United Nations Human Rights Council - BACKGROUND GUIDE
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United Nations Human Rights Council
BACKGROUND GUIDEVancouver Model United Nations
The Twentieth Annual Session | January 29–31, 2021
Dear Delegates,
William Tsai
Secretary-General My name is Nick Liu, and I am thrilled to serve as your Director at UNHRC at VMUN
2021. Alongside myself are Rafeeq Kassam-Jiwani, your Chair, and Katrina Sun, your
Assistant Director, who are both juniors at West Point Grey Academy. All three of us on
the staff team are looking forward to a weekend filled with thoughtful discourse, intense
Vivian Gu debate, and memorable moments.
Director-General
I am currently a senior student at Fraser Heights Secondary School, and I have been
Derek Wu immersed in the Model United Nations community ever since I entered high school. I
Chief of Staff often think back to why I fell in love with MUN: the committees filled with young
diplomatic minds, sparks of clashing debate, and midnight crises filled with betrayals and
Tyler Rosenzweig surprises. Albeit cliché, my career would not be worth it if not for the close friends forged
Director of Logistics from the occasional late-night rants and countless embarrassing moments.
I am sure each delegate is familiar with the difficulties that COVID-19 has brought the
past year; however, that has not changed the value Model United Nations possesses in
Joyce Chen training public speaking and diplomacy skills. In light of those challenges, I implore you
USG General Assemblies to take this year’s online conference as an opportunity to research more about the
unprecedented and unexpected situations that can affect the human rights of migrant
Ethan Jasny workers and whistleblowers.
USG Specialized Agencies
If you have any concerns or questions leading up to the conference, please do not hesitate
Vivian Liang to contact either myself or one of my fellow Dais members via email at unhrc@vmun.com.
USG Conference The Dais team is beyond ecstatic to welcome you to the United Nations Human Rights
Council at VMUN 2021.
Jonah Ezekiel
USG Finance With warm regards,
Laura Choi Nick Liu
USG Communications UNHRC Director
Armaan Jaffer
USG Delegate Affairs
Mia Tsao
USG Delegate AffairsPosition Paper Policy What is a Position Paper? A position paper is a brief overview of a country’s stance on the topics being discussed by a particular committee. Though there is no specific format the position paper must follow, it should include a description of your positions your country holds on the issues on the agenda, relevant actions that your country has taken, and potential solutions that your country would support. At Vancouver Model United Nations, delegates should write a position paper for each of the committee’s topics. Each position paper should not exceed one page, and should all be combined into a single document per delegate. For the United Nations Human Rights Council, position papers are not mandatory but highly recommended, especially for a delegate to be considered for an award. Formatting Position papers should: — Include the name of the delegate, his/her country, and the committee — Be in a standard font (e.g. Times New Roman) with a 12-point font size and 1-inch document margins — Not include illustrations, diagrams, decorations, national symbols, watermarks, or page borders — Include citations and a bibliography, in any format, giving due credit to the sources used in research (not included in the 1-page limit) Due Dates and Submission Procedure Position papers for this committee must be submitted by midnight on January 22nd, 2021. Once your position paper is complete, please save the file as your last name, your first name and send it as an attachment in an email, to your committee’s email address, with the subject heading as your last name, your first name — Position Paper. Please do not add any other attachments to the email or write anything else in the body. Both your position papers should be combined into a single PDF or Word document file; position papers submitted in another format will not be accepted. Each position paper will be manually reviewed and considered for the Best Position Paper award. The email address for this committee is unhrc@vmun.com.
Human Rights of Migrant Workers .............................................................................................. 3
Overview ...................................................................................................................................................3
Timeline ....................................................................................................................................................4
Historical Analysis ..................................................................................................................................6
Case Study: South Africa...................................................................................................................................6
Case Study: Post-World War II .......................................................................................................................7
Case Study: Persian Gulf ...................................................................................................................................8
Past UN/International Involvement .....................................................................................................8
International Labor Organization ...................................................................................................................8
International Organization for Migration ......................................................................................................9
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers ................................9
UN Involvement Impacting Female Migrant Workers ................................................................................9
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ..................................................................................................... 10
Global Compact on Migration (GCM) ........................................................................................................ 10
Current Situation ................................................................................................................................. 11
Women Migrant Workers ............................................................................................................................. 12
Case Study: Italy and Xenophobia ................................................................................................................ 12
Case Study: Philippines and Remittances .................................................................................................... 13
Case Study: Qatar and the World Cup......................................................................................................... 14
Possible Solutions and Controversies ................................................................................................ 14
