Premium
Migrant Rights: International Law and National Action
Author(s) -
Martin Susan,
Abimourched Rola
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
international migration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.681
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1468-2435
pISSN - 0020-7985
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-2435.2009.00566.x
Subject(s) - human rights , normative , political science , principal (computer security) , international human rights law , fundamental rights , convention , law , civil society , international law , law and economics , public administration , sociology , politics , computer security , computer science
Migrant rights were put squarely on the agenda of the Global Forum on Migration and Development when it met in Manila in 2008, as the principal theme of the governmental and civil society discussions. The Forum proceeded with the assumption that migrant rights are a development issue, as well as a fundamental human rights issue. This article begins with a review of the normative framework for protecting migrant rights. While norms by themselves will not prevent abuses, they can serve as a basis for advocating implementation of policies and programs to achieve these goals. We argue that there is ample international law setting out the basic rights of migrants even though the principal migrant‐centric instruments are not widely ratified. Failures in protecting migrant rights arise from the lack of implementation of these standards at the national level. The article then discusses a range of programs, mostly implemented by or in destination countries, which hold potential for overcoming barriers to the protection of the rights of migrants. These practical steps can be found in a wide array of countries, most of which have not become party to the Migrant Workers Convention. The article concludes that these initiatives have been implemented in an ad hoc manner, necessitating a more systematic approach at the national level to the protection of migrant rights.