WHY ‘UNDOCUMENTED’ OR ‘IRREGULAR’? - UNHCR

1 Cz Slovenia Hungary Slovakia WHY undocumented ' OR irregular '? Malta Hungary Latvia Lithuania Poland IT'S RECOGNISED BY KEY INSTITUTIONS IT'S POSSIBLE. Cyprus Slovakia Poland Czech republic Estonia Latvia Latvia Malta Slovenia Czech republic Slovakia UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY Estonia Czech republic Cyprus Hungary The UN General Assembly requests the UN organs and specialized agencies concerned to utilize in all official documents 1975 the term non-documented' or irregular migrant workers' . Lithuania - General Assembly, Measures to ensure the human rights of all migrant workers, 3449, 2433rd plenary meeting, 9 December 1975 Bulgarian нередовен мигрант Latvia Irish (Gaeilge) Imirceach gan doicim id Hungary Cyprus (български език) мигрант без документиSlovenia St das c naithe neamhrialta Hungary Poland Poland Malta UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT Latvia Czech republic Italian (Italiano) Migranti irregolari Croatian (Hrvatski)

2 Neregularni migrant The most comprehensive text on international migration adopted by the international community at the time affirmed 1994 that undocumented or irregular migrants are persons who do not fulfil the requirements established by the country of Nedokumentirani migranti Czech republicPoland Lithuania Latvian Nelikum gie Latvia imigranti destination to enter, stay or exercise an economic activity . Hungary (Latviesu valoda) Estonia Estonia Slovakia - Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), Cairo, 1994. Nedokument tais migrants Czech (Cestina) Latvia P ist hovalci bez doklad . Neregul rais migrants Neregistrovan . Hungary Poland Czech republic Slovenia Estonia Neregul rn.

3 INTERNATIONAL LABOUR CONFERENCE, 92 ND. SESSION Lithuanian Migrantai Sloveniabe dokument Cyprus 2004 The Resolution concerning a fair deal for migrant workers in a global economy, adopted by the highest governing body of Poland Estonia Malta (Lietuvi kalba) Nereguliar s migrantai Hungary the International Labour Organisation in 2004, refers to irregular status and workers in irregular situation . Danish (Dansk) Udokumenterede migranter Lithuania Czech republic Latvia Slovenia Maltese (Malti) Immigrant irregolari Estonia COUNCIL OF EUROPE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY Dutch (Nederlands) Mensen Latviazonder papieren Slovenia Poland Polish (Polski). Lithuania Nieudokumentowani migranci The Assembly prefers to use the term irregular migrant' to other terms such as illegal migrant' or migrant without Mensen zonder wettig verblijf 2006 papers'.

4 This term is more neutral and does not carry, for example, the stigmatisation of the term illegal '. Latvia Slovenia Slovakia Czech republic Malta Migrant o nieuregulowanym - Council of Europe, Parliamentary Assembly, Resolution 1509, Human Rights of irregular Migrants Hungary Lithuania Czech republic Lithuania statusie Estonia English undocumented migrant irregular migrant Slovakia Lithuania Portuguese Hungary Imigrantes n o-documentados Slovenia Latvia EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Czech republic Hungary Malta (Portugu s) Malta Migrantes irregulares Calls on the EU institutions and Member States to stop using the term illegal immigrants,' which has very negative Estonian (Eesti keel) Elamisloata immigrant Poland 2009 connotations, and instead to refer to irregular / undocumented workers/migrants'.

5 Malta Malta Poland Cyprus Romanian Poland Czech republic ImigrantLithuania cu edere - Paragraph 159, European Parliament resolution on the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union 2004-2008, (Romana). Latvia nereglementat Cyprus 14 January 2009. Finnish (Suomi) Paperiton siirtolainen Slovakia Latvia Hungary Subiec ii migra iei neregulate Slovakia Slovakia Estonia French (Fran ais) Sans-papiers Estonia Slovakia Estonia Hungary Malta UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS Czech republic Slovak Czech republic Nezdokumentovan pris ahovalci Migrants irr guliers ..'illegal immigrants' should be avoided and replaced by the internationally accepted definitions of irregular ' or (Slovensky jazyk). 2009. Cyprus Poland undocumented ' migrants, which more accurately describe the Poland Latvia Slovenia - UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, 12 th session of the Human Rights Council, 22 September 2009 German (Deutsch) Migranten Cyprus ohne (gesicherten) Slovenia Slovakia Hungary Slovene Nedokumentirani priseljenci Aufenthaltsstatus Slovenia (Slovenski jezik).