Ratification of the 1990 Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers ........... 14
Human Rights Data Collection, Reporting, and Monitoring Systems .................................................... 15
Reducing Reliance on Migrant Remittances ............................................................................................... 16
Reforming Temporary Worker Programs................................................................................................... 16
Bloc Positions........................................................................................................................................ 16
Migrant-Receiving Countries........................................................................................................................ 17
Migrant-Sending Countries .......................................................................................................................... 18
Discussion Questions ........................................................................................................................... 19
Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................... 20
Vancouver Model United Nations 2021 1Strengthening Whistleblower Protection Policies ..................................................................... 24
Overview ................................................................................................................................................ 24
Timeline ................................................................................................................................................. 25
Historical Analysis ............................................................................................................................... 26
Past UN/International Involvement .................................................................................................. 29
Regional Conventions .................................................................................................................................... 29
UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime ....................................................................... 30
UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) ........................................................................................ 30
Current Situation ................................................................................................................................. 30
Technology and Social Media ....................................................................................................................... 31
Case Study: Transnational Scandals ............................................................................................................. 32
Case Study: Anonymous Trump-Ukraine Whistleblower ........................................................................ 33
Possible Solutions and Controversies ................................................................................................ 33
International Protection and Reporting Mechanisms ............................................................................... 33
Protection from Discrimination and Criminal Prosecution..................................................................... 34
Performance Reviews ..................................................................................................................................... 35
Bloc Positions........................................................................................................................................ 35
Asia-Pacific ...................................................................................................................................................... 35
United States.................................................................................................................................................... 36
Latin America and the Caribbean................................................................................................................. 36
European Union and the United Kingdom ................................................................................................ 36
Africa ................................................................................................................................................................ 37
Discussion Questions ........................................................................................................................... 37
Additional Resources ........................................................................................................................... 38
Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................... 39
Vancouver Model United Nations 2021 2Human Rights of Migrant Workers Overview For centuries, humans have migrated from their homelands in search of a better life, whether it be to find economic opportunities and security (known as the pull factor), or to flee their current hostile situation because of war, violence, persecution, and climate change (known as the push factor). The United Nations defines a migrant worker as “a person who is engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which he or she is not a national.” 1 In 2019, there were an estimated 164 million migrant workers worldwide. 2 Most of these are legal migrant workers with temporary status and limited rights, but this figure also includes estimates of workers who do not have legal status, yet still perform essential jobs, often in domestic or health care help. 3 Major hubs for migrant workers include the Arab states, countries in the European Union, and the United States. 4 Migrant workers make up almost 5 percent of the workforce in migrant-receiving countries, making their economic contributions—particularly in unskilled or low wage sectors—significant to these countries’ economies. 5 In addition, low and middle-income migrant-sending countries rely on remittances sent back home from workers abroad, which, in 2019, reached approximately USD 551 billion in value worldwide. 6 Although international migrant workers are essential to most world economies, they are often granted limited rights in the country they work in. Migrant families frequently inhabit hostile living environments with limited access to healthcare and are often subjected to discrimination and xenophobia. They are also routinely threatened with deportation if they do not cooperate with their employers, making human rights abuses in the workplace nearly inevitable. Conversely, granting migrant workers the same rights as citizens would result in many migrant-receiving nations limiting the number of workers allowed entrance into their country. 