NO EXCUSES FOR LACK OF REALIZATION OF RIGHTS OF MIGRANTS, CHAIR OF EXPERT PANEL SAYS

17 December 2004


The Chairperson of the Committee on Migrant Workers, Prasad Kariyawasam, made the following statement today on the occasion of International Migrants Day:

Fourteen years ago, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.

One year ago the States parties to the Convention gathered in order to elect the members of its monitoring body, the Committee on Migrant Workers, of which I have the honour to be the first Chairperson.

Today, we can be happy that this Committee, which is composed of ten committed and highly qualified experts, is now fully operational. My colleagues and I are looking forward to continuing our work for the implementation of the Convention and for the improvement of the rights of migrant workers and members of their families.

The system is now in place to provide migrant workers and their families with effective protection against the violation of their human rights. In the world of today, where globalization has led to increasing migration flows, this is more important than ever. Migrants have now become an integral part of the world’s economy, and without them the world would be in all respects a poorer place. Unfortunately, however, migrant workers still face many difficulties at all stages of the process of migration, be it in their country of origin, in the country of transit, or in the country of employment. It is in this respect that the Convention can play an important role: it provides a framework for all States to respect the basic rights of migrant workers and their families.

I should like to emphasize that by defining and specifying human rights of migrant workers and members of their families the Convention also greatly contributes in combating trafficking in human beings and irregular migration. These phenomena are among the most tragic occurrences of our times, when people, in an effort to improve their lives, fall victim to unscrupulous traffickers and employers who abuse their vulnerability. By defining migrants’ rights and by requesting States to cooperate in promoting sound, equitable and humane conditions, the Convention creates an essential framework to tackle the grievous issues of smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons.

For this convention to be a more effective instrument of protection for migrant workers, it is essential that States involved in all stages of the migration process, both from developing and developed world, become, parties to it.

On the occasion of International Migrants Day, I therefore call upon all States who have not yet done so to consider adhering to the Convention; and upon all States who are already a party to the Convention, to cooperate with each other and with the Committee in order to give effective implementation of the Convention.

Today, we have no more excuses: Let us resolve to work together in order to achieve the full realization of human rights for migrant workers and members of their families.