Prevent and combat xenophobiaat the national level

Practical measures which can be implemented in order tocombat xenophobia at the national level include:

1. Ratify international and regional human rightsinstruments and implement relevant standards whichprotect the human rights of all persons at risk ofxenophobia.

2. Elaborate and implement legal measures, inconformity with international and regional human rightsstandards, that prevent and address xenophobia, e.g. byenacting anti-discrimination provisions.

3. Strengthen law enforcement and criminal justiceresponses to xenophobia, including through adequatetraining and resourcing.

4. Enable victims and communities at risk of xenophobia to access justice, including through accessible complaintsmechanisms, and ensuring remedies for victims.

5. Reach out and build links with communities andindividuals affected by xenophobia, including through theprovision of legal, medical and psychological assistance.

6. Collect data on xenophobic crimes and improve thequality of such data-collection systems.

7. Take measures to promote tolerance and respect fordiversity and challenge prejudice and negativestereotypes in the media, including through social mediaand the internet.

8. Encourage political leaders to speak out againstxenophobia and promote respect for all.

9. Develop and launch awareness raising initiatives,focusing on inclusiveness and diversity and human rights,including through campaigns that recognize the rights and contributions of migrants and other marginalised groupsto society.

10. Create adequate institutions and mechanisms tomonitor and report on xenophobia, e.g. by creatingspecialized national bodies and by building networks with civil society.

Adopting a human rights-basedapproach

A human rights-based approach is normatively based oninternational human rights standards and operationallydirected at promoting and protecting human rights. It isfounded on the interrelated principles ofnon-discrimination, meaningful participation,empowerment, and accountability; and aims to analyseinequalities and redress discriminatory practices andhuman rights violations. It constitutes a framework ofaction, as well as a set of guidelines and tools forpolicy-makers. A rights-based approach develops thecapacity of duty-bearers to meet their obligations at thesame time as it enables rights holders to claim their rights.

Using a human rights-based approach to addressxenophobia will enable policy-makers to identify whowithin their society are the most vulnerable groups tomanifestations of xenophobia, and to target their policyactions towards alleviating vulnerability, supporting fulland effective participation, and promoting empowerment, including through ensuring that remedies and redressmechanisms are equally available. All public policieswhich operate in the context of xenophobia shouldrecognise people as key actors rather than passiverecipients. The full and effective participation of migrantsand their advocates should therefore be ensured in thedesign, implementation and monitoring of such policytools.

References

¢ ILO, IOM, OHCHR, in consultation with UNHCR, International Migration, Racism, Discrimination and Xenophobia, August2001, available at: http://www.unesco.org/most/

migration/imrdx.pdf

¢ OHCHR, Frequently Asked Questions On a HumanRights-Based Approach to Development Cooperation,Geneva, 2006, available at:http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/

FAQen.pdf

¢ GMG-UNESCO, Fact-Sheet on the Impact of the EconomicCrisis on Discrimination and Xenophobia, October 2009,available at http://www.globalmigrationgroup.org

Please visit the OHCHR Migration and Human Rights pageat: www.ohchr.org

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Palais des NationsCH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

Back ground pic ture cred its:Thou sands rest less to leave Libya. At theTu ni sia-Libya bor der, thou sands of peo ple anx ious to leavevi o lence and in se cu rity in Libya gath ered in a no-man's land on the Lib yan side of the bor der. Most were young men,prin ci pally mi grant work ers from Tu ni sia and Egypt. Libya. March, 2011. © UN Photo/UNHCR/A Duclos

Xenophobiaon the rise

Since the events of 11 September 2001, an increasingmessage of xenophobia has permeated politicalmovements in many countries and resulted in a climate ofexclusion and rising violence against migrants, refugees,asylum-seekers and stateless persons, fuelled in severalcases by government policies and practices. Risinganxieties and fears about foreigners have also beenexacerbated in recent years by the financial andeconomic crises and the deteriorating political and socialenvironment.

Widespread misperceptions about the scale and nature of migration can contribute to prejudice and xenophobia.The fact that today South-South migration is almost ascommon as South-North migration, and that roughlyone-third of all migrants originate from and are living inthe global South, seldom makes it to the front pages ofnewspapers. On the other hand, surveys of public opinion have found a consistent over-estimation of the absolutenumbers of migrants in many destination societies.

Xenophobia is usually the outcome of public discoursethat is hostile to foreigners. In countries and communitiesaround the world, migrants have been made intoscapegoats and associated with criminality, disease,unemployment and other social problems. The criminalization of irregular migration can fuelnegative perceptions and stereotypes and can lead todiscrimination, harassment and violence. A mutuallyreinforcing relationship often develops between rhetoricand policy on migration. Public expressions ofxenophobia can be used by governments to justifyincreasing restrictions in relation to migration, closingdown on legal channels to entry, and stepping up policies of expulsion.

Migrants in an irregular situation are disproportionatelyvulnerable to xenophobia. Without a legal status, themigrant can be "invisible" to the welfare, police, judicial,healthcare and other agencies of the state, heighteningtheir risks of exploitation and discrimination. Many willnot report xenophobic crimes to the authorities due to fear of detection and deportation. Such fears are exacerbatedby official policies in some countries which oblige publicofficials, such as the police or healthcare workers, todenounce to the immigration authorities the presence ofirregularly present migrants. Where fear of xenophobicviolence leads families to shut themselves off from thewider community, children may be prevented fromattending mainstream educational institutions or publichealth services.

The media is a powerful actor in the context ofperceptions and xenophobia. When the media portraysmigrants in negative terms, using inaccurate informationand misinformed stereotypes, it can contribute to thecreation of an atmosphere of hostility and prejudice. The media can conversely contribute to preventingxenophobia when it presents a balanced andcontextualized image of migrants and other groups at risk of xenophobia.

“Xenophobia is the intense dislikeor fear of strangers or people from

other countries”.

ILO, IOM, OHCHR, in consultation with UNHCR,International Migration, Racism, Discriminationand Xenophobia, August 2001

“Xenophobia consists of highlynegative perceptions and practices

that discriminate againstnon-citizen groups on the basis oftheir foreign origin or nationality(…) Acts of violence, aggressionand brutality towards migrantgroups represent extreme and

escalated forms of xenophobia”.

UNDP, Human Development Research Paper2009/47, Xenophobia, International Migrationand Human Development, September 2009

“A major issue is how to confrontwidespread adverse publicperceptions, opinions and

resentment and xenophobiaagainst foreigners, particularly

migrant workers, especially wherethey are commonly portrayed as

unfairly competing for scarceemployment and housing, unjustly

or illegally drawing on publicwelfare resources, and associated

with criminality”.

The Committee on the Protection of the Rights ofAll Migrant Workers and Members of TheirFamilies, Doc.A/63/48, para. 13.

“The protection of migrants is anurgent and growing human rightchallenge. Governments have an

obligation to ensure thatxenophobic violence, racism and

related intolerance againstmigrants and their communitieshave no place in their societies”.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay. See:http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Migration/

Pages/MigrationAndHumanRightsIndex.aspx