International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families

The United Nations General Assembly adopted this Convention on December 18, 1990. It has 13 signatories and 55 countries have ratified or acceded to it. (Signatories are qualified to ratify, accept or approve a treaty. Ratification is the 'international act' where a State indicates its consent to be bound to a treaty.) India had not signed or ratified this treaty.The Preamble of the Convention notes that ‘non-documented workers’ are frequently employed under less ‘favourable conditions’ of work than other workers. The Preamble recognises “…the need to bring about the international protection of the rights of all migrant workers and members of their families.”The Convention refers to the principles embodied in various human rights treaties of the United Nations, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.The 93 Articles of this Convention are arranged in nine parts. Articles 1-6 (Part I) contain the Convention’s scope and definitions. Article 7 (Part II) states that the Convention shall be applied to all migrant workers and their families without discrimination of any kind. Article 8-35 (Part III) discuss the human rights of all migrant workers and their family members...