7 This is because the economic and political cost of extending benefits to non-nationals is deleterious to the nation, whether it be the high price of providing 1 “International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers.” OHCHR, December 18, 1990, https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CMW.aspx. 2 Natalia Popova and Mustafa Hakki Özel, ILO Global Estimates on International Migrant Workers: Results and Methodology, Geneva: International Labour Office, 2018, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/--- publ/documents/publication/wcms_652001.pdf. 3 Victoria Castillo Rueda, Women migrant workers’ labour market situation in West Africa, Geneva: International Labour Organization, 2020, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/--- publ/documents/publication/wcms_652001.pdf. 4 Popova and Özel, “ILO Global Estimates on International Migrant Workers: Results and Methodology.” 5 Ibid. 6 Dilip Ratha, “Data Release: Remittances to Low- and Middle-Income Countries on Track to Reach $551 Billion in 2019 and $597 Billion by 2021,” World Bank Blogs, October 16, 2019, https://blogs.worldbank.org/peoplemove/data-release-remittances-low-and- middle-income-countries-track-reach-551-billion-2019. 7 Martin Ruhs, “Less Is More When It Comes to Migrant Rights,” The Conversation, October 2, 2013, https://theconversation.com/less-is-more-when-it-comes-to-migrant-rights-18811. Vancouver Model United Nations 2021 3
healthcare, safe housing and social services to the workers or the provocation of anti-immigrant sentiment and xenophobia amongst its citizens. Furthermore, restricting admittance into migrant-receiving countries is disadvantageous to the migrant workers and migrant-sending countries, as it denies employment opportunities for workers and impacts the amount of remittances transferred back to the origin countries. The main protection for migrant workers to ensure basic human rights is the 1990 UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, which is currently signed by 55 countries. Article 7 of the Convention protects these rights regardless of "sex, race, color, language, religion or conviction, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, nationality, age, economic position, property, marital status, birth, or other status." 8 However, this Convention has been signed by almost no migrant-receiving countries, thus limiting its impact and effectiveness. 9 The principal debate of this committee must be focused on how to ensure basic human rights for migrant workers while understanding the political, social and economic consequences to both migrant-receiving and migrant-sending countries. While the 1990 UN Convention establishes a framework for human rights of migrant workers, the UNHRC has a duty to further promote and protect these rights. Timeline 1600s-1800s — The African slave trade—the largest mass forced labour migration in history—takes place. Colonial powers forcibly remove people from their homes and bring them to work, without remuneration and without freedom, in the plantations of the New World. 10 1834-1917 — Early migrant workers are bound by labour contracts to British colonists. Indentured labour is little better than slavery and is characterized by poor working conditions, extremely low wages, and untenable hours. The majority of the labourers migrate from China and India. 11 1840s-1900 — Migrant workers from all parts of southern Africa are recruited by settler colonialists to work in the diamond and gold mines. Workers are forced to live in cramped and isolated living quarters, separated from the white urban areas. 12 1919 — The International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Constitution of 1919 calls for the “protection of the interests of workers when employed in countries other than their own.” 13 This is the first time that an international organization recognizes the rights of migrant workers. 8 OHCHR, "International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers.” 9 Antoine Pécoud, “The Politics of the UN Convention on Migrant Workers’ Rights,” Groningen Journal of International Law, 5, no. 1 (January 2017): pp. 57-72, https://doi.org/10.21827/59db6983b848b. 10 “A History of migration,” Striking Women, n.d., https://www.striking-women.org/module/migration/history-migration. 11 Ibid. 12 Janice Fine, “Migration and Migrant Workers in the Post-Apartheid Era,” Global Labour Journal 5, no.3 (2014), https://mulpress.mcmaster.ca/globallabour/article/view/2281/2295. 13 “Fair Migration Agenda (Labour Migration),” International Labour Organization, n.d., https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/labour-migration/fair-migration-agenda/lang--en/index.htm. Vancouver Model United Nations 2021 4
1942-1964 — The Bracero Program is agreed upon by the United States and Mexico to alleviate the worker shortage in the United States created by World War II. 14 The program allows Mexican citizens to take temporary agricultural work in the United States, however they are often underpaid and live in substandard housing. 1950s-1960s — Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Scandinavian countries implement guest worker programs to recruit unskilled workers from southern and eastern European countries in the years following World War II. 15 1970s — The oil boom in the Persian Gulf creates a growing demand for migrant labour in oil, construction, and industrial sectors. 16 1.3 million workers, primarily from Egypt, Yemen, and Palestine, relocate to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait, often living in alienated and isolated conditions. 17 July 1, 2003 — The Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families enters into force following ratification by 20 countries. 18 The Convention protects migrant workers’ rights by guaranteeing a minimum degree of protection; however, its effectiveness is limited because no migrant- receiving nations sign the treaty. As of 2020, the treaty is ratified by 55 countries, but they are primarily migrant- sending countries. 19 2010 — Qatar wins the bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022. Migrants from Bangladesh, India, and Nepal begin work on a series of building and industrial projects, but often face unsafe working conditions, cramped living quarters, and non-payment of wages. 20 September 2015 — The UN adopts the Sustainable Development Goals that serve as a blueprint to address global challenges by 2030. Targets 8 and 10 include protection for migrant workers by securing safe working environments and encouraging well-managed migration policies. 21 December 2018 — The Global Compact on Migration (GCM) is signed by 164 member states. 22 The compact outlines 23 objectives for the holistic management of migration, including the rights of migrant workers. The compact does not impose any policies on member states and is not legally binding; instead, it is a compact of 14 “U.S. and Mexico Sign the Mexican Farm Labor Agreement,” History.com, October 7, 2019, https://www.history.com/this-day- in-history/us-mexico-sign-mexican-farm-labor-agreement-bracero-program. 15 Sarah Parry, “Guest worker,” Encyclopædia Britannica, May 21, 2013, https://www.britannica.com/topic/guest-worker. 16 Anisur Rahman, “Migration and Human Rights in the Gulf,” Middle East Institute, February 2, 2010, https://www.mei.edu/publications/migration-and-human-rights-gulf. 17 Hélène Thiollet, “Managing Migrant Labour in the Gulf: Transnational dynamics of migration politics since the 1930s,” HAL, July 18, 2016, https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01346366/document. 18 “International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers.” OHCHR, December 18, 1990, https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CMW.aspx. 19 Pécoud, “The Politics of the UN Convention on Migrant Workers’ Rights.” 20 Pete Pattisson, “Migrant Workers in Qatar Face 'Structural Racism' Says UN Report,” The Guardian, July 15, 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/jul/15/migrant-workers-in-qatar-face-structural-racism-says-un-report. 21 “The 17 Goals - Department of Economic and Social Affairs,” United Nations, 2015, https://sdgs.un.org/goals. 22 “Governments Adopt UN Global Migration Pact to Help 'Prevent Suffering and Chaos',” UN News, December 10, 2018, https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/12/1028041. Vancouver Model United Nations 2021 5