6 Hungary Estonia Cyprus Irregul re Migranten Lithuania Cyprus Poland EUROPEAN COMMISSION Estonia Undokumentierte Migranten And let me be clear about my vocabulary too: illegal migrants do not exist. People may come to the EU and might be Czech republic Spanish (Espa ol). Lithuania Migrantes irregulares 2010. Cyprus Slovenia Migrantes en situaci n required to use irregular ways but no human being is illegal. Poland Greek (Ellinik ) . Malta . Estonia (administrativa) irregular - Cecilia Malmstr m, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, 29 November 2010 Lithuania Sin papeles Slovenia Slovenia Lithuania ASSOCIATED PRESS AND OTHER MEDIA Hungary Malta Estonia Hungarian (Magyar) Rendezetlen Slovakia jog ll s bev ndorl Swedish (Svenska) Pappersl sa Several international media outlets have changed their terminology and dropped illegal migrant,' including leading news C.

7 2013 agency Associated Press: The Stylebook no longer sanctions the term illegal immigrant' or the use of illegal' to describe Lithuania a person. Malta Lithuania Malta Poland Slovakia Slovenia La - Associated Press, 2 April 2013 Latvia Cyprus Czech r Malta More examples and information available at terminology Slovakia These translations have been provided by PICUM's network across the EU. Share your fair and impartial terms and descriptions by contacting Updates and other languages available at Estonia Lithuania Czech republic Malta Slovakia Slovakia W H Y N O T I L L E G A L' ? INACCURATE HARMFUL AGAINST. EUROPE'S. LEGALLY INCORRECT. Being undocumented does not constitute a crime in most countries. DEHUMANISING. Calling migrants illegal' denies their innate dignity VALUES.

8 As it is not an offense against persons, property or national security, and human rights. Characterising migrants' existence it belongs to the realm of administrative law. However, even in as illegitimate ignores their experiences as workers, countries where violations of immigration law are considered women, men, children, families, and the elderly. When criminal offenses, committing a criminal offense does not make you dehumanising terms are accepted as the norm, people an illegal' person. are turned into targets of contempt, and even their DISCRIMINATORY. right to life may come under threat. Illegal' is a negative term. It is never applied to citizens. Used only against migrants, it is MISLEADING both discriminatory and offensive.

9 The majority of undocumented migrants in Europe have lost their CRIMINALISING. status as a result of exploitation, misinformation or administrative The word illegal' depicts migrants as dishonest, delays - not by committing an offense. Children are also erroneously undeserving, and criminals who are a threat to the labelled illegal' simply by being born or coming into an irregular public good. This normalises the use of punitive situation with their parents. measures, enforcement, and procedures to punish OPPRESSIVE. and deter irregular migrants. It promotes the policing Illegal' has been used to define disadvan- of migrants, the systematic use of detention, and the taged groups at different times throughout IGNORES INTERNATIONAL LEGAL OBLIGATIONS normalisation of handcuffs and other restraints in history.

10 Quakers and Jesuits migrating to New immigration processes. England in the 17th century; jewish migrants States have internationally recognised obligations towards all fleeing the Holocaust; people and acts in viola- persons under their jurisdiction, all of whom have human rights no tion of the segregationist laws of South Africa matter what their migration status is. In response to human rights PREVENTS FAIR DEBATE (1948-1994) and the United States (1876-1965). violations, atrocities and crimes against humanity, these standards Criminalising irregular migrants, rather than - all have been considered illegal'. The term were designed precisely to prevent states from defining any human addressing the laws and policies which create is rarely used to describe established and being as anything less than a legal person.