Protecting Migrant Workers and Their Families
The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families...is a vital part of efforts to combat exploitation of migrant workers.
~ Kofi Annan, U.N. Secretary General, International Migrant's Day, 18 December 2003
The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 18, 1990, and entered into force on July 1, 2003 when the requisite number of ratifications had been obtained. The process took so long because of the opposition of dominant industrialized countries, including Canada, that remain unwilling to submit their domestic policies to externally established standards and principles. Canada still has not ratified the Convention.
The goal of the Convention is to eradicate the exploitation of migrant workers throughout the world. It provides a set of binding international standards to address the treatment, welfare and human rights of documented and undocumented migrants, as well as the obligations and responsibilities on the part of sending and receiving States.
More than 175 million people, including migrant workers, refugees, asylum seekers, permanent immigrants and others, live and work in a country other than that of their birth or citizenship. The Convention calls for the protection of the human rights of all who qualify as migrant workers under its provisions, regardless of their legal status. These include "frontier workers," who reside in a neighbouring country to which they return daily or at least once a week; seasonal workers; seafarers employed on vessels registered in a country other than their own; workers on offshore installations that are under the jurisdiction of a nation other than their own; itinerant workers; and migrants employed on specific projects, as well as self-employed workers.
The Convention imposes obligations on States in the interest of promoting "sound, equitable, humane and lawful conditions" for the cross-border migration of workers and members of their families. These include the establishment of policies on migration; the provision of information on policies, laws and regulations to employers, workers and their organizations; and assistance to migrant workers and their families. The Convention also establishes rules for the recruitment of migrant workers, and for their return to their countries of origin.
With modest support from Inter Pares, a unique international organization called December 18 has been working tirelessly for almost a decade to promote universal acceptance and adherence to this important convention. December 18 is named after the International Day of Solidarity with Migrants, initiated in 1997 by Asian migrant organizations. It supports the work of migrant organizations around the world by using the Internet as a tool for advocacy, networking and the dissemination of information. Advocacy is focused on UN human rights protection mechanisms, as well as regional developments and initiatives in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa. The primary focus remains the ratification of the Convention by all countries.
A major achievement of December 18 has been to organize and convene the International NGO Platform on the Migrant Workers' Convention (IPMWC), a global coalition of 16 international non-governmental organizations that advocates on issues concerning implementation of the Convention, as well as bringing a migrants' rights perspective to the work of the six other UN human rights institutions, such the Commission on Human Rights and the Commission on Refugees. The NGO Platform also supports national coalitions from countries in the south with the preparation of their own submissions to the United Nations.
With support from Inter Pares, Novib and UNESCO, the IPMWC has recently published a guide for non-governmental organizations to assist national and regional organizations and coalitions to use the UN Migrant Workers' Convention as a tool for the promotion and protection of the rights of migrant workers and their families. This publication is available on-line in English, Spanish and French. Printed copies can be ordered from the IPMWC Secretariat.
More information about December 18 and the International NGO Platform on the Migrant Workers' Convention can be found at 
www.december18.net.
The Boundaries of Belonging
Migration policy is one of the most pressing concerns of our times, requiring the concerted attention of all who are involved in struggles for justice and human rights. Inter Pares occasional Paper # 7, The Boundaries of Belonging: Reflections on Migration Policies into the 21st Century, by staff member Alison Crosby, examines how we categorize people who have been forced to leave their places of belonging - as refugees, displaced persons, migrants - as well as the policies that enforce the boundaries of these categories. the paper examines the ways in which migration is used by the powerful as a means to control and contain the movement of people, and explores the tragic results of these trends.
To obtain a copy, in English, French or Spanish, please contact Inter Pares at (613) 563-4801 or info@interpares.ca. The paper is also available here.
ISSN 0715-4267
221 Laurier Avenue East, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 6P1
Phone (1-613) 563-4801 Fax (1-613) 594-4704
Inter Pares works overseas and in Canada in support of self-help development groups, and in the promotion of understanding about the causes, effects and solutions to under-development and poverty.
Charitable registration number (BN) 11897 1100 RR000 1.
Financial support for the Bulletin is provided by the Canadian International Development Agency.
Previous page | Next page
| Reviewed May 17, 2006 |  |
Publishing Policies |