good faith and urges cooperation across nations. Critics of the agreement suggest that a good faith compact does not enforce nations to comply with the terms of the compact, and thus may largely be ignored. 23 2020 — The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic sweeps the world and strands thousands of migrant workers, highlighting their precarious and vulnerable circumstances. Many of these migrant workers are stranded between countries, have lost their jobs and housing, and have no access to testing or basic healthcare. 24 Historical Analysis The search for decent work and the quest for a better life has driven migration for centuries. Migrant workers often flee difficult circumstances—including poverty, famine and war—to seek work in other countries where they hope to find new economic opportunities. In Asia, much of the migrant mobility was driven by Chinese and Arab traders utilizing sea routes between India, Europe and West Africa. 25 European colonization of the New World provided many citizens with the opportunity to migrate in search of employment. In Africa, historically, much of the migration involved hunting or pastoralism, driven by a search for food security. 26 With the rise of global colonialism and capitalism, the demand for workers continued to grow. This new demand fueled the growth of highly unethical labour practices, including slavery and indentured servitude. The African slave trade was the largest forced migration in history. 10 million workers were forcibly removed from their home countries and transported to the Americas to work on sugar, tobacco, and cotton plantations without remuneration. 27 Following the Slave Abolition Act of 1833, the British Empire used indentured workers as a replacement for slaves. 28 These workers, primarily from India and China, were bound by labour contracts to work abroad for terms of five years or more. Between 1833 and 1917, millions of Chinese and Indian workers were sent to the British colonies in South America, Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean, where they laboured in plantations and on construction projects. 29 The working conditions were poor, the pay minimal, and the hours punitive. The British Empire abolished indentured labour in 1917 due to an increase in political pressure, particularly after the Indian national movement exposed the oppression and exploitation of the system. 30 Case Study: South Africa Migrant workers have laboured in southern Africa since the mid-1800s. They initially worked as farm labourers and then later found jobs in the diamond and gold mines, which required hard, manual work and a cheap and 23 ““The United Nations' Global Compact for Migration Is a Success for Some and a Failure for Others,” Munk, January 17, 2019, https://www.munkgc.com/politics/the-united-nations-global-compact-of-migration-is-a-success-for-some-and-a-failure-for- others/. 24 “Migrants Stranded 'All over the World' and at Risk from Coronavirus,” UN News, May 7, 2020, https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/05/1063482. 25 Striking Women, “A History of migration." 26 Ibid. 27 Ibid. 28 Ibid. 29 Ibid. 30 Ibid. Vancouver Model United Nations 2021 6
constant labour force. Labourers were recruited from poorer neighbouring nations and tribes, including Mozambique, Botswana, Lesotho, and eSwatini, and were paid a much lower wage than local South Africans. Racism and migrant labour have long been intertwined—the prejudice that existed towards Black workers resulted in them living in cramped and isolated living quarters, separated from the white urban areas. 31 Foreign labourers, who were also poor and uneducated, worked at the mercy of the rich, white mine-owners. Many of these workers were unregulated and therefore vulnerable to exploitation, low pay, and abuse. Case Study: Post-World War II In the years following World War II, the number of migrant workers worldwide increased exponentially. In the United States, there was a severe domestic labour shortage during and following World War II. To resolve this shortage, the American government introduced the Bracero program in 1943, which allowed short term contract workers from Mexico to work legally in the United States. 32 Although the program provided a reliable labour supply for the Americans, critics contended that it merely served to legislate the use of cheap labour. It is estimated that over 4.5 million Mexicans obtained legal work under this agreement. 33 The program continued until 1964, and by then, the American agricultural industry was incontestably dependent on Mexican migrant workers. In Europe, rapid industrial growth after World War II created a demand for manual labour. For example, the German "gastarbeiter" program (which translates to "guest worker") encouraged temporary workers to find employment in Germany. 34 Labourers from Turkey, Greece, Italy, and Yugoslavia met this demand, and worked on building and construction projects to help rebuild the German economy. 35 Similar programs existed in the Scandinavian countries, as well as Belgium and the Netherlands. Britain and France also attracted workers from countries in North Africa and other former colonies to help with the rebuilding of their economy and infrastructure. 36 Overall, this period is characterized as having positive benefits to both the migrant-receiving and migrant-sending countries. For the migrant-sending countries, ample remittances were sent back home and abundant foreign employment opportunities offset the high local unemployment rate. For migrant-receiving countries, workers proved essential to buttress a thriving, growing economy. By the 1970s, oil prices rose dramatically, halting economic growth and lowering the demand for migrant labour in Europe. Because of this, many European countries, including Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, and France, passed laws to restrict the 31 Janice Fine, "Migration and Migrant Workers in the Post-Apartheid Era," Global Labour Journal 5, no. 3 (2014), https://mulpress.mcmaster.ca/globallabour/article/view/2281/2295. 32 Brent Funderbunk, “Operation Wetback,” Encyclopædia Britannica, September 4, 2017, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Operation-Wetback 33 Ratha, “Data Release: Remittances to Low- and Middle-Income Countries on Track to Reach $551 Billion in 2019 and $597 Billion by 2021.” 34 Parry, “Guest worker.” 35 “Migrant Labour,” Encyclopaedia Britannica, April 25, 2018, https://www.britannica.com/topic/migrant-labour. 36 Ibid. Vancouver Model United Nations 2021 7
