7.1 ensure that the fundamental rights of immigrant women are guaranteed and upheld by, inter alia:
7.1.1 granting immigrant women arriving under family reunification arrangements a legal status independent of that of their spouse, if possible within one year of the date of their arrival;
7.1.2 establishing a legal framework guaranteeing immigrant women the right to hold their own passport and residence permit and making it possible to hold a person criminally responsible for taking these documents away;
7.1.3 rejecting the application of any provision of foreign legislation relating to immigrants which is contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5), Protocol No. 7 to the Convention (ETS No. 117) or the fundamental principle of equality between women and men and/or renegotiating, rejecting or denouncing those sections of bilateral agreements and rules of international private law which violate the fundamental principles of human rights, in particular with regard to personal status;
7.1.4 providing for the transcription and validation, by the competent authorities, of judgments in matters relating to marriage, divorce and child custody delivered by courts in non-member states of the Council of Europe and states which have not ratified Protocol No. 7 to the Convention in order to verify that the said judgments are in conformity with the Convention and its Protocol No. 7;
7.1.5 ensuring the protection of immigrant women in an irregular situation from all forms of exploitation, including trafficking;
7.2 take fully into account gender specific forms of persecution when examining women’s claims for asylum;
7.3 pay special attention to single women dispersed to areas outside the main hub of traditional refugee settlements, since they face a greater number of problems, including isolation and insecurity;
7.4 show resolve in combating all forms of violence suffered by immigrant women and ensure that all administrative measures are taken to protect them, including effective access to assistance and protection mechanisms and expedited granting of a legal status and residence permit, independent in particular of those of their spouse or their employer, in cases of violence;
7.5 implement the recommendations of the Parliamentary Assembly and the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to promote the integration of immigrants, particularly immigrant women, and monitor such implementation;
7.6 offer courses targeting both immigrant women and men, especially on the local level and free of charge if possible, to teach the receiving country’s language through tailor-made, functional language courses taking their main interests in life into account, as well as to facilitate awareness of the rules of law, democratic values and fundamental human rights in the receiving countries and fundamental democratic principles, including equality between men and women, adapted to the specific needs of immigrant women, and to ensure that such mechanisms are properly evaluated;
7.7 collect gender-disaggregated data on migration flows to enable a better understanding of women’s migration patterns, the needs of immigrant women and the specific actions which could accelerate their integration into the host society;
7.8 ensure adequate vocational training for immigrant women which would aim at lifting them out of subordinate positions and professions traditionally reserved for them (for example, in the service, health or restaurant sectors);
7.9 promote immigrant women’s access to employment, adopting positive measures to combat the two-fold discrimination suffered by immigrant women on the labour market and creating favourable conditions for them to access the labour market and to balance their professional and private life (especially by putting into place accessible child-care facilities, which take into account the diversity and the different languages of children and parents);
7.10 pursue active policies to combat the racial discrimination adversely affecting immigrant women and men;
7.11 promote information and awareness-raising campaigns in the media and in schools to increase the standing and the role of immigrant women in host societies and to overcome stereotypes confining immigrant women to subordinate and passive roles;
7.12 encourage the media to cater for the needs of immigrant women and not to stereotype them as victims of restrictive religious or cultural traditions;
7.13 put in place programmes to promote the integration of immigrant women which involve their spouses, in particular in the field of parenting or access to health services, and to encourage and implement the principle of equality between women and men in immigrant communities as a fundamental and inalienable principle of human rights;
7.14 take all necessary action to protect the rights of immigrant women and to combat the discrimination they face in their community of origin, by refusing all forms of cultural and religious relativism which could violate women’s fundamental rights;
7.15 guarantee the fundamental rights of young girls and adopt measures to promote and implement the principle of equality between boys and girls;
7.16 strengthen the powers of local authorities, in particular in the field of social services and active citizenship, and allocate the necessary resources to implement action to promote the integration of immigrant women at local level;
7.17 build on the action of non-governmental organisations which are well placed to identify immigrant women’s specific needs and difficulties and which, through grass-roots action, help to improve the abilities of immigrant women and facilitate their integration into social and economic life;
7.18 sign and ratify, if this has not already been done, the Council of Europe Convention on the Participation of Foreigners in Public Life at Local Level (ETS No. 144), the European Convention on the Legal Status of Migrant Workers (ETS No. 93), Protocol No. 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 177), the United Nations International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, and the European Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions concerning Custody of Children and on Restoration of Custody of Children (ETS No. 105).
