Events in the international community

United Nations General Assembly

58th Session, New York, 2003

International migration has clearly become one of the singular challenges of our time. Migration and the responses to it of States, of international institutions, of civil society and of religious bodies pose profound challenges of values and of policy and practice.

For the International Labour Office, the important occasion of the Vth World Congress for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees offers an opportunity to highlight convergences of values and concerns between rights-based international organizations such as the ILO and the Christian Church.

On behalf of our constituents – employers' organizations, workers' unions and labour ministries of the 176 member countries of the International Labour Organization – the Office welcomes this Congress as an opportunity to strengthen common understanding, uphold common values, and seek common action to protect the dignity and rights of all migrants and refugees across this world.

The central notion of human rights is "the implicit assertion that certain principles are true and valid for all peoples, in all societies, under all conditions of economic, political, ethnic and cultural life". The principles contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequent international human and labour rights treaties are a codification in contemporary legal standards of the fundamental values and norms common to the religious and historical traditions of Christianity and other monotheistic religions worldwide. We understand these principles to be inalienable – they cannot be denied to any human being; universal – they apply everywhere; and indivisible – social, economic and cultural rights are inseparable from political and civil rights.

A corollary notion is that universal principles of human rights implemented in the rule of law provide the foundation for governance – governance of nations, of community relations, and of international migration. This notion reflects historical experience that social cohesion and social peace in multi-cultural societies can only be sustained under conditions of democratic rule, which in turn requires the accountability, the credibility and the enforceability provided under rule of law.

A recent Opinion of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights highlighted the application of these common values and norms of human rights of all migrants, by deciding unanimously that

“The migrant quality of a person cannot constitute justification to deprive him of the enjoyment and exercise of his human rights, among them those of labor character. A migrant, by taking up a work relation, acquires rights by being a worker, that must be recognized and guaranteed, independent of his regular or irregular situation in the State of employment."

As human mobility becomes ever more extensive and generalized worldwide, non-nationals are becoming more visible in more countries; and also more important to the economic viability and social welfare of host and home States alike.

This change profoundly affects far more than the traditional “immigration countries” and poses an equally profound question central to values and governance. Will historical attitudes common to many countries of perceiving and treating "outsiders" as risks and even potential threats to national identity, well-being and security remain dominant, at whatever cost? Or can we anticipate the possibility that alternatives will emerge with eventually greater strength, alternatives in which inclusion and respect would be important dimensions?

We echo concerns expressed by others about the discourse prevalent in a number of countries that generically associates migration and foreigners with national security concerns. All too often, this discourse leads to restrictions on the respect for their basic rights, in policy and administrative contexts.

Lessons drawn from the experience and histories of the ILO's tripartite constituency suggest that a different approach needs to predominate, one more consistent with the values taught by the Christian Churches. A concept, policy and practice of regulating international migration within the rule of law – framed by universal values of dignity and rights of all persons – is required if this phenomenon integral to globalization is to contribute to development and is not used to thwart social cohesion.

In this context, a fundamental challenge which organizations such as the ILO face together with values-based institutions is the need to reinforce the foundation of legislation and legal norms – those established in relevant international treaties – as the only viable, sustainable and accountable base for migration and refugee policies, nationally and internationally.

We welcome cooperation with partners in the Christian churches in promoting application of the three complementary treaty standards on migrants: the ILO's Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97), the ILO's Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143), and the 1990 UN International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. We note with satisfaction that this latter instrument finally entered into force on 1 July 2003, thanks in part to cooperative efforts involving among others, the ILO and Roman Catholic Church agencies. The ILO also supports the 1951 UN Convention and 1967 Protocol on the Status of Refugees as complementary norms.

There can be no sustainable economic development nor social well-being without the creation and maintenance of decent work. Decent work cannot be created or maintained without relying on the human rights expressed in international labour standards and the ILO Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. These rights at work established in international legal instruments derive directly and explicitly from the principles codified in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, thus are also a core component of international human rights and the rule of law.

The Church has long played a noble role in reinforcing migration as a positive feature of human and social development. The ILO welcomes new opportunities to work with values-based allies, including those related to the Christian Church, towards enhancing national and international governance framed by international standards, democratic principles, and participation of stakeholders.

Contact:

International Migration Programme [Link]
International Labour Office
4, route des Morillons
CH-1211 Geneva 22
Switzerland
Tel: (+41) (0)22 799-8091
Fax: (+41) (0)22 799-8836
Email: migrant@ilo.org