Protection of the Human Rights of Migrants Strengthening the Promotion and Protection of the Human Rights of Migrants, Including in Large Movements

A/HRC/RES/32/14View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 3 Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2016.

What subjects does this mandate have?

9 subjects

Conferences Human Rights Humanitarian Assistance Immigration Policy International Cooperation International Obligations Migrants Migration Report Preparation

What’s in this document?

19 operative paragraphs

Reaffirms the need to promote and protect effectively the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all migrants, regardless of their migration status, including those of women, children and persons with disabilities, and to address international migration through international, regional or bilateral cooperation and dialogue and a comprehensive and balanced approach, recognizing the roles and responsibilities of countries of origin, transit and destination in promoting and protecting the human rights of all migrants, and avoiding approaches that might aggravate their vulnerability;

Calls upon all States to reaffirm the fundamental importance of respecting, protecting and fulfilling the human rights of all migrants who leave their countries, regardless of their migratory status, particularly in the context of the forthcoming high- level meeting of the General Assembly on addressing large movements of refugees and migrants;

Takes note of the Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights at International Borders, prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and encourages States to give due consideration to their implementation;

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;

Also calls upon States that have not yet done so to consider ratifying or acceding to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and protocols thereto, in particular the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime;

Reaffirms the duty of States to effectively promote and protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all migrants, including those of women, children and persons with disabilities, regardless of their immigration status, in conformity with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international instruments to which they are party;

Expresses concern at legislation and measures adopted by some States that may adversely affect the full enjoyment of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of migrants, including those in transit;

Reaffirms that, when exercising their sovereign right to enact and implement migration and border security measures, States have a duty to comply with their obligations under relevant international law, including international human rights law, in order to ensure full respect for the human rights of migrants, including migrants in a vulnerable situation;

Calls upon all States to ensure that their immigration policies are consistent with their obligations under international human rights law, and to promote the enjoyment of human rights by all migrants without discrimination;

Also calls upon all States to promote and protect the human rights of all migrants, without discrimination of any kind, and to this end to provide assistance and relief to migrants who need it, including those in a vulnerable situation, regardless of their immigration status, and to create a safe, accessible and enabling environment in which individuals and organizations that provide such attention can operate;

Further calls upon all States to adopt a comprehensive and integral approach to migration policies, and to cooperate at the international level on the basis of shared responsibility to harness fully the economic developments and cultural and social opportunities that migration represents and to address efficiently its challenges in line with international human rights standards;

Encourages the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to provide technical assistance to States, upon their request, to better promote and protect the human rights of migrants;

Decides to hold an enhanced interactive dialogue on the theme “The human rights of migrants in the context of large movement” at its thirty-fourth session, with the participation of the Office of the High Commissioner and other relevant stakeholders, including the International Organization for Migration, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Labour Organization, the World Health Organization or other members of the Global Migration Group;

Requests the High Commissioner:

To continue to develop, as co-chair of the Global Migration Group Working Group on Migration, Human Rights and Gender, principles and practical guidance on the protection of the human rights of migrants in vulnerable situations within large and/or mixed movements, on the basis of existing legal norms, and to report thereon to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-fourth session;

To submit to the Human Rights Council before its thirty-third session a report on the promotion and protection of the human rights of migrants in the context of large movements, in consultation with States and other relevant stakeholders, including regional organizations, civil society organizations and national human rights institutions, and to transmit the report to the General Assembly at its seventy-first session;

Requests the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants to continue to report on solutions and to contribute to and participate in key discussions relating to the promotion and protection of the human rights of migrants, including with respect to the large movement of migrants, by identifying best practices and concrete areas and means for international cooperation in order to enhance the protection of the human rights of migrants, and to 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 their cooperation with the Special Rapporteur;

Decides to remain seized of the matter.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

Table of contents