Migrant Rights
Respect for migrant rights underpins and reinforces the positive linkages that can be made between migration and development. Protection of migrant rights, both in countries of origin (prior departure) and of destination is of fundamental importance to realizing its full potential. The 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights offers a unique opportunity to specifically look into this aspect of migration and development. Beyond the moral imperative, protection of migrant rights fosters efficiency and cost-effectiveness as non-discrimination allows women and men migrants to use their full potential. It enables them to improve their income and their families’ living conditions, increase their contributions to development and enhance their economic, cultural and social participation in countries of origin and destination. Denying or impeding access to rights for migrants carries a high risk that they will be socially and economically excluded, with severe consequences for themselves as well as for their host and home communities.
International human rights instruments explicitly recognize that human rights apply to all women and men, girls and boys, migrants, refugees and other non-nationals. Many provisions are applicable to all migrants, regardless of legal status. Six major human rights conventions cover the protection of migrants: the Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their families (MWC), the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural rights (ICESCR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) . Furthermore the ILO has pioneered international Conventions to guide migration policy and the protection of migrant workers. It is important to adopt a life-cycle approach for protecting women and men migrant rights, ranging from pre-departure, to protection while overseas and to return and reintegration. More >