entrance of migrant workers. 37 In Germany, for instance, the federal cabinet declared a ban on the recruitment of foreign workers in November of 1973. 38 Case Study: Persian Gulf The oil boom in the Persian Gulf of the 1970s and 1980s created a growing demand for migrant labour in the oil, construction, and industrial sectors. 39 By 1975, 1.3 million unskilled labourers, primarily from Egypt, Yemen, and Palestine, relocated to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait, often living in alienated and isolated conditions. 40 This trend continued as more lavish building projects were undertaken in the 1980s, which demanded higher skilled workers. At this time, there was growing preference for Asian labourers from countries such as India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, as Arab workers were increasingly considered politically unsafe. 41 In the 1990s, workers from China and Russia began migrating to the Persian Gulf, creating a diverse migrant workforce that exceeds over 15 million migrants to this day. 42 The Persian Gulf countries have embraced a philosophy of more workers/less rights, and though they admit many workers, the conditions are often abysmal and workers are denied their basic rights. This is because the labour laws in countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar do not meet international labour standards for the protection of migrant workers. 43 Past UN/International Involvement International Labor Organization Protection of migrant workers has been globally recognized since the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Constitution of 1919 called for “the protection of the interests of workers when employed in countries other than their own.” 44 Since then, the ILO has championed the human rights of migrant workers by developing international labour standards and establishing policies and programmes to ensure the fair treatment of all labourers. The ILO was responsible for two significant conventions that were the precursors to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers. These are the legally binding Migration for Employment convention of 1949 and the Migrations in Abusive Conditions and the Promotion of Equality of 37 Christof Van Mol and Helga De Valk, “Migration and immigrants in Europe: A historical and demographic perspective,” in Integration processes and policies in Europe: Contexts, levels and actors, ed. R. Penninx, & B. Garcés-Mascarenas (Springer, 2015), 31-55, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21674-4_3. 38 “Labour Migration,” Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community, January 8, 2019, https://www.bmi.bund.de/EN/topics/migration/immigration/labour-migration/labour-migration-node.html. 39 Rahman, “Migration and Human Rights in the Gulf.” 40 Thiollet, “Managing Migrant Labour in the Gulf: Transnational dynamics of migration politics since the 1930s.” 41 Rahman, “Migration and Human Rights in the Gulf.” 42 Ibid. 43 Ibid. 44 “Fair Migration Agenda (Labour Migration),” International Labour Organization, n.d., https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/labour-migration/fair-migration-agenda/lang--en/index.htm. Vancouver Model United Nations 2021 8
Opportunity and Treatment of Migrant Workers of 1975. 45 The first convention mandates that ratifying countries extend the same rights to migrant workers as their national counterparts and the second convention addresses irregular migration. The ILO is also responsible for compiling and researching data on migrant labour in various geographic regions. For instance, a recently released report on women migrant workers in West Africa seeks to develop a methodology for comparable reports to be developed for all of Africa. International Organization for Migration In 1951, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) was founded to resettle approximately 11 million people displaced by the Second World War. The IOM is an intergovernmental organization that works with countries on all areas of migration, including migrant workers. 46 In 2018, the UN appointed the IOM as the administrative body for the newly established United Nations Network on Migration. The IOM successfully negotiated the terms of the Global Compact on Migration (GCM), and is responsible for implementing the GCM’s objectives, including data collection, assigning proof of legal identity, and improving circumstances in the home country to minimize migration. One of the successes of the IOM has been the establishment of the migration data portal, which provides migration statistics and global migration data. This data has been essential in revealing the human rights abuses that are occurring worldwide due to COVID-19. 47 International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers In 1990, the UN International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families was ratified as a multilateral treaty that now has the support of 55 parties. The treaty officially came into force on July 1, 2003, following ratification by 20 countries. The Convention was primarily authored by migrant-sending countries to ensure the protection of their own workers abroad; however, many migrant-receiving countries perceive the Convention as a limitation on their own sovereignty over immigration. Some countries also believe that it is not the economic responsibility of the host country to protect non-citizen migrant workers. Thus, the Convention is not supported by many migrant- receiving countries, including the United States, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. 48 Given that it remains one of the most undersigned treaties in international human rights law, it has limited effectiveness in accomplishing its original objective of protecting migrant workers. 49 UN Involvement Impacting Female Migrant Workers There are several UN initiatives that specifically impact female migrant workers. In 2000, the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, was ratified by 175 countries. 50 45 Ryszard Cholewinski, “Protecting Migrant Workers in a Globalized World,” migrationpolicy.org, March 2, 2017, https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/protecting-migrant-workers-globalized-world. 46 “IOM History,” International Organization for Migration, March 28, 2019, https://www.iom.int/iom-history. 47 “Migration Data Relevant for the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Migration Data Portal, June 26, 2020, https://migrationdataportal.org/themes/migration-data-relevant-covid-19-pandemic. 48 OHCHR, “International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers.” 49 Pécoud, “The Politics of the UN Convention on Migrant Workers’ Rights." 50 Rueda, "Women migrant workers’ labour market situation in West Africa." Vancouver Model United Nations 2021 9
