This paper examines the specific contents of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICRMW), and its acceptability in Korea, in light of the rapid increase in migrant workers and the accompanying issues of discrimination and human rights abuses.
The ICRMW is a significant convention because it elevates the issue of migrant workers beyond a mere labor problem, framing it as a broad and universal matter for the entire international community. Furthermore, as a UN convention, its importance also lies in its recognition of the rights of migrant workers and their families as a universal aspect of human rights.
While acknowledging that previous International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions contributed to the protection of migrant workers' rights, this paper finds that their limited scope and low ratification rates have rendered them ineffective. In contrast, the ICRMW does not confine the issue of migrant workers to the limited category of labor. Instead, it expands the scope of protection to encompass all migrant workers and their families, regardless of their legal status, because their residence is a fundamental premise.
Korea has not been proactive in its ratification due to a conflict with the government's principle of managing migrant worker supply and demand, which makes it difficult for existing laws and systems to accommodate the convention. However, considering that the Korean Constitution acknowledges, to a certain extent, the basic rights of foreigners, and that the objectives of the ICRMW align with the goals of Korea's laws and systems, and that the scope of protection can be adjusted during the ratification process, Korea should move forward with the ratification of the ICRMW as soon as possible.