UN Human Rights Treaties

A/C.3/39/WG.1/CRP.2 4 June 198 4
ORIGINAL: ENLGISH
Thirty-ninth session THIRD COMMITTEE Working Group I Agenda item 12
REPORT OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL
Draft Report of the Open-ended Working Group on the Elaboration of an International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Their Families
Chairman: Mr. Antonio GONZALEZ DE LEON (Mexico)
INTRODUCTION
1. The Working Group on the Elaboration of an International Convention on the
Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Their Families, open to all
Member States, was established under General Assembly resolution 34/172 of
17 December 1979.
2. by its resolution 1984/41 of 24 May 1984, the Economic and Social Council,
inter alia, welcomed the progress made by the Working Group and expressed the hope
that substantial progress will be made by the Working Group during its
two following meetings to be held in 1984 in accordance with General Assembly resolution 38/86 of 16 December 1983.
3. By its resolution 38/86 of 16 December 1983, the General Assembly, inter alia,
took note of the last reports 1/ of the Working Group and expressed its
satisfaction with the substantial progress that the Working Group, during its
inter-sessional meetings in May 1982 and its meetings during the thirty-seventh
session of the General Assembly, has so far made in the accomplishment of its
mandate; decided that, in order to enable it to complete its task as soon as
possible, the Working Group should again hold an inter-sessional meeting of
two weeks' duration in New York, immediately after the first regular session of 1983 of the Economic and Social Council; invited the Secretary-General to transmit to Governments the report of the Working Group so as to allow the members of the
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Group to continue their task during the inter-sessional meeting to be held in the spring of 1984, as well as to transmit the results obtained at that meeting in order that the General Assembly may consider them during its thirty-ninth session The General Assembly also invited the Secretary-General to transmit the above-mentioned documents to the competent organs of the United Nations system and to international organizations concerned, cor their information, so as to enable them to continue their co-operation with the Working Group. It also decided that the Working Group should meet during the thirty-ninth session of the General Assembly, preferably at the beginning of the session, to continue and, if possible, to complete the elaboration of an international convention on the protection of the nights of all migrant workers and their families.
4. in accordance with paragraphs 3 and 4 of General Assembly resolution 37/170, the Secretary-General has transmitted the results obtained during the spring session of 1983 and the thirty-eighth session of the General Assembly to the Governments, competent organizations of the United Nations system and international organizations concerned.
5. Before its fourth inter-sessional meeting of 1984, the Working Group held the following sessions at United Nations Headquarters: (a) the first session during the thirty-fifth session of the General Assembly, from 8 October to
19 November 1980; (b) a first inter-sessional meeting from 11 to 22 May 1981; (c) a second session during the thirty-sixth session of the General Assembly from 12 October to 20 November 1981; (d) a second inter-sessional meeting from 10 to 21 May 1982; (e) a third session during the thirty-seventh session of the General Assembly from 18 October to 16 November 1982; (f) a third inter-sessional meeting from 31 May to 10 June 1983; a fourth session during the thirty-eighth session of the General Assembly from 27 September to 6 October 1983.
6. In pursuance of General Assembly resolution 38/86 the Working Group met at United Nations Headquarters from 29 May to 8 June 1984 under the chairmanship of Mr. Antonio Gonzalez de Leon. It held meetings with the participation of delegations from all regions. Observers for the International Labour Organisation, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Economic Commission for Africa also attended the meetings.
7. The Working Group had before it the following documents:

(a) Report of the Open-ended Working Group during the thirty-eighth session of the General Assembly (A/C.3/38/5);
(b) Report of the Open-ended Working Group on its inter-sessional meeting from 31 May to 10 June 1983 (A/C.3/38/1);
(c) Texts of the preamble and articles of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Their Families to which the
Working Group Provisionally agreed During the first reading in previous Sessions (A/C . 3/39/WG.l/CRP. 1) ;

