Update No. MRI/GFMD2008/18

[English]: Urgent: Invitation to Sign the Joint Declaration on Migration, Development and Human Rights

[Español]: Urgente: Invitación a firmar la Declaración conjunta sobre migración, desarrollo y derechos humanos

[Français]: Urgent: Invitation à signer la Déclaration Commune sur la Migration, le Développement et les Droits Humains

[English]

MRI - "ROAD TO MANILA": Update on GFMD 2008 and Civil Society Activities

No. MRI/GFMD2008/18 15 October 2008 ENGLISH

Re: Urgent: Invitation to Sign the Joint Declaration on Migration, Development and Human Rights

Dear friends,

We would like to invite you to sign the attached Joint Civil Society Declaration on Migration, Development and Human Rights, to be submitted to the Second Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD), which will take place in Manila, Philippines from October 27 – 30, 2008.

Please join us in urging governments to respect the universal human rights of all migrants, including migrant workers, and to ensure that migrants' human rights are at the forefront of discussions.

If you would like to sign the Joint Declaration, please email us by Friday 24 October 2008 at migrantsrightsinternational@gmail.com with the subject line "Sign Declaration". Please send the name of your organization, its country (or an indication that the organization is "international" or "regional"), and the sector that it identifies with (for instance, "migrants' rights", "human rights," "trade union", "development" etc.)

Attached is the text in English, Spanish and French. Please click here for a list of signatories as of 18 Oct. 2008.

For more information on the GFMD and civil society activities, see the MRI website at www.migrantwatch.org and the website of the Peoples' Global Action on Migration, Development and Human Rights at www.mfasia.org/peoplesglobalaction.

Best wishes,

Migrants Rights International