PRESS RELEASE

No. 16/03

ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION ON THE PROTECTION
OF THE RIGHTS OF ALL MIGRANT WORKERS AND MEMBERS OF THEIR FAMILIES

          The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) welcomes the entry into force, on July 1, 2003, of the “International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families,” adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1990. The Office of the Rapporteur considers that this Convention represents a major step forward in establishing international standards for the protection of the human rights of a vulnerable segment of the population. One of the principal features of the Convention is that it establishes an extensive and detailed catalogue of the human rights of migrant workers and members of their families, as well as a system for review of periodic reports of the States Parties by a Committee of Experts, on which the International Labour Organization (ILO) and other intergovernmental organizations specializing in this subject may be represented. The Convention is the most ambitious and most comprehensive instrument establishing specific rights and duties in this field.

          The entry into force of the Convention is a response to the increased importance of migration issues and to the vulnerability of migrants and migrant workers, who, on numerous occasions, have to face open hostility on the part of the local population and the authorities. The circumstances of illegal migrants are even more dire, as they are exposed to additional improper treatment.

Several member states of the Organization of American States (OAS) have ratified the Convention: Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Uruguay. The Office of the Rapporteur would like to point out that the Convention has finally entered into force in part thanks to its ratification by these states. At the same time, the Office of the Rapporteur avails itself of the opportunity afforded by the entry into force of this instrument to reiterate its appeal to OAS member states that have not yet ratified the Convention to consider ratifying it at some point in the future.

          In formulating any migration-related policy, states need to reconcile and complement two fundamental principles: on the one hand, their right to regulate the entry of persons into their territory in accordance with domestic needs, in other words, to exercise their sovereignty; and, on the other, the obligation to respect the intrinsic dignity and the right of millions of human beings who seek to emigrate from their countries in search of a higher standard of living for themselves and their families. The entry into force of the Convention is a major step toward striking a balance between those two principles.

Washington, D.C., July 3, 2003