(d) Compilation of proposals made by members of the Working Group (A/C.3/36/WG.1/WP..1);
(e) Suggestions submitted by Finland, Greece, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden: revised proposals for articles 2 and 4 and part IV of the draft International Convention (A/C .3/38/WG .1/CRP . 5) ;
(f) Suggestions submitted by Finland, Greece, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden relating to proposals presented in document A/C.3/35/WG .1/CRP.15 and Corr.l and 2 concerning part VII and III of the Convention.
(g) Further suggestions submitted by Finland, Greece, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden relating to proposals presented in part VI of the draft International Convention appended to the report of the Working Group (A/C.3/38/5).
B. For reference, the following documents were also available to the Working Group;
(a) Report of the Chairman of the Open-ended Working Group (A/C.3/3 5/13);
(b) Letter dated 25 May 1981 from the Chairman of the Open-ended Working Group on the drafting of an International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Their Families to the Secretary-General (A/36/378 and annexes I to XIX);
(c) Communications submitted by the Governments of Denmark (on behalf of the Nordic countries), Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United States, relating to the draft report of the Chairman of the Working Group on its inter-sessional meetings (A/36/383);
(d) Further suggestions submitted by Finland, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden for parts III, IV and V of the Convention (A/C.3/3 6/WG.1/CRP.1/Add .3 and 4);
(<i) Report of the Open-ended Working Group to the Third Committee of the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth session (A/C.3/36/10);
(f) Report of the Open-ended Working Group on its inter-sessional meeting from 10 to 21 May 1982 (A/C.3/37/1);
(g) Report of the Open-ended Working Group during the thirty-seventh session of the General Assembly [A/C.3/37/7 and Corr.l and 2 (English only)].
I. CONSIDERATION OF ARTICLES OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION ON THE PROTECTION OF THE RIGHTS OF ALL MIGRANT WORKERS AND THEIR FAMILIES
9. The present report contains exclusively results of discussion in the Working Group during its inter-sessional meeting from 29 May to 8 June 1984 regarding specific provisions of the Convention, and does not contain statements of a general

nature made during the debates. In the texts set forth throughout this report which were considered by the Working Group, the only language which has been provisionally agreed upon is that outside square brackets. Square brackets indicate that the Working Group has not reached provisional agreement on the proposed language, which therefore remains only a proposal.
10. It may be recalled that, at its meetings held during the thirty-sixth session
of the General Assembly, the Working Group had concluded its first reading of the
preamble of the draft Convention. At its inter-sessional meeting in May 1982, the
Working Group concluded its first reading of part II of the draft Convention on the
understanding that the text which was provisionally agreed upon would be further
examined at a later stage in order to harmonize it with the rest of the Convention
and to adopt a text without brackets. At the same session the Working Group also
concluded its preliminary consideration of part I of the Convention and agreed to
postpone further consideration of articles 2 and 4, which were still pending, to a
later stage. At its spring inter-sessional meeting of 1983, the Working Group
concluded consideration of part III with the exception of article 55 which the
Group agreed to take up together with part IV dealing with particular categories of
migrant workers and members of their families, which the Group decided to consider
at a later stage. During the thirty-eighth session of the General Assembly, the
Group concluded part V on the promotion of sound, equitable, humane conditions in
connection with lawful international migration of workers and their families,
part VII on general provisions. The text of the preamble, part I on the scope and definitions (arts. 1, 3, 5, 6), part II on fundamental human rights of migrant workers and members of their families, part III on additional rights of migrant workers and members of their families in regular situation/lawful status (arts. 35 to 54 and art. 56) and part V (arts. 62 to 68) and part VII appeared in document A/C. 3/39/WG.l/CRP.l.
11. During the spring 1984, the Working Group agreed to complete its first reading
of the draft Convention by concluding consideration of part VIII on the final
provisions, part VI on the application of the Convention as well as the pending
articles relating to the scope and definitions namely articles 2, 4 and 55.
Notes 1/ A/C.3/38/1 and A/C.3/38/5.