The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (often abbreviated ICRMW or CMW) was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 18 December 1990 and entered into force on 1 July 2003, after reaching the threshold of 20 ratifications. It is one of the nine core international human rights instruments overseen by the UN treaty body system.
The Convention applies to migrant workers throughout the entire migration process — preparation, departure, transit, stay in the country of employment, and return — and covers both documented (regular) and undocumented (irregular) migrants, though it grants additional rights to those in a regular situation. Core protections include the right to life, freedom from torture and slavery, due process, freedom of religion, equal treatment with nationals regarding remuneration and working conditions, and the right to transfer earnings and savings.
Part VII establishes the Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW), a body of independent experts that reviews periodic state reports and, where states have made the relevant declarations under Articles 76 and 77, may hear interstate and individual complaints.
The treaty is notable for its low ratification rate among migrant-receiving countries. As of the mid-2020s, parties are predominantly migrant-origin states in Latin America, Africa, and parts of Asia. No major Western European destination state, nor the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, or the Gulf Cooperation Council members, has ratified it — a pattern frequently cited in scholarship as evidence of the political asymmetry between sending and receiving countries on labour migration governance.
The Convention complements, but does not replace, relevant ILO instruments, notably Convention No. 97 (1949) on Migration for Employment and Convention No. 143 (1975) on Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions). It is also referenced in the non-binding Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration adopted in Marrakech in December 2018.
Example
In 2014, Turkey ratified the ICRMW, becoming one of the few transit and destination states in Europe's neighbourhood to join the Convention.
Frequently asked questions
Major receiving states cite concerns over extending rights — particularly social and labour protections — to irregular migrants, and over constraints on domestic immigration policy. The result is that ratifications come overwhelmingly from countries of origin.
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