E-178/00 October 5, 2000   OAS HEARS REPORTON SITUATION OF MIGRANT WORKERS AND FAMILIES Organization of American States member country delegations today expressed support for the work of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in safeguarding the human rights of migrant workers and their families in the Americas. El Salvador's Ambassador, Margarita Escobar, chairs the OAS Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs which met today to hear a presentation by the IACHR's Special Rapporteur, Juan Mendez, on the work being done by the human rights agency. Mr. Mendez said that for his agency, human rights protection was a great challenge. He also pointed to agreements the Commission signed with the International Organization for Migration and with the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, noting they have led to two seminars--one in Chile and one in Costa Rica--that incorporated the views of organizations and social scientists researching migration in the Americas. Describing migration as "a complex and ever-changing phenomenon," Mendez said "the basic issue is for all persons to effectively enjoy human rights protection, separate and apart from being migrants." During the meeting, several delegations underscored the growing importance of the issue and asked the Special Rapporteur for a progress report containing the comments from member countries. Ambassador Escobar thanked the Special Rapporteur for his report which, she said, made for a rich debate. She also asked the delegations to urge their governments to reply to the questionnaires the Human Rights Commission had sent out. The Chair of the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs congratulated the government of Guatemala for depositing the instruments ratifying the Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural, Rights--adopted in November 1988 in El Salvador. "This gesture will certainly put us one more step closer towards universal application of our inter-American treaties." **********