This protocol is a significant law enforcement accomplishment and its signatories are mandated to create trafficking legislation that protects the rights of women and children. 51 In response to the 2019 Trafficking in Persons Report, 168 governments have implemented domestic legislation criminalizing all forms of human trafficking, a strong indication of the protocol’s success. 52 Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and Taiwan are examples of countries that have enacted strong trafficking legislation. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) In 2013, the UN General Assembly made a Declaration of the High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development, recognizing that migration is key to sustainable economic development. 53 As a result, migration was included in the 17 UN Sustainable Goals, established in September 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The two targets most relevant to migrant workers fall under category 8 of "Decent Work and Economic Growth" and category 10 of "Reduced Inequalities." 54 In response to meeting these goals, the ILO released official guidelines for collecting statistics on international migration. 55 A recently released 2020 report documents the progress of these goals and—though a few areas have shown improvement, including improving maternal health and increasing women’s representation in government—these gains have been largely offset by the detrimental effects of the worldwide pandemic. 56 Global Compact on Migration (GCM) In December 2018, 164 nations adopted the United Nations Global Compact on Migration for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), which highlights the benefits of migration, but also details subsequent challenges for individuals and countries that are a part of a migration route (origin, transit or destination).This includes policies in the origin countries that offer quality employment opportunities to their own people, collaborative agreements between countries to ensure safe passage of migrants, and the admissions policies of the destination country. 57 The Compact outlines 23 objectives that aim to help countries define policies for transnational cooperation in 51 Kelly E. Hyland, "The Impact of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children," Human Rights Brief 8, no. 2 (2001): 30-31, http://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1492&context=hrbrief. 52 “2019 Trafficking in Persons Report,” US Department of State, June 2019, https://www.state.gov/wp- content/uploads/2019/06/2019-Trafficking-in-Persons-Report.pdf. 53 General Assembly resolution 68/4, Declaration of the High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development, A/RES/68/4 (3 October 2013), https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/generalassembly/docs/globalcompact/A_RES_68_4.pdf. 54 “The 17 Goals - Department of Economic and Social Affairs,” United Nations, 2015, https://sdgs.un.org/goals. 55 ICLS/20/2018/Room document 11, Statistics on international labour migration, 20th International Conference of Labour Statisticians, October 10-19, 2018, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/--- dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_436343.pdf 56 “Sustainable Development Goals Report – United Nations Sustainable Development,” United Nations, 2020, https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/progress-report/. 57 “Governments Adopt UN Global Migration Pact to Help 'Prevent Suffering and Chaos',” UN News, December 10, 2018, https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/12/1028041. Vancouver Model United Nations 2021 10
areas such as data collection, assigning proof of legal identity, and improving circumstances in the home country to minimize migration. 58 Although the Compact reaffirms human rights for all migrant workers, many countries—such as the United States, Australia, Austria, and Poland—opted out of the negotiation and signing process. They did so as a result of internal concerns that the Compact would inspire even more migrants, or that the Compact would erode individual states’ abilities to determine their own immigration laws. 59 Current Situation According to the ILO’s 2018 Global Estimates on International Migrant Workers, there are currently 164 million migrant workers worldwide—96 million of whom are men and 68 million of whom are women. 60 About 60 percent of these migrant workers are concentrated in three regions: North America, Northern, Southern, and Western Europe, and the Arab states. 61 Much of the wealth accumulated by these migrant workers is sent back to their home countries in the form of remittances; in 2019, the top five remittance recipient countries were India, China, Mexico, the Philippines, and Egypt. 62 Remittances are vital to migrant-sending nations’ economies, representing up to 10 percent of a country’s GDP. 63 For migrant-receiving countries, there is usually a trade-off between human rights for migrant workers and the number of migrant workers that are granted entry. Some countries have comparatively open admission policies but provide almost no rights to the migrants. For instance, in Saudi Arabia, migrant workers do not have the freedom to change jobs, do not get vacation time, cannot form unions, and do not have access to non- governmental organizations (NGOs) or other human rights groups because these groups have all been shut down. 64 Other countries offer rights to migrant workers nearly equal to those of their own citizenry, but have more restrictive admission policies. 65 In fact, Europe has been nicknamed "Fortress Europe" because many of its countries focus on border control and have a prevalent negative attitude towards immigration. 66 For example, Germany has recently introduced a new policy that focuses on attracting highly skilled or educated workers, but has restricted access to other types of unskilled workers. 67 In the United Kingdom and Italy, policies have focused 58 “The United Nations' Global Compact for Migration Is a Success for Some and a Failure for Others,” Munk, January 17, 2019, https://www.munkgc.com/politics/the-united-nations-global-compact-of-migration-is-a-success-for-some-and-a-failure-for- others/. 59 Ibid. 60 Popova and Özel, "ILO Global Estimates on International Migrant Workers: Results and Methodology." 61 Ibid. 62 Ibid. 63 Ibid. 64 “Saudi Arabia: Migrant Workers Have No Unions to Protect Their Civil and Human Rights, Leaving Them at Risk of Abuse,” Gulf Centre for Human Rights, May 19, 2019, https://www.gc4hr.org/news/view/2135. 65 Ruhs, “Less Is More When It Comes to Migrant Rights.” 66 Jessica Hagen-Zanker and Richard Mallett, “Migration Policy: Three Things to Know about 'Fortress Europe',” ODI, October 20, 2015, https://www.odi.org/blogs/9995-migration-policy-three-things-know-about-fortress-europe. 67 “Germany Outlines Plan to Attract Skilled Migrant Workers,” DW.COM, December 16, 2019, https://www.dw.com/en/germany- outlines-plan-to-attract-skilled-migrant-workers/a-51701315. Vancouver Model United Nations 2021 11
