The term of the current UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Mr. Jorge A. Bustamante, ends on June 2011.  The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants was extended for a three years period by the Commission on Human Rights in 2005. The Special Rapporteur’s mandate was further extended for a period of three more years in 2008.

The call for candidates and proposed selection criteria for the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants was circulated on 8 March 2011. Based on the call, Migrant Forum in Asia went into consultations, deliberations and meetings with a proposed candidate. Following from those meetings, MFA endorses the nomination of Professor Virginia Bonoan-Dandan for the post of UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants.

Professor Virginia Bonoan-Dandan comes from 20 years of experience in economic, social and cultural rights, having served as Member of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights from 1990-2010. She is an internationally recognized expert in human rights in development, human rights in education and training, human rights of indigenous peoples, of migrants, and of minorities, with a special focus on the equality of men and women in the enjoyment of all human rights.

Professor Bonoan-Dandan earned a Masters degree in anthropology from the University of the Philippines and currently pursues doctoral studies in Social Development from the same university. Her experience and skills correspond to the criteria for the mandate of the Special Rapporteur and she will bring those experience and skills to the main functions of the position, to continue to examine the means of “overcoming obstacles to the full and effective protection of the human rights of migrants.”

MFA gives its full support for the appointment of Professor Virginia Bonoan-Dandan as Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants. We call on civil society organizations, non-government organizations, governments and foreign missions to endorse her candidacy. The appointment of an independent human rights expert to serve as the next Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants will be held on the 17th session of the UN Human Rights Council on June 2011 in Geneva, Switzerland.