Welcoming the entry into force of the International Convention on the Protection of the
Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (1 July 2003), reaffirming
its importance as a baseline for migrant workers’ rights, and recognizing the important
work of the Committee on Migrant Workers,
Welcoming the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity
of Cultural Expressions,
Recognizing that these instruments establish a framework for the protection of the rights
and fundamental freedoms of all human beings,
Recognizing the important role played by the human rights organs of the United Nations,
including the guidance and jurisprudence of the treaty bodies, the Human Rights
Council, and special procedures including, notably, the Special Rapporteur for the
promotion and protection of the human rights of migrants and his visits to Asian
countries such as Indonesia, South Korea, and the Philippines,
Reaffirming the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA), adopted at the
World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related
Intolerance (WCAR) in Durban, South Africa, September 2001, as a landmark
document in global efforts to eradicate racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and
related intolerance,
Welcoming the convening of the Durban Review Conference (DRC) which is to take
place in Geneva on 20-24 April 2009, and the establishment of the International
Coordinating Committee (ICC) of National Institutions for the Promotion and
Protection of Human Rights Working Group on the DRC at the 9th International
Conference of National Institutions (ICNI) in Nairobi, Kenya, October 2008,
Recognizing the importance of a human rights-based approach to migration, as well as
the full participation of NHRIs, in the Global Forum on Migration and Development
process,
Welcoming the timely adoption on 5 November 2008 of General Recommendation No.
26 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
on Women Migrant Workers who may be at risk of abuse and discrimination,
Noting that migration can be a positive social force as migrants make valuable
contributions to economic growth and development in both home and host countries,
including poverty reduction, and as migrants contribute to the vitality of a diverse
society and to more enlightened relations among peoples,
Noting also that the situation of migrant workers and their families has become a critical
contemporary human rights issue worldwide, particularly in relation to exploitation by
traffickers, people smugglers, recruitment agents, and corrupt officials; deaths and
injury in transit; discrimination and xenophobia; various forms of exploitation including
sexual abuse; subjection to forced labour, slavery, practices akin to slavery; and
intolerable working conditions; and inhumane treatment in cases of arrest, detention and
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