Comments
The measure implicitly recognizes the positive impacts that migratory processes have in terms of well-being and human development, demographic replacement, unmet demand of the labour market, contribution to knowledge and understanding, and cultural enrichment in destination countries. It also implies promoting the effective application of ethical standards in the recruitment of migrant workers.
In this priority measure, rights intersect with specific dimensions that are spelled out in all the remaining measures of this chapter. Care is explicitly mentioned here, and goes hand-in-hand with the considerations of priority measure 73, for example. Remittances, considered in priority measure 70, are related to target 10.c of the Sustainable Development Goals (“By 2030, reduce to less than 3% the transaction costs of migrant remittances and eliminate remittance corridors with costs higher than 5%”). However, the region could achieve lower transaction costs sooner, so the goal must be evaluated for relevance (remittances should also be studied to see if they contribute to a reduction in asymmetry and inequality).
All the lines of action and the goals and indicators in the remaining measures contribute to follow-up of this measure.
Related instruments, forums and mechanisms
Various aspects are intertwined in this priority measure, which is aimed at guaranteeing respect for the rights of migrants, regardless of their migration status, in particular those in the most vulnerable situations, consistently with international instruments, as well as to take advantage of the benefits of migration. Monitoring may therefore be combined with the other measures set forth in these tables and must be conducted in keeping with specific international instruments, such as the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (signed by 17 countries in the region) and all the other international and inter-American human rights instruments (and the reports of their treaty bodies). The mandates of the United Nations and IOM should also be taken into account. Support is also forthcoming from the plans and commitments adopted by the Regional Conference on Migration and the South American Conference on Migration, in particular because they include countries that have not ratified the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. CELAC, the Summit of the Americas, UNASUR, MERCOSUR, the Andean Community and SICA, among others, are appropriate forums for follow-up, although they differ in the strength of their commitments and the number of countries included.