Brussels, 10/09/2002 (Agence Europe) - The 7th conference of the European ministers responsible for migration issues at the Council of Europe will be held on 16 and 17 September in Helsinki on the theme "Migrants in our Societies: Policies for the 21st Century". The conference will be opened by Harri Holkeri, former Finnish Prime Minister, and Walter Schwimmer, Secretary General of the Council of Europe. There will be declarations by: Tarja Filatov, Finnish Labour Minister; Joseph Licari, Vice-President of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe; Tadeusz Iwinski, Chairman of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography, representing the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe; Bernard Suaud, Chair of the Commission on Social Cohesion of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE); Orhan Güvenen, President of the Steering Council of the Development Bank of the Council of Europe; and Joaquim Nunes de Almeida, from the European Commission.
The working sessions will cover: (1) the challenges for integration policy including that of managing diversity in a democratic society, namely: how to encourage the involvement of migrants in social and cultural life, enhance the value of cultural diversity, promote the integration of migrants at the work place (equal opportunities, participation in trade unions and works councils, etc.); (2) challenges for migration management policies, especially the development of regular migration routes (migration of labour, family reunification, etc.), dialogue and partnership between the countries of origin, of transit and the host countries, and illegal migration (illegal work, sanctions on employers, information campaigns); prevention and action to combat the trade and trafficking of human beings and the exploitation of migrants, as well as the protection of victims of such trade (mainly women and unaccompanied minors, including those in a situation of detention and/or expulsion). The closing session will be held under the chairmanship of Elisabeth Rehn, Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, former Finnish defence Minister and Minister for Questions of Equality, and former MEP. After the closing speech by Gunnar Jansson, Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, participants will adopt a final declaration. The conclusions will be drawn by Gabrielle Battaini-Dragoni, Director General for Social Cohesion at the Council of Europe (Information: Alan Drake, Council of Europe, Press Service in Strasbourg. Tel.: 33 3 88 41 28 93. Internet: http://www.coe.int ).