AG/RES. 1611 (XXIX-O/99)

THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF ALL MIGRANT WORKERS AND THEIR FAMILIES

(Resolution adopted at the first plenary session, held on June 7, 1999)

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

HAVING EXAMINED the annual report of the Permanent Council on the human rights of all migrant workers and their families (CP/CAJP-1487/99), presented pursuant to resolution AG/RES. 1548 (XXVIII-O/98);

TAKING NOTE of the 1998 annual report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (OEA/Ser.L/V/II.102/doc.6 rev.);

RECALLING 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 this Declaration, without distinction as to race, sex, language, creed, or any other factor;

RECALLING ALSO 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;

UNDERSCORING 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 the territory or subject to their jurisdiction the rights provided for in the Convention without distinction of any kind, such as sex, race, color, language, religion or conviction, political or other opinion,^, nationality, age, economic position, property, marital status, birth, or other status;

BEARING IN MIND the Declaration and the Plan of Action of the Second Summit of the Americas (Santiago, 1998);

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

AWARE of the vulnerable situation in which migrant workers and their families often find themselves, in part 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,

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 seriously consider ratification of or, if applicable, accession to the American Convention on Human Rights and 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 members of their families, as envisaged in the above-mentioned instruments.

4. To emphatically reiterate the duty of the states to ensure full respect and observance of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (1963), particularly in relation to the right of nationals of another state, 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 national of another state of that right.

5. To invite the states parties to cooperate with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights so that it may conclude, as soon as possible, the full report on the human rights situation of all migrant workers and their families.

6. To request the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to provide the Special Rapporteur for the rights of all migrant workers and their families with the necessary and appropriate means to perform his or her duties.

7. 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 their families.

8. 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.

9. To request the Organization’s Councils to report to the Assembly at its thirtieth regular session on the implementation of this resolution in their respective areas of competence.