A/HRC/34/31 10. When the international community adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December 1948, it was accepted as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and nations, spelling out for the first time in human history the minimum civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights that all human beings should enjoy. The International Bill of Human Rights (the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) makes exceptions between nationals and nonnationals in respect of only two rights, and even then only in limited circumstances. 11. Human rights are universal, inalienable, indivisible and interdependent. The international human rights framework is clear that in order to give effect to those rights and to uphold the fundamental principle of non-discrimination, the unique and individual circumstances of each person must be considered by duty bearers. 9 By becoming parties to international human rights treaties, States assume obligations under international law and undertake to put in place domestic measures and legislation compatible with their treaty obligations.10 Those obligations have practical consequences for municipal authorities and local governments that may be required by domestic law to uphold them. States are also responsible for the human rights consequences of the actions, or failure to act, of private actors, including corporations, civil society actors and private security contractors, if they fail to take appropriate steps to prevent human rights abuses they knew or should have known about, or to investigate and punish those abuses, and provide compensation. The concept of a “migrant in a vulnerable situation” A. 12. The concept of a “migrant in a vulnerable situation” may be understood as a range of factors that are often intersecting, can coexist simultaneously and can influence and exacerbate each other. Situations of vulnerability may change over time as circumstances change or evolve. The factors that create a vulnerable situation for migrants might be what drives their migration from their countries of origin, occurs in transit and/or is related to a particular aspect of a person’s identity or circumstance. Thus, vulnerability in this context can be understood as situational (external) and/or embodied (internal). 11 A vulnerable situation arising from the reasons for leaving countries of origin 13. The drivers for “non-voluntary” precarious movements are multiple and often intertwined, and should be assessed on an individual basis. They can include poverty, discrimination, lack of access to fundamental human rights, including education, health, 9 10 11 Article 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights makes clear that the duty bearer in general is the State in whose territory a person is located, obliging States to respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognized in the present Covenant, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. States assume obligations and duties under international law to respect, protect and fulfil human rights. The obligation to respect means that States must refrain from interfering with or curtailing the enjoyment of human rights. The obligation to protect requires States to protect individuals and groups against human rights abuses. The obligation to fulfil means that States must take positive action to facilitate the enjoyment of human rights. It is important to note that migrants often show considerable resilience and agency throughout their migration. The vulnerable situations that migrants face have often been created for them by others through law, policy and practice. A human rights-based approach to migrants in a vulnerable situation would therefore seek to ensure that responses aim above all to empower migrants, rather than stigmatizing them and denigrating their agency. See, for example, A/HRC/33/67, paras. 9-12 and A/71/285, paras. 59-61. 5