NEW YORK (25 November 2014) – During the UNGA’s 69th Regular Session, the Secretary General of the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, transmitted  a report by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Mr. François Crépeau, concerning the role of the human rights of migrants in the Post-2015 Development Agenda and making a number of concrete recommendations regarding labour migration, irregular migration, and the use of criminalization and detention regimes by states in attempts to “manage” migration.

 

In his report (A/69/302), Mr. Crépeau highlighted that:

 

Migrants in an irregular situation, temporary migrant workers, migrant domestic workers and migrants in detention are among the most marginalized groups.

 

The Special Rapporteur called upon states to adopt relevant targets and indicators for a human-rights-based approach to migration policies and to squarely address how they will reduce the use and reliance on detention of migrants. Among others, he recommended that states regularly report on the:

 

  • Reduction of the number of migrants in immigration detention;
  • Proportion of migrant detention cases in which migrants were released into non-custodial alternatives to detention;
  • Abolition of laws, policies and programmes that criminalize irregular migration;
  • Time frame and coverage of policy on abolishing any form of detention of children on the basis of their immigration status or that of their parents;

 

The IDC welcomes and supports these recommendations from the Special Rapporteur. For more information, contact IDC Advocacy Coordinator, Ben Lewis ([email protected]).