E/CN.4/2000/82
page 17
84.
Households in which the mother has to migrate in search of a better standard of living for
its members, as well as households in which the mother stays behind while the father migrates,
are becoming increasingly common, and will become a defining characteristic of societies in
many countries in the twenty-first century.
85.
The changes in lifestyle implied by these new roles also determine how individuals in
these families are prepared for working life. Often, these households are the same as those in
which the phenomenon of child migration is most common. In addition to all that, the
consequences of changing roles, particularly with regard to the use and control of resources and
decision-making within the family, need to be dealt with. Often, these changes in households
find outward expression in alarming episodes of physical and psychological domestic violence.
86.
As well as the question marks concerning definitions, the limitations of international
legislation have also to be considered. It is only the International Convention of 1990 which
does not restrict itself exclusively to references to migrant workers but also includes members of
their families. This Convention has not yet entered into force; if it were to do so, it could be an
important tool for the protection of the rights of migrants, including those of undocumented
migrants.
87.
The documents relating to the Third Decade to Combat Racism and Racial
Discrimination and, in particular, those relating to the Special Rapporteur on contemporary
forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance also discuss
discrimination against migrant workers (see E/CN.4/1998/78). The provisions of the
international conventions on migrant workers address discrimination in employment. Although
the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the
Convention on the Rights of the Child cover migrant women and children, they do not deal
specifically with the rights of those persons who are in transit outside the borders of their
country. Those vulnerable groups receive special treatment in the analysis of the issue of
trafficking in women and children. However, the issues of migrant women and children are not
limited to the problem of trafficking.
88.
Trafficking in persons is the aspect of migration about which the international
community is particularly concerned. The concept of trafficking can be approached from
various perspectives. The term should be distinguished from “smuggling”. Whereas trafficking
may include a complex organization of contacts, smuggling refers solely to unlawful
border-crossing services. Trafficking in persons in particular involves violations of a number of
international conventions. This applies to persons who are victims at the moment of departure,
transit and arrival in the country of destination.
89.
The Special Rapporteur believes that special emphasis should be laid on the problem of
the forms of intolerance that arise when the reinsertion of migrant populations is completed.
Similar emphasis should be laid on dealing with the intolerance that impels these groups to
migrate.
90.
The day-to-day problems faced by migrants, especially by women migrants who have
suffered from systematic gender-based violence and who have been unable to get a satisfactory