Today October 23rd the UN General Assembly Third Committee heard from Mr. Francisco Carrión Mena (Ecuador) 
Chair of the UN Committee on the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants Mr. François Crépeau (Canada) 
(Photos from UN Multimedia) They took the opportunity to issue and open letter calling on the European Union to open regular and safe channels for migrants in order “to take over the mobility market from the smugglers.” Read the full statement here
Each experts delivered a statement to the Members Third Committee:
Statement of the Chair of the Committee and Statement of the Special Rapporteur
The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1990. It establishes, in certain areas, the principle of equality of treatment with nationals for all migrant workers and their families, regardless of their legal status. It set forth, for the first time, internationally uniform definitions agreed upon by States for different categories of migrant workers. It also obliged sending, transit and receiving States parties to institute protective action on behalf of migrant workers. Access the Convention
This year is the 25th Anniversary of the Convention. Only 48 member states are party to the Convention, there are 18 Signatory States who need to ratify. What is 66 out of 193 Member States? Industrialized, developed countries have not ratified. Mr Francisco Carrion Mena emphasized that border controls are not exempt from human rights obligations and children should never be detained because of immigration status. A migrant is not a commodity but a human being with Human Rights.
See this article on ‘Why Europe’s tough migrant trail is still so busy.” Read here
