Migrants’ Access to Human Rights

Abstract

Since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and especially in the past few decades, the world has made significant strides towards protection of human rights. Yet, large numbers and different groups of people in various parts of the world continue to suffer from an inadequate access to these rights. Migrants, working or living in foreign lands as nonnationals, often find themselves in such situations. While all migrants are not equally disadvantaged and although the characteristics of different categories of migrants, including refugees, vary considerably, their lack of adequate access to human rights and their vulnerability to the abuse of such rights share at least a number of common causes