Brussels, 11 December 2009 - Europe is a continent of migrants. This is not a recent phenomenon – DNA testing has shown that millions of people have over the centuries passed through the continent that were not originally born here. And yet migration remains a highly contentious political issue, which often features at the top of the list of concerns among European electorates.

This concern has led to many countries taking ever more draconian measures to prevent migrants – many of whom will be fleeing hunger, poverty, war and persecution – from receiving even the most basic protection of their Fundamental Rights. This is often in contravention of international Human Rights standards, notably the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In recognition of the contemporary political relevance of migration, Social Watch – the international network of citizens’ organisations dedicated to the eradication of poverty and discrimination – has therefore chosen this issue as the focus of its first European report, launched in the European Parliament last Tuesday (8 December) and intituled "Migrants in Europe as Development Actors".  

Caritas Europa – via the Christian Organisations Against Trafficking Network (COATNET) and in its own right, has contributed two articles to the report, the first on the incoherence between the EU’s stated development aims and its migration policy and a second, in cooperation with the European Policy Action Centre on Violence against Women (EPAC VAW), which focuses on the 12.3 million people who are globally estimated to be trafficked at any moment in time.