The Committee on Migrant Workers invited Younous Arbaoui to contribute to the travaux préparatoires of the upcoming General Comment No. 6 on the convergence of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. In this context, he contributed to the Day of General Discussion held during the Committee’s 35th session that took place in Palais des Nations Geneva from 19 to 30 September 2022.

In the ensuing discussion, speakers observed that the General Comment would contribute to strengthening the protection of the human rights of all migrants worldwide by providing States with authoritative guidance on the implementation of their obligations under the Convention and their commitments under the Compact.

The Committee was also called upon to clarify States’ obligations to prevent the pushback of migrants.  Abusive and punitive use of arbitrary and incommunicado detention was a hallmark characteristic of pushbacks, and should be explicitly referenced within the General Comment.

A summary of the discussion, including Arbaoui’ s contribution, is available here.

For a video recording of the whole discussion, please see here.