E/CN.4/2000/82 page 4 I. INTRODUCTION 1. At its fifty-fifth session, the Commission on Human Rights adopted resolution 1999/44, by which it decided to appoint, for a three-year period, a special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants to examine ways and means to overcome the obstacles existing to the full and effective protection of the human rights of this vulnerable group, including obstacles and difficulties for the return of migrants who are undocumented or in an irregular situation. The Special Rapporteur should formulate strategies and recommendations for the promotion and implementation of policies to protect the human rights of migrants, and establish the criteria on which those policies should be based. 2. In the same resolution, the Commission invited the Special Rapporteur, in the performance of his/her functions, to request and receive information from all relevant sources, including migrants themselves, on violations of the human rights of migrants and their families, to promote the effective application of relevant international norms and standards on the issue, and to recommend actions and measures applicable at the national, regional and international levels to eliminate violations of the human rights of migrants. 3. The Commission requested the Special Rapporteur to take into account a gender perspective when requesting and analysing information, a perspective that will also be taken into account when analysing existing legislation and making recommendations. It also recommended that special attention should be given to the occurrence of multiple forms of discrimination and violence against migrant women. 4. Pursuant to this resolution, on 6 August 1999, the Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-fifth session, after consultation with the members of the Bureau, appointed Ms. Gabriela Rodríguez Pizarro (Costa Rica) as Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants. 5. The Economic and Social Council, in its decision 1999/239, endorsed Commission on Human Rights resolution 1999/44. 6. Aware of the weighty responsibility entrusted to her, as well as the amount of work involved and the need to seek the support and cooperation of all relevant bodies, in compliance with resolution 1999/44, the Special Rapporteur submits this report to the Commission on Human Rights for its consideration. 7. The report consists of eight chapters. Chapters II-V describe the recent activities of the Special Rapporteur, the background to her mandate, an outline of her plan of action and a first look at the existing legal framework of international instruments relating to the rights of migrants. Chapter VI contains observations on the aspects considered relevant to the design of a strategy for the human rights of migrants, including some of the main obstacles to the full protection of migrants’ rights. The last part of the document consists of the preliminary conclusions and recommendations of the Special Rapporteur (chapters VII and VIII).