A/HRC/17/33/Add.3 communities. Many of these issues have only received insufficient attention to date. In addition, these problems have been exacerbated by the economic downturn in 2008 that has severely and often inequitably impacted migrants. 7. With regard to refugees, since the ratification of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees in 1981, the legislation provides for the recognition of refugees and granting of refugees status. However, in practice the Government is very reluctant to recognize refugees: in 2009, only 30 asylum-seekers were granted refugee status, while 501 where given a permission to stay for humanitarian reasons. III. Normative and institutional framework for the protection of the human rights of migrants A. The international legal framework 8. Japan is party to a number of core international human rights treaties, in particular the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. It also ratified the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its Protocol. 9. Japan is yet to ratify: the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (hereinafter “Migrant Workers Convention”); or the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children and the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air (both of which supplement the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, also not ratified), the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the ILO Conventions No. 97 concerning Migration for Employment and No. 143 concerning Migrations in Abusive Conditions and the Promotion of Equality of Opportunity and Treatment of Migrant Workers. The Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities are also yet to be ratified by Japan. B. The national legal and institutional framework 1. Policy and legislation 10. As outlined in the report it submitted in 2008 to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Japanese policy regarding foreign workers provides that “the acceptance of foreign workers in professional and technical fields should be more actively promoted. On the other hand, with respect to the matter of accepting workers for so-called unskilled labour, there is a concern that the Japanese economy and society as well as people’s livelihood may be adversely affected by such an [acceptance of unskilled labour].”3 The Government concludes that “based on the aforementioned policy, in 3 4 “Ninth Basic Plan of Employment Measures”, adopted by the Cabinet in August 1999