International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families

The main purpose of the adoption of the convention is to protect the rights of all migrant workers and members of their families at the international level.

Prior to the adoption of the convention, certain provisions regulating the legal status of migrant workers were mainly contained in documents developed within the framework of the International Labor Organization: in the Convention on Migrant Workers (No. 97), in the Convention on Abuses of Migration and on Provision of Migrant Workers equality of opportunity and treatment (No. 143), the Recommendation on Migrant Workers (No. 86), the Recommendation on Migrant Workers (No. 151), the Convention on Forced or Compulsory Labor (No. 29) and the Convention on the Abolition of Forced full labor (No. 105). Summarizing the knowledge and experience of the International Labor Organization, United Nations bodies (in particular, the Commission on Human Rights and the Commission for Social Development), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the World Health Organization, taking into account a practice developed by states on a regional or bilateral basis regarding the protection of the rights of migrant workers and members of their families, a specially created working group Uppal has prepared a draft convention, which was adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 45/158 of the United Nations on 18 December 1990 the year .

The main objective of the convention is to promote respect for the human rights of migrant workers. Migrants should be treated not only as workers, but also as individuals. The Convention does not create new rights for migrants, but is aimed at ensuring equal treatment and equal working conditions for migrants and citizens of the host country. The Convention is based on the fundamental notion that all migrants should be afforded the protection of a certain minimum of their rights. The Convention recognizes that legal migrants should have a wider range of rights than illegal migrants, but it emphasizes that basic human rights must be respected with regard to illegal migrants.

At the same time, the Convention proposes to take measures to identify and prevent illegal or secret movements of migrant workers and members of their families, in particular by:

• the fight against misleading information, as well as the incitement of people to illegal migration;

• the application of sanctions against persons, groups or entities that are involved in organizing, implementing or assisting in the organization of illegal migration, including by taking measures against employers of illegal migrants.

In accordance with article 87, the Convention enters into force on the first day of the month after three months from the date of deposit of the twentieth instrument of ratification or accession. This threshold was reached on March 14, 2003, when the Convention was ratified by El Salvador and Guatemala . The Convention entered into force on July 1, 2003 .

As of May 2017, 51 states have ratified the convention; signed, but not ratified 15. ^[1]

To this day, countries that have ratified the Convention are mostly countries of origin of migrants (such as Mexico, Morocco and the Philippines). For these countries, the Convention is an important tool for the protection of its citizens living abroad. For example, the Philippines ratified the Convention after several cases of ill-treatment of Filipino workers abroad took place. However, many ratifying countries are also transit and destination countries.

None of the countries that are large recipients of foreign labor has ever signed or ratified the Convention.

The Convention consists of a preamble and 9 parts, divided into 93 articles [2] .

The first part outlines the scope of the Convention and defines the basic concepts.

The second part reveals the content of the requirement of non-discrimination in relation to the rights of migrant workers.

The third to fifth parts of the Convention set out, firstly, the rights of all migrant workers and members of their families, regardless of their status as migrants, and secondly, the additional rights of migrant workers and members of their families who have documents. In defining the civil and political rights of migrant workers, the Convention strictly follows the language of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights . In some articles, the rights are stated in a slightly different wording, taking into account the special situation of migrant workers; this applies, for example, to rights related to the notification of consular offices upon arrest and to specific provisions regarding violations of immigration laws and the destruction of identity cards, as well as the prohibition of collective expulsion. In addition, with regard to migrant workers, the right to own property, which was originally proclaimed in the Declaration but is not contained in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights , is directly stipulated.

The sixth part of the Convention deals with the assistance of states in creating normal, fair, humane and legal conditions for the international migration of workers and members of their families.

The seventh part provides for the establishment of a Committee to protect the rights of all migrant workers and members of their families to monitor compliance with the provisions of the Convention.

The eighth and ninth parts contain information on the application of the Convention, general and final provisions.

The Convention defines the economic, social and cultural rights of migrant workers, taking into account their specific situation. For example, it has been established that migrant workers should be provided with at least emergency medical care, and to the same extent as it would be provided to a citizen, and the children of migrant workers have the basic right of access to education regardless of their legal status. Additional rights are provided for workers with appropriate documents, as well as for special categories of migrant workers such as frontier workers, seasonal workers, workers whose work is related to relocation, and workers on the project.

The Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, established to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the convention by States parties.

The Committee consists of fourteen experts, who must have high moral standards, impartiality and recognized competence in the field covered by the Convention.

The Committee reviews reports of States parties to the Convention on compliance with its provisions. In accordance with article 73, States parties to the Convention are required to submit an initial report on the measures they have taken to consolidate the rights recognized in the Convention and on the progress achieved in the exercise of these rights within one year of the entry into force of the Convention for the State Party concerned, and then - every five years. ^[2]

Article 77 provides for the committee the right to consider complaints of persons under jurisdiction who have agreed to consider individual complaints of member countries for violations by countries of their rights enshrined in the convention, but the entry into force of this article is linked to the consent of 10 countries to consider complaints. In May 2017, only Guatemala, Mexico, El Salvador and Uruguay made a statement. ^[3]

The UN General Assembly, inspired by the growing interest of the international community in the effective and comprehensive protection of the human rights of all migrant workers , decided to proclaim December 18, the day of adoption of the Convention, as International Migrant Day , emphasizing the need for further efforts to ensure respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all migrants . ^[four]

1. ↑ UNTC
2. ↑ UN Documentation Handbook
3. ↑ [1]
4. ↑ UN General Assembly Resolution No. A / RES / 55/93 (unavailable link)

• Full text of the convention
• Report of the UN Secretary-General at the 60th session of the General Assembly on agenda item 54 (c) “Globalization and interdependence: international migration and development”. June 2006
• Information on the convention on the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (English) (French) (Spanish)
• Migrant Workers Committee (monitors compliance with the convention )
• Publication of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights: Fact Sheet No. 24, entitled “The rights of migrant workers”
• International Organization for the Protection of the Rights of Migrants
• Migrant workers on the website of the International Labor Organization
• Organization December 18