Welcome to BASE21

By June J. H. Lee
Senior Research Officer of the International Organization for Migration

At long last, the 1990 International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (also known as the UN Migrant Workers' Convention, or the Convention, hereafter) is often remains an open issue for local activists as to what this all means for a country like the Republic of Korea, which neither signed nor ratified the convention. What kinds of role should Korean activist (or the Korean civil society in general) play in enhancing the quality of life of migrant workers’and their families in Korea? Let's first look very briefly at the most significant features of the UN Migrant Workers’Convention and the meaning of such a convention coming into force. Then, we'll examine quickly what this new Convention means to a non-ratifying state.

I. The Fundamental Human Rights of the Undocumented Migrant Workers

The UN Migrant Workers’Convention represents the latest and most significant development of in the establishment of international devices to specifically address migrant workers. It is an attempt to reaffirm and establish basic human rights norms and to embody them in an instrument applicable to both migrant workers and their families. The most notable feature of the Convention is that it recognizes that this group of people is often in a vulnerable and unprotected position, especially when they encounter the added problems associated with such irregular situation as smuggling and trafficking. In other words, the Convention distinguishes between documented and undocumented migrant workers. However, Part III of this Convention describes a comprehensive set of civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights applicable to all migrant workers and their families. Given that many states oppose the recognition and protection of irregular migrants, the Convention is indeed a significant milestone in the history of human rights.

II. The Meaning of A Convention's "Coming Into Force"

Human rights standards are laid out in conventions and

covenants. These are normative statements and elaborate standards that are legally binding only upon the nations that ratify or accede to those instruments. Ratification or accession to a convention by a state (which is then referred to as a 'State Party' to the convention) is an expression of commitment to bring national law into compliance with the legal standards set out in that convention. When a convention comes into force, formal complaints may be brought internationally against a State Party, although officially sometimes only another State Party to the same convention can actually do this. Most major conventions establish committees for purposes of reviewing implementation, monitoring compliance, and/or hearing complaints regarding the provision of the convention. Most committees are mandated to report annually to the UN General Assembly through the Secretary General. A number of conventions stipulate in turn that States Parties are to provide regular reports to the respective Committees on legislative, judicial, administrative or other measures taken to implement the convention, as well as in what manner problems arising from issues addressed by the convention are handled.
III. The Value of a Convention to a Non-ratifying State

Regardless of whether a convention is binding upon a particular country or not, once a convention has been adopted and ratified it still has significant value, and it is often particularly important in those countries which have even refused to ratify it. International standards of a convention in force can serve as a useful guide and may stimulate the development of specific legislation incorporating some of the standards. This can often occur even if a government is unwilling to incorporate the convention's entire content by ratifying or acceding to it.

Without getting into the details of the list of the various human rights that are included in the Convention, it is very important to note that the most fundamental rights of the UN Migrant Workers’Convention stem from the two covenants of the International Bill of Human Rights, namely, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Other major human rights instruments such as the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women can be also actively utilized in order to protect the rights of migrant workers and their families.

International standards have proven in the past to be very useful organizing tools for groups of affected people. For such a marginalized and disempowered group as undocumented migrants, the existence of the UN Migrant Workers' Convention defining their rights affirms that they exist, that they are recognized, and that they have rights. This is the reason that this Convention is worth the attention of social activists in Korea.