AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
AI Index: POL 30/010/2003 (Public)
News Service No: 157
30 June 2003

1 July 2003 marks the entry into force of the International Convention on
the Protection of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (the
Migrants Rights Convention). This is the first international human rights
treaty to come into force since 1990 when the Convention on the Rights of
the Child came into force.

Amnesty International welcomes the coming into force of this Convention
since it is an important human rights tool for the protection of the human
rights of the around 175 million migrants in the world, and urges all
states to accede to the instrument.

The Migrants Rights Convention is an instrument that will be of increasing
importance in the 21st century as the movement of people across borders
becomes more complex, and can provide a solid framework for the
increasingly heated and negative international debate on these issues.

For more information please contact:

Pia Oberoi, Refugee Officer, Amnesty International, Geneva, Switzerland, on
+41 79 366 8168;
Lars Olsson, Refugee Officer, Amnesty International, London, UK, on +44 77
7377 5928;
or Amnesty International's press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566
or visit our website at http://www.amnesty.org/refugees-eng.

Public Document
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For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in
London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566
Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW. web:
http://www.amnesty.org

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The full text of the International Convention on the Protection of the
Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families can be found at:
http://www.hrea.org/erc/Library/display.php?doc_id=558&category_id=32&ca...