International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families

The States Parties recall the main international human rights instruments and relevant International Labour Organization conventions concerning migrant workers, forced labour, discrimination, employment and social protection. They recognize the significance of migration, the vulnerability of migrant workers and members of their families, and the need for international protection of their rights throughout the migration process.

Applies to all migrant workers and their family members without distinction and covers the entire migration process, including preparation, departure, transit, stay, remunerated activity and return.

Defines migrant worker and the principal categories of frontier, seasonal, seafarer, offshore, itinerant, project-tied, specified-employment and self-employed workers.

Excludes from the Convention specific persons such as certain international officials, investors, refugees or stateless persons unless otherwise provided, students, trainees and some maritime or offshore workers.

Defines members of the family as spouses or equivalent partners, dependent children and other dependants recognized by applicable law or agreements.

Distinguishes documented or regular migrant workers from non-documented or irregular migrant workers according to authorization for entry, stay and remunerated activity.

Defines State of origin, State of employment and State of transit for purposes of applying the Convention.

Requires States to respect and ensure Convention rights without discrimination based on sex, race, colour, language, religion, opinion, origin, nationality, age, economic position, marital status, birth or other status.

Protects the freedom to leave any State and the right to enter and remain in the State of origin, subject only to lawful and necessary restrictions.

Protects the right to life of migrant workers and members of their families by law.

Prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Prohibits slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour, subject only to narrow exceptions recognized by human rights law.

Protects freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the right to have, adopt and manifest religion or belief subject to lawful limits.

Protects freedom of opinion and expression, including seeking, receiving and imparting information, subject to lawful and necessary restrictions.

Protects privacy, family, home, correspondence and communications from arbitrary or unlawful interference and protects honour and reputation.

Protects property from arbitrary deprivation and requires fair and adequate compensation where expropriation occurs.

Protects liberty and security, protection against violence, safeguards on arrest and detention, judicial review, compensation and consular notification.

Requires humane treatment of persons deprived of liberty, respect for dignity, separation where appropriate and protection of family contacts.

Guarantees equality before courts, fair trial rights, presumption of innocence, defence rights, interpretation and review of conviction and sentence.

Applies the principle of legality in criminal law and requires humane consideration of migrant status in sentencing and related matters.

Prohibits imprisonment merely for failure to fulfil a contractual obligation and protects residence or work authorization from withdrawal solely for that reason.

Prohibits unauthorized confiscation, destruction or attempted destruction of identity, migration or work documents.

Prohibits collective expulsion and requires individual, lawful expulsion decisions with reasons, review, consular access and protection of entitlements.

Protects the right to seek consular or diplomatic protection and assistance from the State of origin.

Confirms the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Guarantees treatment not less favourable than nationals in remuneration and other conditions of work and employment.

Protects the right to join and seek assistance from trade unions and associations, subject only to lawful restrictions.

Provides equality of treatment in social security where conditions are met and addresses reimbursement where benefits are unavailable.

Guarantees urgently required medical care necessary to preserve life or avoid irreparable harm to health.

Protects every child of a migrant worker with rights to a name, birth registration and nationality.

Protects basic access of migrant workers children to education on equality and without refusal because of irregular status.

Requires respect for cultural identity and the maintenance of cultural links with the State of origin.

Protects the right to transfer earnings, savings and personal effects upon termination of stay.

Protects the right to information about rights, admission, stay, obligations and formalities in relevant States.

Clarifies that migrants and family members must comply with laws and respect the cultural identity of inhabitants of transit and employment States.

Clarifies that Part III rights do not create automatic regularization of irregular status.

Confirms that documented migrant workers and their families enjoy the additional rights listed in Part IV.

Protects the right to information before departure or admission about conditions of entry, stay and remunerated activity.

Requires States to endeavour to authorize temporary absences without affecting stay or work authorization.

Protects liberty of movement and freedom to choose residence in the State of employment, subject to lawful restrictions.

Protects the right to form associations and trade unions to promote and protect economic, social, cultural and other interests.

Protects participation in public affairs, voting and election rights in the State of origin according to its law.

Encourages consultation, representation and local participation mechanisms for migrant workers and family members.

Provides equality of treatment with nationals in access to education, vocational guidance, housing, social and health services, cooperatives and cultural life.

