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AG/RES. 1928 (XXXIII-O/03)THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF ALL MIGRANT WORKERS AND THEIR FAMILIES
(Resolution adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 10, 2003)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
HAVING SEEN the Annual Report of the Permanent Council to the General Assembly (AG/doc.4156/03 add. 3);
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the Annual Report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CP/doc.3709/03), especially the chapter on the situation of migrant workers and members of their families in the Hemisphere;
TAKING NOTE of the document entitled “Inter-American Program for the Promotion and Protection of the Human Rights of Migrants in the Framework of the Organization of American States” (CP/CAJP-2038/03);
REAFFIRMING 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 enshrined in that declaration, without distinction as to race, sex, language, creed, or any other factor.
EMPHASIZING that the American Convention on Human Rights recognizes that the essential rights of man are not derived from one’s being a national of a certain state, but are based upon attributes of the human personality;
CONSIDERING:
That the Heads of State and Government, gathered at the Third Summit of the Americas, recognized the cultural and economic contributions made by migrants to receiving societies as well as to their communities of origin and pledged to ensure dignified, humane treatment with appropriate legal protections and to strengthen mechanisms for hemispheric cooperation to address the legitimate needs of migrants;
The positive contributions often made by migrants, both to their countries of origin and to the receiving countries, including their gradual incorporation into the receiving societies, and the efforts made by some receiving countries to integrate migrants;
That the 20th instrument of ratification of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families has been deposited, which means that the Convention can now effectively enter into force; and
Advisory Opinion OC-16, issued by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, on the Right to Information on Consular Assistance in the Framework of the Guarantees of the Due Process of Law;
BEARING IN MIND:
That, in the Strategic Plan for Partnership for Development 2002-2005, support for vulnerable groups such as migrant workers was identified as a priority in the implementation of policies and programs to facilitate access to the labor market and to improve working conditions; and
That the Plan of Action of the Third Summit of the Americas provided for the establishment of an inter-American program within the Organization of American States for the promotion and protection of the human rights of migrants, including migrant workers and their families, taking into account the activities of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and supporting the work of its Special Rapporteur for Migrant Workers and Their Families and the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights;
CONCERNED over the extremely vulnerable situation in which many migrant workers and their families find themselves and over the persistent obstacles that prevent them from fully exercising their human rights; and
BEARING IN MIND that migrants are often victims of mistreatment, discrimination, racism, and xenophobia,
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 take on special importance with respect to protection of the rights of migrant workers and their families.
2. To reaffirm the duty of states parties to the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations to comply with that Convention, including the right to communication between consular officers and their nationals, regardless of immigration status, in case of detention and the obligation of the states parties in whose territory the detention occurs to inform the foreign national of that right; and, in that connection, to call the attention of states to Advisory Opinion OC-16 of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
3. To urge member states to consider the signature and ratification of, ratification of, or accession to, the inter-American human rights instruments, as the case may be, and to take the necessary measures to guarantee the human rights of all migrants, including migrant workers and their families.
4. To take note of the upcoming entry into force, on July 1, 2003, of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families; and, accordingly, to urge member states to consider the signature and ratification of that instrument, as the case may be.
5. To instruct the Permanent Council:
a. To convene a special meeting of the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs for this year, at which the Committee will begin, without delay, to prepare an Inter-American Program for the Promotion and Protection of the Human Rights of Migrants, with a view to its eventual adoption, starting from the draft presented by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CP/CAJP-2038/03); and
b. To continue supporting the work of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in this area and to take into account the efforts of other international organizations on behalf of migrant workers and their families, with a view to helping to improve their situation in the Hemisphere and, in particular and where applicable, the efforts of the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and those of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
6. To request the Inter-American Agency for Cooperation and Development (IACD) to strengthen communication and coordination with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights,, the IOM, the International Labour Organization, and other pertinent organizations, agencies, and entities and, in that context, to follow up in particular on IACD partnership-for-development activities, under the Strategic Plan for Partnership for Development 2002-2005, related to the situation of migrant workers and members of their families.
7. To recommend to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights that it:
a. Consider the advisability of participating in joint cooperation projects conducted by the IACD in this area;
b. Provide the Special Rapporteur for Migrant Workers and Their Families in the Hemisphere with the necessary and appropriate means to perform his or her duties, within the resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources; and
c. Present to the Permanent Council a report on the status of the rights of all migrant workers and their families prior to the thirty-fourth regular session of the General Assembly.
8. To invite the member states; permanent observers; organs, agencies, and entities of the inter-American system; and others to contribute to the Voluntary Fund of the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Migrant Workers and Their Families of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
9. To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-fourth regular session on the implementation of this resolution, which will be carried out in accordance with resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.
