FIDH calls on EU Member States to ratify the UN Migrant Workers Convention

18/12/2008
Press release

Today, the President of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Ms Souhayr Belhassen, sent an open letter to the governments of all European Union Member States calling on them to ratify the Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (MWC) [1] .

In her letter, Ms Belhassen underlined that, 18 years after its adoption, the Convention has not been ratified by any EU Member State [2] . The MWC is the only international human right treaty not to have been ratified by EU members.

"It is an unacceptable paradox that all those states which have historically been countries of emigration have not yet ratified this Convention", said Souhayr Belhassen, FIDH President. "The persistance of human rights’ violations against migrant workers, who remain particularly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, demonstrates the urgent need for ratification".

In order to ensure that the MWC becomes an effective instrument for fighting violations of migrants’ human rights, all states, those of departure, transit and destination of migrants, must ratify [3] .

"On international migrants day, and as we mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, we call upon EU member states to demonstrate that they are truly committed to universal human rights by recognising the fundamental human rights of migrant workers", Ms Belhassen concluded.

Read more