OEA/Ser.P
AG/RES. 1717 (XXX-O/00)
5 June 2000
Original: Spanish 

RESOLUTION

THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF ALL MIGRANT WORKERS AND THEIR FAMILIES

(Resolution adopted at the first plenary session, held on June 5, 2000) 

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

HAVING SEEN:

The Annual Report of the Permanent Council on the human rights of all migrant workers and their families (CP/doc.3327/00), presented in accordance with resolution AG/RES. 1611 (XXIX-O/99); and

The Annual Report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR);

CONSIDERING:

That the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man proclaims that all persons are equal before the law and have the rights and duties established in that declaration, without distinction as to race, sex, language, creed, or any other factor;

That the American Convention on Human Rights recognizes that essential human rights are not derived from one’s being a national of a certain state, but are based upon attributes of the human personality, and therefore justify international protection;

That the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families establishes the duty of states to ensure to all migrant workers and members of their families within their territory or subject to their jurisdiction the rights provided for in the Convention without distinction as to sex, race, color, language, religion or conviction; political opinion; national, ethnic, or social origin; age; economic position; property; marital status; birth; or other status;

That many migrant workers and their families are compelled to leave their places of origin in search of better opportunities; and

Advisory Opinion OC-16, issued by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, on the right to information on consular assistance, in the context of due judicial process, in cases of foreign nationals detained by authorities of a receiving state;

AWARE of the vulnerable situation in which migrant workers and their families often find themselves, in part because of their transit between countries, because they do not live in their states of origin, and because of difficulties arising from cultural differences–especially with respect to language and customs–and in part because their circumstances often lead to the breakdown of the family; and

BEARING IN MIND the Declaration and the Plan of Action of the Second Summit of the Americas,

RESOLVES:

1. To reaffirm that the principles and standards set forth in the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and in the American Convention on Human Rights apply to all persons, including migrant workers and their families.

2. To urge those member states that have not yet done so to attach the highest political priority to consideration of the signature or ratification of, or accession to, the American Convention on Human Rights, as appropriate, and to give serious consideration to signing, ratifying, or acceding to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.

3. To urge the member states to take the necessary measures to guarantee the human rights of all migrants, including migrant workers and their families, as envisaged in the above-mentioned instruments.

4. To reaffirm, emphatically, the duty of states to ensure full respect and observance of the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, particularly with regard to the right of foreign nationals, regardless of their immigration status, to communicate with a consular official of their own state in case of detention and the obligation of the state in whose territory the detention occurs to inform the foreign national of that right.

5. To recommend to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) that it continue to pay the utmost attention to cases in which the human rights of migrant workers or their families have been violated.

6. To request the Commission, in light of the notable progress made thus far, to present the Report on the Status of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Their Families before the thirty-first regular session of the General Assembly; and to invite the member states to continue their cooperation with the Commission to that end.

7. To request the Commission to provide the Special Rapporteur for the rights of all migrant workers and members of their families with the necessary and appropriate means to perform his or her duties.

8. To call upon the member states, the permanent observers, the organs, agencies, and entities of the inter-American system, and other sources to contribute to the voluntary fund of the Office of the Special Rapporteur for the rights of all migrant workers and members of their families.

9. To recommend to the Inter-American Council for Integral Development that it support projects and activities to benefit all migrant workers and their families, as an expression of inter-American solidarity, an essential element in the integral development of the member states.

10. To request the councils of the Organization to report to the Assembly at its thirty-first regular session on the implementation of this resolution in their respective areas of competence.