Promoting and Protecting the Rights of Migrant Workers The Role of National Human Rights Institutions 2.2.2. Regional Inter-American arrangements to protect the rights of migrant workers Two regional trade organizations in the Americas – the Common Market of the South (Mercusor) and the Andean Community (CAN) – have developed regional social and labour policies that apply to migrant workers. Mercusor is the largest trading bloc in South America144 while CAN comprises four countries in Latin America.145 Mercosur has approved the following regional instruments that seek to protect the rights of migrant workers: the Mercosur Social-Labour Declaration; the Agreement on Residence for State Party Nationals of Mercosur; the Agreement on Visa Exemptions; and the Agreement on Social Security. The Andean Labour Migration Instrument 2003 provides a comprehensive provision on the movement and rights of Andean migrant workers and members of their families. It provides for four categories of migrant workers – individually moving worker, company worker, seasonal worker and border worker (article 4) – and recognizes the principle of equal treatment and opportunities among migrant workers, regardless of the category to which they belong (article 10). 2.3. The African human rights system The African regional human rights system is administered by the African Union (AU), which replaced the former Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 2001. The AU has 54 member states.146 Similar to the Inter-American System, the African system consists of both the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights and the African Court on Human and People’s Rights, established by two principal human rights instruments. 2.3.1. The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights In 1981, the OAU adopted the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the “Banjul Charter”), which entered into force in 1986. The Banjul Charter provides for the establishment of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (article 30) and is the foundation human rights instrument in the African system. The Commission is mandated to promote and protect both human rights and “peoples’” (collective) rights, as defined in the Charter, and to interpret the provisions of the African Charter at the request of States parties, organs of the AU and individuals.147 Under its protection mandate, the Commission can receive complaints from individuals, organizations and States against State parties to the Charter regarding violations of its provisions (articles 48, 49 and 55). The Charter further requires States parties to report to the Commission every two years on their implementation of the Convention. Article 66 permits other standards and agreements to be adopted to supplement the rights protected in the Charter. In particular, the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, 2003 (the “Maputo Protocol”) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, 1990 provide for the specific protection needs of women and children not adequately recognized in the main Charter.148 The Commission has also established additional mechanisms, including special rapporteurs and working groups, to address particular human rights concerns. 144 Full members are Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela (still pending deliberations) while Associate Members are Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. For more information see: www.mercosurtc.com/index.html. 145 The Andean Community includes Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. 146 At the time of writing, 53 of the 54 Member States of the African Union had ratified the Charter; see: “Ratification Table: African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights”; African Union; www.achpr.org/instruments/achpr/ratification/. 147 Celebrating the African Charter at 30: A Guide to the African Human Rights System; African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, Pretoria University; South Africa; 2011; p. 17. 148 Celebrating the African Charter at 30: A Guide to the African Human Rights System; African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, Pretoria University; South Africa; 2011; pp. 12-15. At the time of writing, 41 Member States had ratified the Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and 28 had ratified the Maputo Protocol. 58 | Chapter 5: Regional mechanisms for the promotion and protection of the rights of migrant workers