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Rabat – Amina Bouayach, President of Morocco’s National Human Rights Council (CNDH), emphasized the urgent need for universal ratification of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. She described the failure of many countries to adopt the convention as “a real obstacle to ensuring effective and comprehensive protection for migrant women and men.”
Speaking on the importance of strengthening protection mechanisms, Bouayach highlighted that advancing human rights in the context of migration is essential for development and stability, requiring collective commitment from states and relevant institutions. She stressed that global ratification of the convention would reinforce legal and institutional safeguards for migrants and refugees, ensuring their fundamental rights and dignity.
Amina Bouayach pointed out that countries in the Northern Hemisphere have yet to fully adopt the convention, which came into force in 2003, and underscored its alignment with other international frameworks, including the Marrakech Compact on Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration. She noted that the convention provides a binding legal framework to protect migrants from exploitation while enhancing protection mechanisms in host countries.
Highlighting the African dimension, Bouayach called for intensified advocacy, regional coordination, and greater engagement of national human rights institutions in migration issues at both regional and international levels. She stressed the importance of unifying African positions and developing joint initiatives to influence public policy, integrate a human rights approach in migration governance, and hold African human rights systems accountable for fulfilling their regional and international obligations.
Bouyach also asserted the key role of national human rights institutions in monitoring the situation of migrants and refugees, aligning national legislation with international standards, raising public awareness of migrant rights, and facilitating access to protection and redress mechanisms.
Morocco currently chairs the African Working Group on Migration, led byAmina Bouayach, which was established in Marrakech in late 2018 to strengthen the focus on migration issues within the African Network of National Human Rights Institutions.
In concluding the group’s latest meeting, held ahead of the African Network’s annual gathering, Bouyach reiterated Morocco’s commitment to advancing a human rights-based approach to migration in Africa and globally, while addressing the growing challenges in the field.
