E/CN.4/2000/82 page 8 in either international law or policy, a working definition needs to be found that will make it possible, in particular, to recognize and draw attention to situations in which the human rights of individuals can be protected by means of a legal, social and political framework. 26. Within the broad spectrum of international migrations there are some official definitions of certain categories of migrants, such as “migrant worker” or “migrant”, which are defined in, respectively, the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and ILO Conventions Nos. 97 and 143. There is also a definition of a refugee in the Convention and Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees. 27. The above-mentioned instruments or the rules for their implementation include definitions of various subcategories, such as asylum-seekers, people in situations similar to those of refugees and various specific categories of migrant workers (frontier workers, seasonal workers, etc.). Work is being carried out in the context of the draft protocol on trafficking in persons to the draft convention against transnational organized crime on the definition of the persons who are the victims thereof (trafficking in persons). This definition should also be examined in the light of the concept of the migrant, which the Special Rapporteur intends to establish as part of the plan of action. 28. There is no commonly accepted generic or general legal concept of the migrant in international law. It is often said that, by definition, many international migrants are not refugees and a large number of them are not migrant workers either. This is especially true in the case of the many migrants who are undocumented or in an irregular situation, including the victims of trafficking in persons, who are the most vulnerable to potential or actual violations of their human rights. 29. The Commission on Human Rights tacitly acknowledged the limitations of the term “migrant workers” when it established, first, the working group of intergovernmental experts on the human rights of migrants and, more recently, the post of Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants. 30. Definitions that are related to the reasons why people leave their countries of origin are perhaps the least suitable kind of definition, except to the extent that they give access to legal protection and status in the host country, as in the case of refugees. In the light of the political, social, economic and environmental situation of many countries, it is increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to make a clear distinction between migrants who leave their countries because of political persecution, conflicts, economic problems, environmental degradation or a combination of these reasons and those who do so in search of conditions of survival or well-being that do not exist in their places of origin. 31. There is a gap in international human rights jurisprudence in this area. The virtually universal system of protection for refugees means that violations of their civil and political rights can be recognized and remedied, especially when they pose such a risk to persons’ lives and security that they are forced to flee their country. However, there is no such recognition of violations of economic, social and cultural rights, which can also be serious enough to force