20th Anniversary Ratification Campaign

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary in 2010 of the adoption of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, a global campaign was launched calling on governments to act immediately to end widespread human rights violations suffered daily by migrants around the world, by ratifying this Convention.

Since its adoption by the United Nations General Assembly on 18 December 1990, the Migrant Workers Convention has been ratified by 46 states and signed by a further 17 states. The Convention recognises the human rights of migrant workers and promotes their access to justice as well as to humane and lawful working and living conditions. It provides guidance on the elaboration of national migration policies and for international cooperation based on respect for human rights and the rule of law. It sets out provisions to combat abuse and exploitation of migrant workers and members of their families throughout the migration process.

In the spirit of the 20th anniversary, a world-wide series of events, forums, rallies and other public activities promoting wider ratification of the ICRMW took place during 2010 in countries in all regions as well as at international conferences such as the Global Forum for Migration and Development.  More than 150 radio stations in 50 countries ran programmes evoking the campaign and the ICRMW as part of the Radio1812 network. A partial listing can be seen at this link.

During 2010, signatures of individuals supporting the campaign were collected through this website for 9 countries: Armenia, Belgium, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Indonesia, Kenya, South Africa and Spain. These countries were selected for reasons including the fact that some have signed the Convention and/or expressed interest in becoming party to it or that they are particularly affected by migration and/or strategically positioned in a particular region.

Grounding its legitimacy in the wide support received during the campaign, the Steering Committee addressed a letter to these countries and proposed a meeting between one or more of the members of the Committee and the representatives of each country.