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Introduction - About the Convention
In December 1990, the General Assembly adopted the International Convention
on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of
Their Families.
Inspired by existing legal instruments, the Convention is by far the most
comprehensive international tool promoting the human rights of migrants.
The strength of the Convention lies in enabling all those persons, who
qualify as migrant workers under its provisions, to enjoy their human
rights regardless of their legal status.
Thus, the Convention protects both documented and undocumented workers
by setting human rights standards that individual States must guarantee.
Indeed, when a State ratifies or accedes to the Convention, it undertakes
to adopt the legislative and other measures that are necessary to implement
the provisions of the Convention. Furthermore, States undertake to ensure
that migrants whose rights have been violated may seek judicial remedy.
In order for the Convention to become a binding instrument of international
law, it must be ratified by 20 States. Thirteen years after its adoption
by the UN General Assembly, the Convention has finally achieved the needed
20 ratifications for its entry into force. On 14 March 2003, Guatemala
became the 20th ratifying State soon followed by El Salvador on the same
day. On 1 July 2003, the International Convention on the Protection of
the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families will officially
enter into force as the seventh basic human rights instrument of the United
Nations. |
