SPECPOL - World Model United Nations

conditions, and called upon members to root out and
address causes of illegal migration, which promoted
abuse of migrant workers’ rights. It called upon states
to provide adequate remuneration and social security
to legal migrant workers. Convention 143 also defined
a migrant worker to be one who migrates exclusively
for employment, and not education or other reasons,
and asserted that migrant children raised in a country
should not be regarded as illegal. Together, these two
conventions, 97 and 143, were instrumental in defining
UN policy towards migrant labor. However, although
Convention 97 saw some support from developed
nations like the United Kingdom and France, 143 saw
little by way of support from nations that would likely
serve as destinations for migrant workers.
One of the most important resolutions was the
International Convention on the Protection of the
Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their
Families in 1990. This convention guarantees that
migrant workers will be afforded the same rights
and equal treatment as local workers, regardless of
gender, age, or ethnicity. It also attempts to take
action by sanctioning states that allow trafficking of
workers and institutions that mislead people about
the opportunities presented by migration. Finally,
it also addresses, albeit briefly, undocumented
workers, saying that their rights must be respected
as well, although the convention acknowledges that
legal migrants are entitled to more rights than those
who are undocumented.
The Convention failed to garner widespread
support in the international community. While it was
drafted and signed in 1990, it only came into effect in
2003, when the minimum of 20 ratifying states was
finally reached. Currently, there are over 60 states that
have signed, ratified, or expressed the intention of
adhering to the protocols set forth in the convention,
and the Committee on Migrant Workers oversees
adherence to this convention. However, these
nations are primarily those from which immigrants
emigrate, and often are not the destination countries
of migrant workers. Though it is important that the
home states of migrant workers acknowledge their
right to protection and fair treatment, without the
support of developed or developing nations to which
these migrants flock, the convention is all but useless.
Weak support among major employment countries
is among the biggest issues faced by the United
Nations in garnering support for migrant workers.
The resolutions, while specific and focused, are often
unfavorable among employment nations because
migrant workers serve as cheap labor alternatives.
Such countries are not particularly eager to forfeit
their cheap labor supply. Another impediment to
equality for migrant laborers is illegal immigration,
which is particularly hard to track and exists far
outside governmental controls. Finally, the conflict
between local and international law can present an
obstacle to migrant worker rights. Without powerful,
industrialized nations to support these conventions,
they are unlikely to have any great effect.
Proposed Solutions
There has been little in the way of proposed or
implemented solutions to this problem, since the
countries in which solutions must be implemented
are also those countries that benefit the most from
lax migrant labor regulations. However, in recent
years, countries of origin for workers have begun
pressuring the employment nations to take steps to
protect their citizens while working abroad.
In the Philippines, the Overseas Employment
Administration has been made responsible for the
oversight and protection of the thousands of Filipino
migrants working abroad. The economy of the
Philippines, like many source countries for migrant
labor, is dependent on remittances sent home by
these workers. The OEA has been responsible for
cracking down on employment agencies recruiting
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