10 signatures reached
To: Tony Hall, Director-General BBC
Stop Referring to Migrants as 'Illegal'
We request that you outlaw the use of the term 'illegal' when referring to migrants in all of your programming and news coverage at the BBC. Not only is this term factually incorrect (unauthorized migration is a civil, not a criminal offense) but it is deeply discriminatory towards migrants. As a public service broadcaster we expect the BBC to report accurately and not proliferate dehumanising language about any individual or group.
Why is this important?
It has been almost forty years since the UN recognised that referring to migrants as 'illegal' is dehumanising, discriminatory, and above all, incorrect.
Since 1975, the UN has used either 'undocumented' or 'irregular' to refer to migrants that 'do not fulfil the requirements established by the country of destination to enter, stay, or exercise an economic activity'.
As Editor-in-Chief of the BBC Tony Hall has the mandate to implement this change and correct inaccurate reporting.
The BBC continues to use the term 'illegal' with no justification. A headline as recent as 15 May 2014 reads: 'Illegal migration to EU rises by nearly half'. As a public service broadcaster and influential media organisation the BBC ought to abide by its own clear editorial guidlines that say: 'We...are committed to achieving due accuracy in all our output...Impartiality lies at the core of the BBC's commitment to its audiences'. Unfounded discrimination against migrants is a clear breach of these standards.
Human Rights Watch recently observed, 'The term “illegal”...reinforces prejudices about nationals of a particular country or persons of a particular race.' The term incorrectly suggests that migrants are criminals and encourages prejudiced views about those individuals.
Cecilia Malmström, European Commisioner for Home Affairs clarified the issue in 2010. She said, 'Let me be clear about my vocabulary...illegal migrants do not exist. People may come to the EU and might be required to use irregular ways...but no human being is illegal'.
This petition supports the use of the word 'undocumented' instead of 'irregular' as 'irregular' retains connotations of otherness and deviation from a perceived norm, marking individuals as abnormal and continuing to estrange migrants.
For more information see:
http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/06/24/dispatches-why-we-should-outlaw-illegal
http://picum.org/picum.org/uploads/file_/TerminologyLeaflet_reprint_FINAL.pdf
http://www.un.org/esa/population/migration/index.html
How it will be delivered
Depending on the number of signatures I will deliver the petition in person.
