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ChapterF
INTERNATIONALMIGRATIONANDPROTECTIONOFTHEHUMANRIGHTS
OFALLMIGRANTS
Migrants are part of a social process in countries of the region that is highly relevant to the 21st century.
One of themost urgent problems is the lack of protection accordedmany of these people in the course of
their journeys, their integration and their return. As immigration is a potentially beneficial process for
countries, communities, families and individuals, the institutions, legislation and public policies that
govern migration should be based on a rights approach. The international human rights framework
establishes guidelines and obligations, while agreements at varying scales establish shared lines of action,
and the involvement of civil society lends legitimacy to this management. The specific chapter of the
Cairo Programme of Action of 1994 and the agreements emerging from the SecondHigh-Level Dialogue
on International Migration and Development in 2013 constitute a framework akin to the Montevideo
Consensus, as they emphasize the need for protection and for affirmative strategies on the part of the
international community. Regional and subregional initiatives, such as CELAC and integration
arrangements, offer a platform for developing and monitoring some measures. Political support can be
found as well in the broad experience and commitments assumed at the Regional Conference on
Migration and the South American Conference on Migration. United Nations agencies, funds and
programmes, together with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), have specific mandates
thatmust be considered amongmechanisms for follow-up to themeasures.
This chapter covers 10 priority measures. All of them are interrelated and involve various
common lines of action, as well as some targets and indicators. They refer both to emigration and to
immigration, return and transit. The summary tables refer repeatedly to regional and subregional
initiatives that provide forums for follow-up, such as CELAC, the OISS (the Ibero-American
Organization for Social Security), integration schemes and specialized intergovernmental forums, as well
as the role of the United Nations and the IOM. A number of measures are very specific in nature, and
presuppose the involvement of more than one country in implementing lines of action. These, in turn, are
common to several PMs. Relationships with the SDG goals are indicated in each table, for example SDG
target 10.7, “Facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration andmobility of people, including
through implementation of plans and well-managed migration policies”, and SDG target 8.8, “Protect
labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers, including migrant
workers, particularlywomenmigrants, and those in precarious employment.”
Prioritymeasures 66 (inclusion of international migration on the post -2015 development agenda)
and 68 (comprehensive strategies to prevent infringement of the human rights of migrants) are broad in
scope and can be covered under initiatives that already exist or are in preparation, and they aremoreover
to be found in various othermeasures of this operational guide, where they are explained in detail. PM 75
(referring to the Second High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development) has been
fulfilled, in general, although the comments point to the need for follow-up to the agreements established
in that dialogue. The remaining measures refer to assistance and protection for migrants (PM 67),
preparing comprehensive global and regional strategies to prevent the infringement of migrants’ human
rights (PM 68), bilateral andmultilateral social security conventions (PM 69), consistency and reciprocity
in dealingwith the various situations facing emigrants (PM 70), dialogue and international cooperation on
migration, human rights and development (PM 71), protection of human rights, avoiding any form of
criminalization of migration, and guaranteeing access to social services (PM 72), strengthening cross-
sector coordination and reinforcing mechanisms for intergovernmental cooperation (PM 73) and
strengthening cooperation among countries of origin, transit and destination (PM74).
