police and administrative cooperation. It is indeed a multifaceted space, based on one jurisdiction: the forthcoming EU Constitution.

Francesco Viola, La società multiculturale come società politica

The purpose of this essay is to show that multiculturalism requires a radical reappraisal of our understanding of society and human sociability. After examining the strong and weak connotations of “multicultural society”, it will be pointed out that the real challenge is to engage diversities and differences into dialogue, rather than being satisfied with a simple, non-belligerent, coexistence. “Liberal neutrality” tries to avoid this challenge, but at the price of the lack of communication among citizens, a consequence that not even Rawls could avoid. Only by applying methods of political deliberation it will be possible to activate a public discourse in which different cultures get together and contribute to create a truly human society.

Emilio Reyneri, Immigrazione ed economia sommersa nell’Europa meridionale

Nearly all migrants entered South European countries without a permit, which they eventually managed to obtain thanks to frequent legalisation schemes, after being employed in the underground economy at least for a while. But they were not merely pushed by crises in Third World countries and Eastern Europe. Most migrants, holding the resources to face the costs and hardships presented by unauthorised immigration, were looking to improve their circumstances and were affected by information that in South European countries it is easy to live and to make money without a permit, so that it is worth the expense and risk required to get around border checks. The underground economy, deep-rooted in South European countries, was not the effect, but the cause of a huge unauthorised immigration towards those countries. Underground economy has other negative effects on migrants’ insertion in the receiving society: it prevents them from getting a permanent legal status, it contributes hugely in stigmatising foreigners and in rousing adverse attitudes against them, and, finally, it concurs in increasing deviant behaviour among migrants themselves. From a policy point of view, the paper suggests that, in order to reduce unauthorised immigration, the South European countries should put under control the underground economy, rather than borders, and should indeed open the frontiers to a sizeable and well-monitored labour immigration.

Umberto Melotti, Globalizzazione, migrazioni e culture politiche

Until the ’90s the migration policies of Europe’s larger receiving countries were subject to their different political cultures, i.e., concepts of State, nation and people, and the relationship between ethnicity, nationality and citizenship. This was quite evident in France, the United Kingdom and Germany, characterized by fairly typical political cultures. In the last decade, the process of globalization, the rapid pace of European integration after the Maastricht Treaty (1992) and the “communitarization” of these policies after the Treaty of Amsterdam (1997) have called for a new policy of social integration without cultural assimilation. Strangely enough, Italy, which is one of the latest European countries to experience immigration, had already adopted, as early as 1986, an immigration policy of this kind. The Italian political culture, based upon an idea of nation quite different from the French and the German, has favoured an early approach toward an integration of immigrants that is respectful of their cultural diversity.

Michael Jandl, The estimation of illegal migration in Europe

The author examines available methods and techniques for the estimation of the phenomenon of illegal migration in Europe, illustrated by examples of applied research in the field and supplemented by his own investigation. Following an introduction to the debate and a concise discussion of terms and definitions, a variety of methodologies for estimating the size of hidden populations and clandestine entries is presented and illustrated through case-studies, then subjected to a critical discussion and review. It emerges that the analytical toolkit for producing estimates on stocks of illegal migrants (in terms of residence and/or work permit) is better developed and more promising than the techniques available for estimating flows (illegal entries). Finally, the author argues that rational policy making in the field of illegal migration needs to rely more on serious estimation techniques, rather than mere guesswork, and that the methods for doing so are indeed available and tested.