Some Salient Human Rights in the UN Convention on Migrant Workers

Abstract

The United Nations, being aware of the exploitation of migrant workers particularly illegal immigrants, has adapted the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families 1990. Human rights are grouped in two categories: rights available for all migrant workers including the non-documented (Part III) and rights only for documented workers (Part IV). Many of the rights in Part III are a reaffirmation of existing human rights in other international instruments in the specific context of migrant workers. The ingenuity of the Convention lies in the innovation of a large number of hitherto unknown rights like the right to recourse to consular or diplomatic protection, or the right to transfer funds, the right to information regarding working conditions, the right to equality with nationals in educational, social, and health services, as well as the right to exemptions from import and export duties. This paper examines the scope of some of the important human rights in the Convention. It also evaluates the efficacy of the Convention in safeguarding the migrant workers during armed conflicts such as the 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Iraq.