COMMITTEE ON MIGRANT WORKERS’ RIGHTS ENDS FIRST SESSION

Round-up                                                   

COMMITTEE ON MIGRANT WORKERS’ RIGHTS ENDS FIRST SESSION

Calls for Greater Ratification of Migrants Treaty

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 5 March (UN Information Service) -- The independent panel monitoring the implementation of the International Convention on the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families today urged more countries to ratify the treaty so that its protection could be extended to the large and growing number of people moving across borders to work.

The call came as the group, the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, ended its first-ever session in Geneva.  Prasad Kariyawasam (Sri Lanka), the Chairman of the Committee, called the one week of meetings successful.

“We are pleased with this first session, as it allowed for a productive exchange of views with relevant UN agencies and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, non-governmental organizations and States parties”, Mr. Kariyawasam said.

“It is of supreme importance that more States ratify the Convention in order that its protection may be extended to the very large number of migrant workers around the world, estimated to be over 120 million and growing”, the Chairman said.  “We are somewhat concerned at the relatively low level of ratification of the Convention”, the Chairman added, recalling that only 25 countries were currently parties to the treaty.

In light of the dimension which the issue has acquired in recent years, the Chairman also called for greater involvement of other actors active on migration questions, such as non-governmental organizations, the media, trade unions and employers’ organizations.  Echoing the words of United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, he said the situation of many migrant workers amounted to a silent human rights crisis.  He noted that the Convention seeks to prevent and eliminate all forms of exploitation of migrant workers throughout the entire migration process and to grant their rights and obligations by providing a set of binding international standards to address the treatment, welfare and human rights of both documented and undocumented migrants, as well as the obligations and responsibilities on the part of sending and receiving States.  In particular, it seeks to put an end to the illegal or clandestine recruitment and trafficking of migrant workers and discourage the employment of migrant workers in an irregular or undocumented situation.

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on 18 December 1990.  The treaty entered into force on 1 July 2003.

At this first session, the Committee elected Mr. Kariyawasam as Chairperson and José Serrano Brillante (Philippines), Anamaría Dieguez (Guatemala) and Ahmed Hassan El-Borai (Egypt) as Vice-Chairpersons.  Francisco Alba (Mexico) was elected rapporteur.  The other members of the Committee are Francisco Carrion-Mena (Ecuador), Ana Elizabeth Cubias Medina (El Salvador), Abdelhamid El Jamri (Morocco), Arthur Shatto Gakwandi (Uganda) and Azad Taghizadet (Azerbaijan).

The following countries are parties to the Convention:  Azerbaijan, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Kyrgyzstan, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, Philippines, Senegal, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Uganda and Uruguay.

States parties must report to the Committee on the measures they have taken to implement its provisions.  Its next session is scheduled for July 2005.

For further information, please go to the following Internet address: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/6/cmw/index.html.  For interview requests, contact the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, tel.: +41 22 917 9213, e-mail: press-info@ohchr.org.

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