1. The International Legal Framework:
Multilateral Cooperation and its Opportunities
Panel discussion on the occasion
of the International Migrants Day
17 December 2010, New York

2. Labour migration trends and characteristics
UNDESA, 2009 2

3. Labour migration trends and characteristics (cont.)
UNDESA, 2009 3

4. International legal framework
International human rights law
ILO international labour standards
UN Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers 1990
N.B. This instrument is also one of the core human rights treaties
Some commentators contend that there are only six core human rights treaties and therefore that the Migrant Workers Convention is not a core human rights instrument. But this does not accord with the fact that the Convention is similar to these instruments in terms of having a committee to examine State reports and inter-State and individual complaint mechanisms. The treaty body for the Convention, the Committee on the Protection of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (discussed later), recognizes that the Convention is a core instrument as the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has confirmed (see also web site at

5. Convention on Migrant Workers 1990 General features
Comprehensive instrument applicable to the whole migration process and regulating the legal status of migrant workers and their families
Protects the basic rights of all migrant workers and their families (lawfully resident and irregular migrants) on the basis of equality with nationals (Part III)
Grants regular migrants a number of additional rights on the basis of equality with nationals (Part IV)

6. Convention structure Part I – Scope and definitions
Part II – Non-discrimination with respect to rights
Part III – Human rights of all migrant workers
Part IV – Other rights of regular migrants
Part V – Rights of particular categories of migrant workers
Part VI – State cooperation/ obligations in promoting sound, equitable, humane and lawful migration conditions
Part VII – Application of Convention
Part VIII – General Provisions
Part IX – Final Provisions
Note Part V, which deals with particular categories of migrant workers: frontier workers, seasonal workers, itinerant workers, specified-employment workers, project-tied workers, and self-employed workers.
Part V
Article 59
1. Seasonal workers, as defined in article 2, paragraph 2 (b), of the present Convention, shall be entitled to the rights provided for in part IV that can be applied to them by reason of their presence and work in the territory of the State of employment and that are compatible with their status in that State as seasonal workers, taking into account the fact that they are present in that State for only part of the year.
2. The State of employment shall, subject to paragraph 1 of the present article, consider granting seasonal workers who have been employed in its territory for a significant period of time the possibility of taking up other remunerated activities and giving them priority over other workers who seek admission to that State, subject to applicable bilateral and multilateral agreements.

7. Inter-state cooperation (Part VI)
Obligations upon States to
consult and cooperate to promote sound, equitable and humane migration conditions - Art 64(1)
collaborate to prevent and eliminate irregular migration - Art 68
punish traffickers, smugglers and those who exploit migrant workers (e.g. employers) - Art 68(1)-(2)
see also Trafficking and Smuggling Protocols to International Convention against Transnational Organized Crime 2000
These provisions are important because they demonstrate that the Convention recognizes irregular migration as a negative phenomenon, which requires inter-State cooperation for its eradication or reduction. However, the Convention recognizes at the same time that irregular migrants are human beings and are also deserving of rights protection. Consequently, the Convention strives to realize a delicate balance between prevention of irregular migration and the protection of the human rights of irregular migrants.
While other instruments exist , the Trafficking and Smuggling Protocols were adopted in a criminal law enforcement context rather than a human rights context, although the Trafficking Protocol contains a number of provisions protecting victims of trafficking.
Note also that the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (adopted in 2005 and ratified by 22 Member States) has been adopted in a human rights context.

8. Way Forward
The ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers is an important step towards the establishment of national institutional mechanisms to ensure the protection of the rights of migrant workers and their families.
An effective protection of migrant workers and members of their families should start before the Convention and must extend even beyond the Convention.
Inter-State cooperation is also crucial both to enhance the sustainable development of the country of origin and the country of employment of migrant workers, and to enable states to ensure respect of the rights enshrined in the Convention and in the other international migration law instruments.

9. Global Ratification Campaign 20th Anniversary
Website

10. Conclusions
« Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world. »
Eleanor Roosevelt

11. International Migration Law Unit (IML@iom.int)
Thank you!
International Migration Law Unit