Our global network of contributors to the AI & Human Rights Index is currently writing these articles and glossary entries. This particular page is currently in the recruitment and research stage. Please return later to see where this page is in the editorial workflow. Thank you! We look forward to learning with and from you.
[Insert statement of urgency and significance for why this right relates to AI.]
Sectors #
The contributors of the AI & Human Rights Index have identified the following sectors as responsible for both using AI to protect and advance this human right.
- ART: Arts and Culture
- BUS: Business
- COM: Media and Communication
- DEF: Defense and Military
- EDU: Education and Research
- ENV: Environmental and Energy
- FIN: Financial Services
- GOV: Government and Public Sector
- HLTH: Healthcare and Public Health
- INTL: International Organizations and Relations
- LAW: Legal and Law Enforcement
- REG: Regulatory and Oversight Bodies
- SOC: Social Services and Housing
- TECH: Technology
- TRAN: Transportation and Infrastructure
- WORK: Employment and Labor
AI’s Potential Violations #
[Insert 300- to 500-word analysis of how AI could violate this human right.]
AI’s Potential Benefits #
[Insert 300- to 500-word analysis of how AI could advance this human right.]
Human Rights Instruments #
Charter of Rights for Migrant Workers in Southern Africa (1978) #
G.A. Res. 33/162, Charter of Rights for Migrant Workers in Southern Africa, U.N. Doc. A/RES/33/162 (Dec. 20, 1978)
Annex
Noting the work done by the International Labour Organisation on the problems of migratory labour in southern Africa and recalling International Labour Organisation Conventions No. 87 of 9 July 1948 and Nos. 97 and 98 of 1 July 1949 concerning, respectively, the Freedom of association and protection of the right to organize, migration for employment and the application of the principles of the right to organize and to bargain collectively,
Recognizing that the migratory labour system is one of the major instruments of apartheid,
Mindful of the gross indignities it inflicts on workers, who are denied many of their basic human rights,
Noting that it undermines family life and disrupts agrarian economies,
Hereby pledge ourselves to strive for the abolition of the migratory ,labour system practised in South Africa and, pending its elimination, agree to the present Charter of Rights for Migrant Workers in Southern Africa.
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (1990) #
G.A. Res. 45/158, International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, U.N. Doc. A/RES/45/158 (Dec. 18, 1990)
Article 7
1. States Parties undertake, in accordance with the international instruments concerning human rights, to respect and to ensure to all migrant workers and members of their families within their territory or subject to their jurisdiction the rights provided for in the present Convention without distinction of any kind such as to sex, race, colour, language, religion or conviction, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, nationality, age, economic position, property, marital status, birth or other status.
Article 8
1. Migrant workers and members of their families shall be free to leave any State, including their State of origin. This right shall not be subject to any restrictions except those that are provided by law, are necessary to protect national Security, public order (ordre public), public health or morals or the rights and freedoms of others and are consistent with the other rights recognized in the present part of the Convention.
2. Migrant workers and members of their families shall have the right at any time to enter and remain in their State of origin.
Article 9
1. The right to life of migrant workers and members of their families shall be protected by law.
Article 10
1. No migrant worker or member of his or her family shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 11
1. No migrant worker or member of his or her family shall be held in slavery or servitude.
2. No migrant worker or member of his or her family shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour.
3. Paragraph 2 of the present article shall not be held to preclude, in States where imprisonment with hard labour may be imposed as a punishment for a crime, the performance of hard labour in pursuance of a sentence to such punishment by a competent court.
4. For the purpose of the present article the term “forced or compulsory labour” shall not include:
(a) Any work or service not referred to in paragraph 3 of the present article normally required of a person who is under detention in consequence of a lawful order of a court or of a person during conditional release from such detention;
(b) Any service exacted in cases of emergency or clamity threatening the life or well-being of the community;
(c) Any work or service that forms
Article 12
1. Migrant workers and members of their families shall have the right to Freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include Freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of their choice and Freedom either individually or in community with others and in public or private to manifest their religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.
2. Migrant workers and members of their families shall not be subject to coercion that would impair their Freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of their choice.
Article 13
1. Migrant workers and members of their families shall have the right to hold opinions without interference.
2. Migrant workers and members of their families shall have the right to Freedom of expression; this right shall include Freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art or through any other media of their choice.
3. The exercise of the right provided for in paragraph 2 of the present article carries with it special duties and responsibilities. It may therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary:
(a) For respect of the rights or reputation of others;
(b) For the protection of the national Security of the States concerned or of public order (ordre public) or of public health or morals;
(c) For the purpose of preventing any propaganda for war;
(d) For the purpose of preventing any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence.
