Media invitation: Fundamental Rights Conference 2011 - Dignity and rights of irregular migrants

Irregular migrants throughout the European Union face labour exploitation and are denied access to basic services. The Fundamental Rights Conference will focus on how to promote minimum rights standards for irregular migrants - a group vulnerable to serious fundamental rights violations.

The FRC is the flagship event of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), organised with the support of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The conference is focussed around the findings of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights' (FRA) EU-wide research on the situation of irregular migrants. Several FRA reports on this topic indicate that the lack of a legally-recognised status makes irregular migrants vulnerable to severe fundamental rights violations. These include:

exploitation in the workplace,
lack of access to basic services, and
barriers to accessing justice.

The conference provides a forum for participants to explore key legal and practical challenges and to develop solutions.

Press briefing:
Monday 21 November from 11.00-11.30 (at the conference venue)
Possibility for interviews with:
Morten Kjaerum, FRA Director
Adriano Silvestri, FRA Programme Manager

The event brings together around 300 policy makers, practitioners and experts from across the EU, including representatives from EU institutions and bodies, intergovernmental organisations, national governments, national human rights institutions and equality bodies, social partners and civil society organisations.

Keynote speakers include:

Grażyna Bernatowicz, Undersecretary of State, Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs　
Belinda Pyke, Director - Migration and Borders, DG Home Affairs, European Commission
Claude Moraes, Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), European Parliament
Kyung-wha Kang, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations (UN)
Morten Kjaerum, FRA Director

The entire conference will be open to the press.

The conference will take place on 21-22 November 2011 at the Copernicus Science Centre, Warsaw/Poland (Wybrzeze Kosciuszkowskie 20).

More information and the programme of the conference are available at: http://fra.europa.eu/fraWebsite/frc2011/

For further information please contact:
FRA Media Team
E-mail: media@fra.europa.eu
Tel.: +43 158 030 642
FRA contact at the conference:
Waltraud Heller, +43 664 88581512

Media contacts polish presidency:
Lidia Brandt
Tel. +48 728410087, +4822523 8995
E-mail: lidia.brandt@msz.gov.pl