on tighter border control in order to restrict migrants from entering the country. 68 Unfortunately, migrant rights can be affected either way; if migration policies are very restrictive, migrants are more likely to enter countries through unregulated means. Unsafe migration routes and exorbitant rates for transportation place these workers at significant risk for abuse and exploitation from the profit-hungry smugglers. In fact, the UN estimates that more than 60,000 migrants worldwide have died in transport since 2000. 69 Conversely, the more open the admissions policy, the more likely it is that labour and social rights will not be granted to migrant workers. This is because granting extensive rights—including social security, healthcare, vacation, fair wage, and collective bargaining—can be extremely costly to the migrant-receiving country, counteracting the economic benefit of hiring cheap, migrant labour. Women Migrant Workers According to the International Labour Organization, 41.6 percent of all international migrant workers are women. 70 They are responsible for up to 300 billion USD in remittances each year back to their countries of origin. However, many female migrant workers face specific barriers because of their gender. For example, 73.4 percent of all migrant domestic workers are women who are often employed in the unregulated domestic sector, working in private homes where they are more susceptible to abuse and exploitation. 71 In the Arab states, migrant domestic workers depend on their employers for legal status, so women live in fear of deportation if they speak out against unfair or abusive practices. Other countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Malaysia, and Thailand, will deport a migrant woman worker if she becomes pregnant. In Southeast Asia, women migrate from Myanmar, Cambodia, the Philippines, and Vietnam to migrant-receiving nations such as Thailand and Malaysia. The predominant work for these women is in the garment and electronics industry. Many of the women are undocumented, work long hours, and live in substandard housing. Case Study: Italy and Xenophobia Though Italy has historically had open admission policies for migrant workers, in recent years, it has introduced increasingly restrictive responses to migration, largely focusing on deterrence. Because of its geographic location, Italy bears the brunt of migrants who flee Africa in search of safer working and living conditions. In 2008, a bilateral agreement between Italy and Libya allowed Italy to forcibly return illegal migrants caught crossing the Mediterranean. In 2012, this practice was terminated when the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Italy was violating human rights by returning the migrants to an unsafe and harmful situation. 72 Subsequently, the refugee crisis of 2015, which brought 1 million refugees into Europe as a result of the Syrian Civil war, fuelled a xenophobic and anti-immigrant sentiment among many of the right-wing populist parties in Europe, including Italy’s Lega Nord. In 2018, the election campaign of Matteo Salvini centered around anti-immigration rhetoric, 68 Hagen-Zanker and Mallett, “Migration Policy: Three Things to Know about 'Fortress Europe.'” 69 “Governments Adopt UN Global Migration Pact to Help 'Prevent Suffering and Chaos',” UN News, December 10, 2018, https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/12/1028041. 70 Popova and Özel, "ILO Global Estimates on International Migrant Workers: Results and Methodology." 71 Ibid. 72 “Why EU States Are Converging on Restrictive Migration Policies, despite Their Different Political Traditions,” EUROPP, July 24, 2019, https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2019/07/17/why-eu-states-are-converging-on-restrictive-migration-policies-despite- their-different-political-traditions/. Vancouver Model United Nations 2021 12
which threatened to deport the 600,000 illegal migrants living in Italy. 73 The coalition ruling party has now enacted more restrictive legislation around illegal immigrants and asylum seekers. Italy’s agricultural sector heavily relies on migrant workers, many of whom are from Romania and sub-Saharan Africa. Because of the restrictive immigration laws, the workers are often undocumented, work without labour rights, and are paid well below minimum wage. The coronavirus has sparked a new migrant labour crisis in Italy, as many of the Romanian workers have returned home, leaving the agricultural crops to rot. The migrant workers from Africa are primarily undocumented asylum seekers and the virus has restricted their movement and confined them to the asylum shelters or rural ghettos. 74 The failing agricultural industry has prompted renewed debate on the regularization of migrant workers, resulting in a draft decree to grant valid work permits to undocumented workers for up to six months. 75 The pandemic has exposed the reliance of Italy’s economy on undocumented migrant workers, even though, up to this point, the social and political sentiment of the country has been undeniably anti-immigrant. Case Study: Philippines and Remittances The Philippines is a migrant-sending nation, and for decades, it has exemplified a pervasive culture of migration. During the 1970s, the Philippines experienced an economic recession which prompted many workers to search for better employment opportunities elsewhere. Chiefly, the Gulf States became a labour migration magnet and new markets also opened up in Southeast Asia and East Asia, resulting in further migration diversification. 76 Today, approximately 10 percent of the Filipino population (about 10 million people) are migrant workers living abroad. 77 Approximately 4.9 million are permanent settlers living primarily in the United States; 4.2 million are temporary workers; and an estimated 1.2 million are undocumented migrants, primarily working in Southeast Asia and the United States. 78 The Philippines has enjoyed remarkable economic growth in recent years, but this has not dampened the number of migrant workers leaving the country. The Philippines is renowned for progressive policies and legislation that provide protection to migrant workers who are working abroad, including the 1995 Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act. A key aspect of the Act is ensuring the destination country has adequate existing labour and social laws in place to protect the migrant worker. 79 The Philippines is considered a global leader in the development of migrant labour policy and it continues to encourage migration to its citizenry. 80 As a result, their 73 Ibid. 74 Hsiao-Hung Pai, “Italy's All Too Revealing Call for Regularising Migrant Labour,” openDemocracy, May 6, 2020, https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/can-europe-make-it/italys-all-too-revealing-call-for-regularising-migrant-labour/. 75 Ibid. 76 Maruja M.B. Asis, “The Philippines: Beyond Labor Migration, Toward Development and (Possibly) Return,” migrationpolicy.org, November 30, 2017, https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/philippines-beyond-labor-migration-toward-development-and- possibly-retun. 77 Ibid. 78 Ibid. 79 Ibid. 80 Ibid. Vancouver Model United Nations 2021 13
