|
|
|
|
UN (United Nations)
Conventions |
|
|
|
|
International Convention on the
Protection
of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and
Members of Their
Families (adopted by General Assembly resolution 45/158 of 18 December
1990.)
PREAMBLE:
The States Parties to the present Convention,
Taking into account the principles embodied in
the basic instruments of the United Nations concerning human rights, in
particular the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the
Child,
Taking into account also the principles and
standards set forth in the relevant instruments elaborated within the framework
of the International Labour Organisation, especially the Convention concerning
Migration for Employment (No. 97), the Convention concerning Migrations in
Abusive Conditions and the Promotion of Equality of Opportunity and Treatment
of Migrant Workers (No.143), the Recommendation concerning Migration for
Employment (No. 86), the Recommendation concerning Migrant Workers (No.151),
the Convention concerning Forced or Compulsory Labour (No. 29) and the
Convention concerning Abolition of Forced Labour (No. 105),
Reaffirming the importance of the principles
contained in the Convention against Discrimination in Education of the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization,
Recalling the Convention against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Declaration of
the Fourth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment
of Offenders, the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, and the
Slavery Conventions,
Recalling that one of the objectives of the
International Labour Organisation, as stated in its Constitution, is the
protection of the interests of workers when employed in countries other than
their own, and bearing in mind the expertise and experience of that
organization in matters related to migrant workers and members of their
families,
Recognizing the importance of the work done in
connection with migrant workers and members of their families in various organs
of the United Nations, in particular in the Commission on Human Rights and the
Commission for Social Development, and in the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization and the World Health Organization, as well as in other
international organizations,
Recognizing also the progress made by certain
States on a regional or bilateral basis towards the protection of the rights of
migrant workers and members of their families, as well as the importance and
usefulness of bilateral and multilateral agreements in this field,
Realizing the importance and extent of the
migration phenomenon, which involves millions of people and affects a large
number of States in the international community,
Aware of the impact of the flows of migrant
workers on States and people concerned, and desiring to establish norms which
may contribute to the harmonization of the attitudes of States through the
acceptance of basic principles concerning the treatment of migrant workers and
members of their families,
Considering the situation of vulnerability in
which migrant workers and members of their families frequently-find themselves
owing, among other things, to their absence from their State of origin and to
the difficulties they may encounter arising from their presence in the State of
employment,
Convinced that the rights of migrant workers
and members of their families have not been sufficiently recognized everywhere
and therefore require appropriate international protection,
Taking into account the fact that migration is
often the cause of serious problems for the members of the families of migrant
workers as well as for the workers themselves, in particular because of the
scattering of the family,
Bearing in mind that the human problems
involved in migration are even more serious in the case of irregular migration
and convinced therefore that appropriate action should be encouraged in order
to prevent and eliminate clandestine movements and trafficking in migrant
workers, while at the same time assuring the protection of their fundamental
human rights,
Considering that workers who are
non-documented or in an irregular situation are frequently employed under less
favourable conditions of work than other workers and that certain employers
find this an inducement to seek such labour in order to reap the benefits of
unfair competition,
Considering also that recourse to the
employment of migrant workers who are in an irregular situation will be
discouraged if the fundamental human rights of all migrant workers are more
widely recognized and, moreover, that granting certain additional rights to
migrant workers and members of their families in a regular situation will
encourage all migrants and employers to respect and comply with the laws and
procedures established by the States concerned,
Convinced, therefore, of the need to bring
about the international protection of the rights of all migrant workers and
members of their families, reaffirming and establishing basic norms in a
comprehensive convention which could be applied universally,
back to top |
