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Summarizing its “jurisprudence”, the Committee on Migrant Workers provides authoritative interpretation of substantive articles of the Convention and makes recommendations to States parties to better fulfil their obligations under the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families on any issue affecting migrant workers and members of their families to which it believes the State parties should devote more attention.

General comments may also aim at providing guidance to other stakeholders on implementing initiatives to promote and protect the human rights of migrant workers and their families and to monitor compliance thereof.

As of October 2021, the Committee has adopted 5 general comments. The final general comments are available here, with supporting documents below.

General comment Date Topic
Draft General comment No. 6   The Convergence of the Convention and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration
Calls for submissions by 12 September 2022 on concept paper and draft outline for its draft
Half-day of general discussion on its draft, Tuesday, 27 September 2022, from 3-6pm (CET – Geneva time) on the margins of the 35th session of the Committee
General comment No. 5 23 Sep 2021 Migrants’ rights to liberty, freedom from arbitrary detention and their connection with other human rights
General comment No. 4 16 Nov 2017 Joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the CMW and No. 23 (2017) of the CRC on State obligations regarding the human rights of children in the context of international migration in countries of origin, transit, destination and return
General comment No. 3 16 Nov 2017 Joint general comment No. 3 (2017) of the CMW and No. 22 (2017) of the CRC on the general principles regarding the human rights of children in the context of international migration
General comment No. 2 28 Aug 2013 The rights of migrant workers in an irregular situation and members of their families
General comment No. 1 23 Feb 2011 Migrant domestic workers
Related general comments

During the examination of reports from States parties, members of treaty-monitoring bodies regularly raise concerns about issues related to migrant workers that fall within the framework of their specific treaty. The treaty bodies have raised the issue of migrant workers also in their general comments on thematic issues: