The Human Rights of Migrants

A/HRC/RES/47/12View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 3Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2021.

What other versions does this mandate have?

3 versions · 2011–2021

2021A/HRC/RES/47/12The human rights of migrantsLatestCompare with previous version
2019A/HRC/RES/41/7The human rights of migrantsCompare with previous version
2011A/HRC/RES/18/21The human 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?

6 topics

Covid-19 Human Rights International Obligations Migrants Migration Policy Technical Cooperation

What does this mandate say?

26 operative paragraphs

Reaffirms the duty of all States to effectively promote, protect and respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all migrants, without discrimination of any kind, in conformity with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and their obligations under international law, including international human rights law and international refugee law;

Recommits to ensuring full respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all migrants, regardless of their migration status, and urges all States, including countries of origin, transit and destination, to prevent the creation and exacerbation of situations of vulnerability and to respond to the needs of migrants in vulnerable situations, and in this regard calls upon States:

To ensure that their legislation and migration policies and practices are consistent with international human rights law, and to promote the enjoyment of human rights by all migrants without discrimination, including by reviewing migration legislation, policies and practices with a view to examining and addressing their possible negative consequences, inter alia the creation and exacerbation of vulnerabilities;

To give due consideration to the principles and practical guidance prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Global Migration Group on the human rights protection of migrants in vulnerable situations, and the recommended principles and guidelines of the Office of the High Commissioner on human rights at international borders, when designing and implementing their migration policies;

To respond to the needs of migrants in vulnerable situations, which can arise from the reasons for leaving their country of origin, circumstances encountered by migrants en route, at borders and at destination, discrimination related to specific aspects of a person’s identity or circumstances or a combination of these factors, by respecting, protecting and fulfilling their human rights, in accordance with their obligations under international law;

To protect migrants from becoming victims of national and transnational organized crime, including kidnapping, trafficking in persons, the worst forms of child labour, and forced labour, inter alia through the implementation of programmes and policies that prevent victimization and provide effective guarantees and protections, as well as access to medical, psychosocial and legal assistance, where appropriate;

To ensure that the best interests of the child are a primary consideration in all actions concerning children, especially unaccompanied and separated migrant children, in both the development and implementation of legislation and policies, including by facilitating family reunification and ensuring that age determination measures respect human dignity and scientific criteria;

To apply a gender perspective when preventing and addressing vulnerabilities;

To work with national human rights institutions, civil society organizations, migrants themselves and other relevant stakeholders to understand the human rights impact of vulnerabilities created or exacerbated by migration policies and practices;

Calls upon all States to take a human rights-based approach in their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, explicitly including all migrants, regardless of their migration status, with specific attention to those in vulnerable situations, and stresses that there is no place for any form of discrimination, racism or xenophobia in the response to the pandemic;

Also calls upon all States to promote and protect the right of everyone, without discrimination of any kind, to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, and encourages them to promote equitable access to health services, disease prevention and care for migrants, including equitable access for all migrants to COVID-19 diagnostics, treatment and vaccines;

Reaffirms the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions, as well as the rights to safe drinking water and sanitation as a component of that right, and in this regard calls upon all States, including countries of origin, transit and destination, to cooperate to provide assistance and support to migrants in vulnerable situations, and to create a safe, accessible and enabling environment in which individuals and organizations that provide such attention can operate;

Expresses its gratitude and support to all migrant health-care workers, the majority of whom are women, and other essential migrant workers around the world who face difficult and challenging circumstances in dealing with the pandemic, and calls upon all States to provide migrant workers with the necessary protection and support, including protection from violence, harassment, exploitation, trafficking in persons and abuse, and to provide them with COVID-related protection and support;

Encourages States to give due consideration to the Secretary-General’s policy brief entitled “COVID-19 and people on the move”, the guidance of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, treaty bodies and special procedures of the Human Rights Council and the United Nations Network on Migration when designing and implementing their migration policies, including in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic;

Calls upon all States, including countries of origin, transit and destination, to adopt a comprehensive and integral approach to migration policies, to facilitate safe, orderly, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, 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 presents, and to address efficiently its challenges in accordance with international human rights standards, including through the implementation, as applicable, of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration;

Recognizes the upcoming International Migration Review Forum as an opportunity to reflect on migration and mobility in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic and to strengthen the collective commitment to uphold the rights of all migrants, regardless of their migration status;

Takes note of the report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, and expresses its concern at the continued human rights violations at international borders, which may include collective expulsions and refoulement resulting from pushback practices, which exacerbate the vulnerabilities of migrants;

Calls upon all States, within the framework of applicable international law, to take steps to ensure that their national procedures at international borders, including those to address COVID-19, incorporate adequate safeguards to protect the dignity, safety and human rights of all migrants, including individualized assessments of vulnerability;

Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights:

To maintain its active engagement with the United Nations Network on Migration as a member of its Executive Committee, including by involving all relevant human rights bodies and special procedures, to ensure efficiency in mainstreaming human rights in the context of international migration;

To continue to provide guidance on the promotion and protection of the human rights of migrants, including in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to provide assistance to States that request it in the development of their national migration policies, and approaches to protect the human rights of migrants in vulnerable situations;

To convene a one-day intersessional panel discussion on the human rights of migrants in vulnerable situations, with a particular focus on the experiences of migrants, highlighting best practices and challenges in this regard, and to prepare a summary report on the panel discussion and to submit it to the Human Rights Council at its fiftieth session and to the General Assembly at its seventy-seventh session, and to bring the report to the attention of the International Migration Review Forum and the United Nations Network on Migration;

Requests the Special Rapporteur to continue to report on the situation of the human rights of migrants and to participate in key discussions relating to the promotion and protection of their rights, including with respect to migrants in vulnerable situations and in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, by identifying best practices and concrete areas and means for international cooperation;

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

Encourages States to include, as appropriate, information on the implementation of their international obligations relating to the human rights of migrants in their national reports submitted to the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council and to the treaty bodies;

Decides to remain seized of the matter.

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