Article 14
1. No migrant worker or member of his or her family shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her Privacy, family, home, correspondence or other communications, or to unlawful attacks on his or her honour and reputation. Each migrant worker and member of his or her family shall have the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
Article 15
1. No migrant worker or member of his or her family shall be arbitrarily deprived of property, whether owned individually or in association with others. Where, under the legislation in force in the State of employment, the assets of a migrant worker or a member of his or her family are expropriated in whole or in part, the person concerned shall have the right to fair and adequate compensation.
Article 16
1. Migrant workers and members of their families shall have the right to liberty and Security of person.
2. Migrant workers and members of their families shall be entitled to effective protection by the State against violence, physical injury, threats and intimidation, whether by public officials or by private individuals, groups or institutions.
3. Any verification by law enforcement officials of the identity of migrant workers or members of their families shall be carried out in accordance with procedure established by law.
4. Migrant workers and members of their families shall not be subjected individually or collectively to arbitrary arrest or detention; they shall not be deprived o their liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedures as are established by law.
5. Migrant workers and members of their families who are arrested shall be informed at the time of arrest as far as possible in a language they understand of the reasons for their arrest and they shall be promptly informed in a language they understand of any charges against them.
6. Migrant workers and members of their families who are arrested or detained on a criminal charge shall be brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorized by law to exercise judicial power and shall be entitled to trial within a reasonable time or to release. It shall not be the general rule that while awaiting trial they shall be detained in custody, but release may be subject to guarantees to appear for trial, at any other stage of the judicial proceedings and, should the occasion arise, for the execution of the judgement.
7. When a migrant worker or a member of his or her family is arrested or committed to prison or custody pending trial or is detained in any other manner:
(a) The consular or diplomatic authorities of his or her State of origin or of a State representing the interests of that State shall, if he or she so requests, be informed without delay of his or her arrest or detention and of the reasons therefor;
(b) The person concerned shall have the right to communicate with the said authorities. Any communication by the person concerned to the said authorities shall be forwarded without delay, and he or she shall also have the right to receive communications sent by the said authorities without delay;
(c) The person concerned shall be informed without delay of this right and of rights deriving from relevant treaties, if any, applicable between the States concerned, to correspond and to meet with representatives of the said authorities and to make arrangements with them for his or her legal representation.
8. Migrant workers and members of their families who are deprived of their liberty by arrest or detention shall be entitled to take proceedings before a court, in order that that court may decide without delay on the lawfulness of their detention and order their release if the detention is not lawful. When they attend such proceedings, they shall have the assistance, if necessary without cost to them, of an interpreter, if they cannot understand or speak the language used.
9. Migrant workers and members of their families who have been victims of unlawful arrest or detention shall have an enforceable right to compensation.
Article 17
1. Migrant workers and members of their families who are deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent Dignity of the human person and for their cultural identity.
2. Accused migrant workers and members of their families shall, save in exceptional circumstances, be separated from convicted persons and shall be subject to separate treatment appropriate to their status as unconvicted persons. Accused juvenile persons shall be separated from adults and brought as speedily as possible for adjudication.
3. Any migrant worker or member of his or her family who is detained in a State of transit or in a State of employment for violation of provisions relating to migration shall be held, in so far as practicable, separately from convicted persons or persons detained pending trial.
4. During any period of imprisonment in pursuance of a sentence imposed by a court of law, the essential aim of the treatment of a migrant worker or a member of his or her family shall be his or her reformation and social rehabilitation. Juvenile offenders shall be separated from adults and be accorded treatment appropriate to their age and legal status.
5. During detention or imprisonment, migrant workers and members of their families shall enjoy the same rights as nationals to visits by members of their families.
6. Whenever a migrant worker is deprived of his or her liberty, the competent authorities of the State concerned shall pay attention to the problems that may be posed for members of his or her family, in particular for spouses and minor children.
7. Migrant workers and members of their families who are subjected to any form of detention or imprisonment in accordance with the law in force in the State of employment or in the State of transit shall enjoy the same rights as nationals of those States who are in the same situation.
8. If a migrant worker or a member of his or her family is detained for the purpose of verifying any infraction of provisions related to migration, he or she shall not bear any costs arising therefrom.
Article 24
1. Every migrant worker and every member of his or her family shall have the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
Last Updated: April 29, 2025
Research Assistants: Laiba Mehmood, Aarianna Aughtry
Contributor: To Be Determined
Reviewer: Laiba Mehmood
Editor: Caitlin Corrigan
Subject: Human Right
Edition: Edition 1.0 Research
Recommended Citation: "II.D. Rights of Migrant Workers, Edition 1.0 Research." In AI & Human Rights Index, edited by Nathan C. Walker, Dirk Brand, Caitlin Corrigan, Georgina Curto Rex, Alexander Kriebitz, John Maldonado, Kanshukan Rajaratnam, and Tanya de Villiers-Botha. New York: All Tech is Human; Camden, NJ: AI Ethics Lab at Rutgers University, 2025. Accessed December 13, 2025. https://aiethicslab.rutgers.edu/Docs/ii-migrant-workers/.