A/65/222
consideration and action by States and other stakeholders and wishes to encourage
States to address those recommendations.
III. Issue in focus: the impact of the criminalization of migration
on the protection and enjoyment of human rights
7.
In 2008, the Special Rapporteur warned the Human Rights Council of the
increasing criminalization of irregular migration and the abuses of migrants during
all phases of the migration process. He also referred to the externalization of
migration control policies, the criminalization of labour migration, violations
against irregular migrants pertaining to interception and rescue at sea, detention and
expulsion, and smuggling and trafficking. 1
8.
In the present report, which is being submitted two years later, the Special
Rapporteur observes with deep concern that the trend towards increasing
criminalization continues. In addition, insufficient progress has been made in
mainstreaming human rights into migration governance. Yet, migration can be an
essential component of development and prosperity in countries of destination,
transit and origin in all regions of the world, and migrant labour continues to be
vital, and in demand, in most countries around the globe.
9.
The Special Rapporteur observes that disregard for human rights in migration
management initiatives has detrimental consequences not only for the protection of
non-documented or irregular migrants, but also for migrant populations as a whole
and host societies at large. Accordingly, he proposes, in this report, to expand the
framework of analysis to include the overall impact and consequences entailed by
policies that use criminal penalties, or administrative penalties which mimic
criminal ones, including policies that encourage labelling migrants as criminals or
illegal.
10. While recognizing the complexity of irregular migration and the plight of
irregular migrants, smuggled migrants and victims of abusive forms of migration
and transnational organized crime, the Special Rapporteur wishes to stress that he
does not aim to encourage irregular migration, but rather to underscore that irregular
migration is sometimes tacitly encouraged by the migration management policies
put in place by States. He also aims to highlight that a simplistic crime prevention or
law enforcement approach is ineffective and usually neglects the human rights
concerns involved in the complex causes and effects of irregular migration, in
particular the importance of States adhering to international human rights standards
vis-à-vis all migrants, whether documented or not.
11. In line with the above, the Special Rapporteur wishes to draw the General
Assembly’s attention to major human rights implications of the criminalization of
irregular migration. The Special Rapporteur expects that his report will contribute to
the dialogue on these issues in the framework of the fourth meeting of the Global
Forum on Migration and Development, which will be held in Mexico in November
2010. In his view, the Forum’s central theme “Partnerships for migration and
development: shared prosperity-shared responsibility” is momentous. It provides an
important platform for dialogue among States and other stakeholders on migration
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10-47488
See A/HRC/7/12.
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