Human Rights of Migrants

A/HRC/RES/23/20No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 3Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2013.

What other versions does this mandate have?

5 versions · 2008–2024

This is an older version — the most recent is A/HRC/RES/57/14

2024A/HRC/RES/57/14Human rights of migrantsLatestCompare with previous version
2013A/HRC/RES/23/20Human rights of migrantsCompare with previous version
2012A/HRC/RES/20/3Human rights of migrantsCompare with previous version
2010A/HRC/RES/15/16Human rights of migrantsCompare with previous version
2008A/HRC/RES/9/5Human rights of migrants

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

4 topics

Human Rights Laws and Regulations Migrants Migration Policy

What does this mandate say?

19 operative paragraphs

Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, and welcomes his work;

Calls upon States that have not yet done so to consider signing and ratifying or acceding to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families as a matter of priority, and requests the Secretary-General to continue his efforts to promote and raise awareness of the Convention;

Expresses its concern at legislation and measures adopted by some States that may restrict the human rights and fundamental freedoms of migrants, and reaffirms that, when exercising their sovereign right to enact and implement migration and border security measures, States have the duty to comply with their obligations under international law, including international human rights law, in order to ensure full respect for the human rights of all migrants;

Calls upon States and regional and international organizations with competence in the field of regulating migration and implementing migration policies:

To effectively promote and protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all migrants, including, in particular, the right to life, liberty and security of person, especially those of women and children, regardless of their immigration status, in conformity with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international human rights instruments to which they are party;

To adopt concrete measures to prevent violations of the human rights of migrants while in transit, including in ports and airports and at borders and migration checkpoints, to train public officials who work in those facilities and in border areas to treat migrants and their families respectfully and in accordance with their obligations under international human rights law, and to pay particular attention to women and girls, who may be exposed to sexual violence;

To prosecute, in conformity with applicable law, acts of violation of the human rights of migrants and their families, such as arbitrary detention, torture and violations of the right to life, including extrajudicial executions, during their transit from their country of origin to the country of destination and vice versa, including their transit through national borders;

To regularly assess their policies of migration control and enforcement with regard to the risks they may pose for the loss of life of migrants, and to continue efforts to avoid human tragedies in border crossings by land or sea;

To promote and protect the right of all persons to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health without discrimination of any kind and, to this end, to provide emergency medical and first-aid attention for migrants who need it, regardless of their immigration status, and to create a safe and enabling environment in which individuals and organizations that provide such attention can operate free from hindrance and insecurity;

To take care that domestic law and administrative provisions and their application facilitate the work of humanitarian workers, human rights defenders and any other actor providing humanitarian assistance to and defending the human rights of irregular migrants, including by avoiding any criminalization, stigmatization, impediments, obstructions or restrictions thereof contrary to international human rights law;

To avoid the stigmatization of irregular migrants in language, policies and practice, and to use correct terminology that qualifies actions rather than persons;

To respect the human rights and inherent dignity of migrants, to put an end to arbitrary arrest and detention and, in order to avoid excessive detention of irregular migrants, to review, where necessary, detention periods and to use alternatives to detention, where appropriate;

To respect in all circumstances the principle of non-refoulement and to comply fully with their international legal obligations with regard to the expulsion of migrants;

To put in place, if they have not yet done so, systems and procedures that can easily be applied in order to ensure full compliance with their international human rights law obligations by all their programmes and institutions in the field of migration;

To participate in international and regional dialogues on migration that include countries of origin, transit and destination;

Takes note with appreciation of the actions taken by several special procedures of the Human Rights Council and the treaty bodies for the effective prevention of violations of the human rights of migrants, including through joint statements and urgent appeals, and encourages them to continue their collaborative efforts to this end, within their respective mandates;

Requests the Special Rapporteur to, in accordance with his mandate, continue to pay attention to the topic of the universal enjoyment of human rights for all migrants;

Encourages States and regional and international organizations to enhance cooperation with the Special Rapporteur;

Decides to remain seized of the matter.

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