Protects family unity and requires appropriate measures to facilitate reunification with spouses and dependent children.

Provides family members equality of treatment in education, guidance, health and social services and cultural life, and supports integration and mother-tongue teaching.

Provides exemptions from import and export duties and taxes for personal and household effects and work equipment in appropriate migration moments.

Protects the right to transfer earnings and savings, especially funds needed to support family members.

Protects against more onerous taxation than nationals in similar circumstances and encourages avoidance of double taxation.

Coordinates residence and work authorization and prevents automatic loss of residence solely because work authorization ends in some circumstances.

Requires favourable consideration of residence for family members after death of a migrant worker or dissolution of marriage.

Protects documented workers from automatically becoming irregular solely because of loss of employment before authorization expires.

Protects freedom to choose remunerated activity, subject to lawful restrictions, qualification rules and employment policies.

Extends access to remunerated activity to authorized family members under conditions comparable to documented workers.

Provides equality of treatment in protection against dismissal, unemployment benefits, public work schemes and alternative employment.

Provides equality of treatment in the exercise of authorized remunerated activity.

Allows expulsion of documented migrant workers only for lawful reasons and with safeguards, taking humanitarian considerations into account.

Provides that particular categories of documented migrant workers enjoy Part III rights and the specific Part V rights applicable to them.

Protects rights of frontier workers according to their presence and work and may allow choice of remunerated activity after a period.

Protects rights of seasonal workers and may give priority for further seasonal work when legal conditions are respected.

Protects itinerant workers according to their temporary presence and work in one or more States.

Protects project-tied workers according to the project, admission, employment and return conditions.

Protects specified-employment workers in relation to the employment for which they were admitted and conditions for changing work.

Protects self-employed workers in relation to authorized self-employment and safeguards when authorization ends.

Requires States to consult and cooperate to promote sound, equitable, humane and lawful conditions for international migration.

Requires appropriate services dealing with migration policy, information exchange, assistance and information to migrant workers.

Regulates recruitment for employment abroad through public services, authorized bodies, employers or agencies permitted by law.

Requires cooperation for orderly return and durable social, economic and cultural reintegration in the State of origin.

Requires measures against illegal or clandestine migration, misleading information, unlawful recruitment, trafficking and exploitation by employers.

Requires measures so irregular situations do not persist and allows consideration of regularization in light of entry, stay and family circumstances.

Requires working and living conditions of regular migrant workers and family members to meet standards of safety, health and human dignity.

Requires facilitation of return of remains and handling of compensation matters where a migrant worker or family member dies.

Establishes the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.

Requires State reports on implementation measures within one year and thereafter every five years or when requested.

Regulates Committee consideration of reports, requests for information, comments, recommendations and annual reporting to the General Assembly.

Regulates Committee rules of procedure, officers, meetings and secretariat support.

Allows States to recognize Committee competence to receive and consider inter-State communications about non-fulfilment of obligations.

Allows States to recognize Committee competence to receive and consider individual communications alleging violations of Convention rights.

Preserves other dispute and complaint procedures under UN, specialized agency or other international instruments.

Preserves the right of each State to establish admission criteria for migrant workers and family members subject to international obligations.

Preserves the UN Charter and constitutions of specialized agencies from impairment by the Convention.

Preserves more favourable rights and prevents abusive reliance on the Convention to undermine rights and freedoms.

Provides that Convention rights may not be renounced and that pressure to relinquish them is not allowed.

Requires effective remedies, access to competent authorities and enforcement of remedies for violations of Convention rights.

Requires legislative and other measures necessary to implement the Convention.

Designates the Secretary-General of the United Nations as depositary.

Opens the Convention for signature, ratification and accession, with instruments deposited with the Secretary-General.

Regulates entry into force after the twentieth instrument and for subsequent States after their own deposit.

Prohibits States from excluding any part of the Convention or any particular category of migrant workers except as provided in article 3.

Regulates denunciation by written notification and its prospective effect.

Confirms that more favourable national or treaty rules may continue to apply.

Regulates amendment proposals, conferences, adoption and entry into force of amendments.

Regulates arbitration and possible referral to the International Court of Justice for disputes, subject to reservation.

Confirms that the Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts are equally authentic.