In line with the project on "Collection of International Migration Law Instruments", this project directed by Prof. Vincent Chetail aims to collect and analyze the practice of human rights treaty bodies with regard to the situation of migrants.
More than anything else, the migrant symbolizes the true meaning of human rights based on the assumption that fundamental rights apply to everyone irrespective of nationality or statelessness. In spite of the historical, conceptual and normative ties between human rights law and international migration law, the fundamental rights of aliens often appear to be the poor relatives of human rights. The Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants has attested on several occasions “a steady deterioration of the human rights situation of migrants” and “the scant attention given to the human rights of this very vulnerable group in debates on immigration policies” (UN Doc. A/59/377 (2004), p. 12). There is indeed no other field where the gap is so significant between the wording of international instruments and their effective implementation at the national level.
Universal and regional human rights treaty bodies have however developed a comprehensive legal set of interpretative standards and guiding principles which are crucial – although not well-known – for filling up the implementation gap. This research project provides for a unique opportunity to analyze the relevance and impact of the treaty-bodies practice for identifying the scope and content of the human rights of migrants and ensuring a more effective implementation of their fundamental rights. The results of this research will be published in English.
Project Team
