Statement of the Center for Migration and Refugee Studies (CMRS) on occasion of the International Migrant's Day

On December 18, the International Migrant's Day, the Center for Migration and Refugee Studies (CMRS) at the American University in Cairo (AUC) renews its commitment to protecting international migrant workers and their rights and to bringing out their economic, cultural and social contributions to countries of origin and destination. CMRS holds the strong belief that recognizing the contributions of migrant workers is the best means to protecting their integrity and their rights in countries of destination and to preserving their status as full citizens in countries of origin.

This year, December 18 marks the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (ICRMW). One of the eight international instruments of human rights adopted in the context of the United Nations, the Convention brings together the human rights included in other instruments and applies them to migrant workers and their families. While recognizing the sovereign right of States to set their migration policies, the International Convention identifies a broad set of rights for migrant workers in a regular situation and for their families. The International Convention does not create the same rights for migrant in irregular situations. However, it stresses the need to respect their human rights and their humane treatment.  

To date, only 44 countries have ratified the convention and 15 have signed it. Except for Argentina, all parties to the Convention are essentially countries of origin. No major country of destination, industrialized or developing, has ratified it.

Egypt has ratified the Convention in 1993; it is among the first United Nations Member States to have done so. Millions of Egyptian migrant workers are employed in the Gulf region, other Arab countries, Europe, North America and Australia. Policies for their protection should be guided by provisions of the Convention. Egypt is also host to large numbers of refugees and migrants. Irrespective of their migration status, the human rights of these migrants should be protected.

CMRS joins the repeated calls on all States to ratify the Convention, so as to reinforce the protection of migrant workers and their families. This takes on added importance as economic processes and demographic imbalances are expected to generate increasing migration flows, and stocks, in the decades to come.