A/HRC/34/31
I. Introduction
1.
The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 32/14,
in which the Council requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
as Co-Chair of the Global Migration Group Working Group on Migration, Human Rights
and Gender Equality, to continue to develop principles and practical guidance on the
protection of the human rights of migrants in vulnerable situations within large and/or
mixed movements, on the basis of existing legal norms, and to report thereon to the Human
Rights Council at its thirty-fourth session.
2.
Accordingly, on 27 October 2016, the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) addressed a note verbale to Member States and
intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, seeking their views and
information on the issue. Written submissions were received from States,
intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and individual experts.1
3.
The Global Migration Group Working Group on Migration, Human Rights and
Gender Equality, led by the High Commissioner as Co-Chair, is developing the principles
and guidelines through a human rights-based, multi-stakeholder, expert process, which is
open to the involvement of all relevant actors.2 This initiative reflects the primary stated
purpose of the Global Migration Group, which is “to promote the wider application of all
relevant international and regional instruments and norms relating to migration” and “to
encourage the adoption of more coherent, comprehensive approaches to the issue of
international migration”.3
4.
The draft principles and guidelines have already been referenced in reports to the
Human Rights Council and General Assembly (see A/HRC/33/67, and A/71/285, para.
106). States have acknowledged and called for the continuation of the process of
developing the principles and guidelines (see the New York Declaration for Refugees and
Migrants, para. 51 and Council resolution 32/14).
5.
In view of considerations of space, the present report provides an introduction and
20 draft principles, as derived from international human rights law. The report should be
read in conjunction with the related conference room paper outlining a set of draft
guidelines, which complement each principle. 4 The principles and guidelines are currently
1
2
3
4
In addition to submissions from a large number of non-governmental organizations and individual
experts, submissions were received from the following States; Australia, Cuba, Ghana, Iraq, Italy,
Japan, Lebanon, Mexico, Peru, Qatar, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Turkey and the European
Union. The submissions can be found on the migration page of the OHCHR website at
www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Migration/Pages/largeandormixedmovements.aspx.
Members of the Working Group on Migration, Human Rights and Gender Equality include the
International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Organization for Migration (IOM),
OHCHR, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations
Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the United Nations
University, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UNWomen) and the World Health Organization. The group is co-chaired by OHCHR and UN-Women.
See
www.globalmigrationgroup.org/system/files/uploads/documents/Final_GMG_Terms_of_Reference_p
rioritized.pdf and www.globalmigrationgroup.org/what-is-the-gmg.
Each principle is illustrated by a set of related practical interventions, “promising practices”, which
are examples of measures that have been implemented by States and other stakeholders and are
intended to encourage practical action to give effect to the principles and guidelines.
3
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents