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Chapter 1: The international legal framework on the rights of migrant workers
• Under international law, States have an obligation to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of migrant
workers and members of their families. This includes States that are countries of origin, transit
and destination for migrant workers.
• The principle of non-discrimination is central to the enjoyment of human rights and applies to
everyone, regardless of their status.
• In general, States are obliged to grant migrants the same protection as nationals. Only in
exceptional circumstances, and within tightly defined conditions, may differential treatment be
justified. However, some human rights treaties do make distinctions in relation to the rights of
nationals and non-nationals, as well as the rights of documented and undocumented migrants.
Chapter 2: The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant
Workers and Members of Their Families
• The Convention sets out a broad series of rights belonging to all migrant workers and members
of their families, irrespective of their migration status. Many of these rights restate those included
in the core human rights treaties.
• The Convention includes protections that respond to the specific situations that migrant workers
and members of their families can experience, especially those which can leave them vulnerable
to exploitation or human rights violations.
• Documented migrant workers and members of their families have specific rights under the
Convention, in addition to those which apply to all migrant workers.
• States of origin and destination have specific obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of
migrant workers and members of their families.
• The Convention establishes a treaty body to review reports prepared by States on their
compliance with the Convention and to make recommendations to encourage further action by
States. Individuals will be able bring complaints of human rights violations to the treaty body once
a sufficient number of States have accepted this procedure.
Chapter 3: Other UN instruments and mechanisms relevant to the rights of migrant workers
• Even if a State has not ratified the Convention on Migrant Workers, it will be bound by one or
more of the other core international human rights treaties it has ratified, which include obligations
relevant to the rights of migrant workers.
• The general comments developed by the UN treaty bodies provide States with guidance to
interpret and apply particular provisions of the human rights treaties, many of which are relevant
to the rights of migrant workers.
• The activities of the UN special procedures – which include receiving and responding to
communications, issuing urgent appeals, undertaking country visits and preparing regular reports
– can provide practical assistance to promote and protect the rights of migrant workers.
• The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants extends to all countries,
irrespective of whether a State has ratified the Convention on Migrant Workers.
• Through their participation in the UPR process, States can agree to implement recommendations
that improve the living and working conditions of migrant workers and members of their families.
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Chapter 4: The International Labour Organization and migrant workers
• All core ILO labour rights – enshrined in the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights
at Work – apply equally to all migrant workers, regardless of their migration status.
• The ILO has developed labour standards specifically relating to the rights of migrant workers.
Other ILO conventions relevant to migrant workers address the rights of domestic workers, the
operation of private employment agencies, illegal recruitment practices and human trafficking.
• The ILO has established a regular system of supervision to monitor implementation of these
standards. Complaints can also be brought to the ILO for an alleged failure to uphold labour
standards.
Chapter 5: Regional mechanisms for the promotion and protection of the rights of
migrant workers
• Regional human rights mechanisms have been established in Africa, the Americas, the Arab
States, Europe and South-East Asia.
• Promotion and protection of the rights of migrant workers at the regional level can involve “soft
law” or legally binding instruments.
• Regional human rights courts have been established in Africa, the Americas and Europe, which
can receive and rule on individual complaints. A number of judgments have addressed the rights
of migrant workers and members of their families.
Chapter 6: Promoting reform of law, policy and practice
• NHRIs can promote the ratification of relevant international human rights standards, especially the
International Convention on the Protection of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.
• NHRIs can make recommendations to the Government to bolster legislative protections for
migrant workers that meet international standards, as well as propose practical reforms to
migration, labour and social policies and programmes.
• NHRIs should seek to work cooperatively with a broad range of stakeholders – including
government departments, employers, private recruitment agencies, trade unions, NGOs and
NHRIs in other countries – to develop and promote good practice models for working with
migrant workers.
• NHRIs should ensure that migrant workers are able to genuinely contribute to the development
of laws, policies and practices that affect them.
• NHRIs should ensure that practical steps to promote and protect the rights of migrant workers
are included in their country’s National Human Rights Plan of Action.
