Promoting and Protecting the Rights of Migrant Workers The Role of National Human Rights Institutions Human Rights Committee General Comment No. 15 on the position of aliens under the Covenant (1986) “Each State party must ensure the rights in the Covenant to “all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction” (article 2, para. 1). In general, the rights set forth in the Covenant apply to everyone, irrespective of reciprocity, and irrespective of his or her nationality or statelessness” and “must be guaranteed without discrimination between citizens and aliens.” General Comment No. 23 on the rights of minorities (1994) “Migrant workers or even visitors in a State party constituting such minorities should not be denied the exercise of those rights. As any other individual in the territory of the State Party, they would, also for this purpose, enjoy general rights, for example, to freedom of association, of assembly, and of expression.” General Comment No. 31 on the nature of the general legal obligation imposed on States parties (2004) “The enjoyment of Covenant rights is not limited to citizens of States parties but must also be available to all individuals, regardless of nationality or statelessness, such as asylum seekers, refugees, migrant workers and other persons, who may find themselves in the territory or subject to the jurisdiction of the State party.” General Comment No. 32 on the right to equality before courts and tribunals and to a fair trial (2007) “The right of access to courts and tribunals and equality before them is not limited to citizens of States parties, but must also be available to all individuals, regardless of nationality or statelessness, or whatever their status, whether asylum seekers, refugees, migrant workers, unaccompanied children or other persons, who may find themselves in the territory or subject to the jurisdiction of the State party.” Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights General Comment No. 13 on the right to education (article 13) (1999) “The right to TVE (technical and vocational education) ... consists, in the context of the Covenant’s non-discrimination and equality provisions, of programmes which promote the TVE of women, girls, out-of-school youth, unemployed youth, the children of migrant workers, refugees, persons with disabilities and other disadvantaged groups. General Comment No. 14 on the right to the highest attainable standard of health (2000) “States are under the obligation to respect the right to health by, inter alia, refraining from denying or limiting equal access for all persons, including prisoners or detainees, minorities, asylum seekers and illegal immigrants, to preventive, curative and palliative health services.” General Comment No. 15 on the right to water (articles 11 and 12) (2002) “Whereas the right to water applies to everyone, States parties should give special attention to those individuals and groups who have traditionally faced difficulties in exercising this right, including women, children, minority groups, indigenous peoples, refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, migrant workers, prisoners and detainees.” General Comment No. 16 on the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights (2005) “The principle of non-discrimination is the corollary of the principle of equality. Subject to … temporary special measures, it prohibits differential treatment of a person or group of persons based on his/her or their particular status or situation, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political and other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status, such as age, ethnicity, disability, marital, refugee or migrant status.” 30 | Chapter 3: Other UN instruments and mechanisms relevant to the rights of migrant workers