economy relies heavily on remittances and, in 2019, money sent back from migrants abroad reached an all-time high of 33 billion USD. 81 Case Study: Qatar and the World Cup The Gulf States have been a migrant workers’ hub since the 1970s. Work opportunities in the region have been largely characterized by plentiful temporary work combined with substandard working conditions and abusive conditions. A newly released UN report highlights significant human rights abuses against migrant workers, particularly those working to prepare Qatar to host the World Cup in 2022. 82 Of the 2 million migrants in the region, most come from South Asia and East or West Africa. 83 The report documents a plethora of abuses including “non-payment of wages, unsafe working conditions, racial profiling by the police, and denial of access to some public spaces”. 84 The report also criticizes "kafala," a sponsorship system in which workers are not allowed to change jobs without their employer’s approval. These systemic power imbalances between employers and migrant workers mean that many workers cannot speak out against the injustices. 85 Countries like Qatar have relied heavily on migrant workers to support their economy, but they are unwilling to extend basic labour and human rights to migrant workers. The recent UN report has put pressure on Qatar to make changes; the government has recently said it will abolish the kafala system and establish a minimum wage in the coming year. Only time will tell if the changes are implemented. 86 Possible Solutions and Controversies At its core, a resolution from the UNHRC must promote the protection of human rights, address situations of violations, or make recommendations to solve human rights abuses. The fundamental issue of human rights abuses for migrant workers (both legal and illegal), predominantly stems from substandard working conditions and unfair labour practices in migrant-receiving countries. Any resolution will need to consider the differing human rights situations of legal permanent migrant workers, legal temporary migrant workers, irregular migrant workers, and female migrant workers. The UNHRC should develop solutions to encourage a higher level of ratification of the Convention, promote better reporting and monitoring, support remittance use to develop local economic programs, and develop guidelines for migration policy that respects human and labour rights. Ratification of the 1990 Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers The 1990 Convention is presented by the Office of the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights as one of the core international treaties of human rights. However, compared to other such treaties (including the Rights of the Child or Elimination of Discrimination Against Women), it has a shockingly low ratification rate at less than 81 Melissa Luz Lopez, “Remittances Surge to Fresh Peak in 2019,” CNN, February 17, 2020, https://www.cnnphilippines.com/business/2020/2/17/Remittances-December-2019.html. 82 Pete Pattisson, “Migrant Workers in Qatar Face 'Structural Racism' Says UN Report,” The Guardian, July 15, 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/jul/15/migrant-workers-in-qatar-face-structural-racism-says-un-report. 83 Ibid. 84 Ibid. 85 Ibid. 86 Ibid. Vancouver Model United Nations 2021 14
30 percent. More importantly, none of the signatories are the main Western migrant-receiving nations, including
Germany, United States, United Kingdom and France (countries who typically have a positive track record in
supporting human rights). There are a number of reasons why this might be, including misguided assumptions
of what the requirements are and the provision in the Convention that mandates the extension of human rights
to irregular workers. The benefits to ratification are clear for human rights—countries that ratify the convention
must pass legislation that complies with the human rights that are outlined in the Convention, including
extending equal treatment to migrants and nationals. It also stipulates that irregular migrants must see their
human rights respected.
One of the challenges is that migration is not a balanced equation. Not surprisingly, the nations who have ratified
the Convention are migrant-sending countries—countries who rely on remittances sent back home and who
would also like to see their own nationals’ human rights protected while they work abroad. Migrant-receiving
countries have little incentive to sign the Convention. They are concerned about the economic drain that
extending rights to irregular migrants and temporary migrants entails, worried about potential restrictions that
the Convention may place on their own migration policies, and uneasy about the unfair burden of providing
human rights to another country’s citizenry. In order to encourage more signatories, an education and awareness
campaign needs to be developed that will clearly articulate the benefits of the Convention and what exactly is
required of the State (both legally and politically) in order to ratify it. The UNHRC should also be involved in
more research and gain more understanding of why so many countries are not signing or ratifying the
Convention. It should also set a reasonable target goal of ratification by 75 countries, with at least some of them
migrant-receiving nations, by the year 2025.
Human Rights Data Collection, Reporting, and Monitoring Systems
Every country needs to establish a data collection process and monitoring system on migrant workers to ensure
that the basic requirements of the Convention are being met. The ILO has established guidelines for collecting
statistics on migrant workers, though enforcing the collection of data can be difficult, and varies from country
to country. Much of the data collected relies on an individual country’s own sources, including population
censuses, household surveys, and labour force surveys. 87 It is also challenging for countries to collect statistics on
undocumented or unregulated workers. The ILO and IOM, in conjunction with international organizations,
must collaborate and assist the host country to collect data and to establish monitoring systems for human rights
abuses. It is also essential that these organizations work with countries who have not signed the Convention, so
human rights abuses can be tracked and uncovered worldwide. One such success is the recent 2020 UN report
on human rights abuses of migrant workers in Qatar while preparing for the World Cup in 2022. This report has
resulted in the Qatar government agreeing to implement significant changes, including plans to abolish the kafala
system and establishing a minimum wage in the coming year. 88
87
“Labour Migration,” Migration Data Portal, June 9, 2020, https://migrationdataportal.org/themes/labour-migration.
88
Pattisson, “Migrant Workers in Qatar Face 'Structural Racism' Says UN Report.”
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