Chapter 7: Investigating allegations of human rights violations
• NHRIs can support migrant workers to make complaints of human rights violations by developing
outreach programmes that explain the NHRI’s investigation role and its independence from the
State; by providing information in multiple languages; by ensuring the complaints process is free
and informal; and by ensuring that translators are available.
• When investigating allegations of human rights violations, NHRIs should collect testimonial
evidence (such as interviews and statements), documentary evidence (such as employment,
medical or detention-related records) and, where relevant, physical evidence.
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• NHRIs can resolve complaints by issuing legally enforceable orders to the parties involved,
through mediation or conciliation, by seeking redress on behalf of complaints through courts and
tribunals or by referring complaints to other competent complaint handling bodies.
• NHRIs can also initiate inquiries into systemic patterns of human rights violations faced by migrant
workers and members of their families.
• In urgent situations, NHRIs can cooperate with each other – and sometimes in partnership with
NGOs or trade unions – to conduct transnational investigations into individual complaints of
human rights violations against migrant workers.
Chapter 8: Protecting the rights of migrants in detention
• NHRIs can promote ratification of relevant international human rights treaties to protect the rights
of migrants in detention, as well as reform of national laws and detention procedures.
• NHRIs can research and advocate for alternative approaches to the administrative detention of
refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in an irregular situation.
• NHRIs can undertake regular, preventive visits to places where migrants are detained to
analyse and assess their treatment and the conditions of their detention. They can also make
recommendations to safeguard the rights of migrant detainees, based on national and international
standards.
• NHRIs should promptly investigate and document any allegations of human rights violations
involving detainees that are brought to their attention.
• Training public officials is an important way in which NHRIs can contribute to the prevention of
torture and ill-treatment in places of detention.
Chapter 9: Conducting public inquiries into systemic patterns of human rights violation
• A public inquiry provides a comprehensive approach for analysing, investigating and developing
recommendations that address the systemic human rights violations that migrant workers
experience.
• Before deciding whether to conduct a public inquiry, NHRIs should consider the dimension,
nature and complexity of the human rights issue, the capacity of the NHRI to undertake the
inquiry and the likelihood of it generating positive changes to law, policy and practice.
• Collecting research and evidence is critical to the success of the inquiry. Public hearings involving
a broad range of stakeholders, including migrant workers, are an essential part of this process.
The inquiry should foreground the stories and experiences of migrant workers.
• Recommendations should respond directly to the evidence collected by the inquiry. They should
meet the inquiry’s terms of reference and promote compliance with national and international
human rights standards.
• The NHRI should develop an ongoing strategy to monitor and report on progress in implementing
the inquiry’s recommendations. A comprehensive evaluation of the inquiry should also be
conducted.
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Chapter 10: Undertaking education, training and research
• Migrant workers require up-to-date and reliable information about living and working in the
destination country, before they leave and on-arrival. Information should be easy-to-understand,
provided in different languages and available in accessible formats.
• NHRIs can contribute to professional training for public officials by reviewing and revising
existing training materials; developing new training tools or resources; and directly delivering
training programmes. These programmes should be developed in collaboration with the relevant
authorities.
• NHRIs can also provide training and advice to business and employers, professional groups and
civil society organizations to build their capacity to recognize and respond to the human rights
challenges that migrant workers face.
• Public education campaigns undertaken by NHRIs, often in partnership with other stakeholders,
can help countering prejudice and negative community attitudes to migrant workers.
• Accurate quantitative and qualitative research data is essential for NHRIs to develop effective
policies and recommendations that address the human rights violations experienced by migrant
workers. NHRIs should adopt a human rights-based approach when developing and undertaking
their research.
Chapter 11: Engaging with international and regional mechanisms
NHRIs can contribute to the effective work of international and regional bodies. They can submit
independent and credible information, participate in review procedures and follow up on recommendations
made to the State.
Engaging constructively with the following mechanisms can positively contribute to the promotion and
protection of the rights of migrant workers:
• the UN treaty bodies, in particular the Committee on the Rights of Migrant Workers
• the UN Human Rights Council, in particular the Universal Periodic Review and the special
procedures
• international and regional complaints mechanisms
• international labour and migration bodies, in particular the ILO
• international and regional coordinating committees and networks of NHRIs.