Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants

Purpose of the mandate

Migration has been part of the human experience throughout history, and the number of migrants is growing worldwide. For those migrants finding themselves in situations of vulnerability, this mandate was created to:

• Examine ways and means to overcome the obstacles existing to the full and effective protection of the human rights of all migrants at all stages of migration
• Elaborate recommendations on strengthening the promotion, protection and implementation of the human rights of all migrants

About the mandate

The Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants is an independent expert appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. The mandate was created in 1999 by the Commission on Human Rights, pursuant to resolution 1999/44. Since then, the mandate of the Special Rapporteur has been extended by Commission on Human Rights resolutions  2002/62 and 2005/47; and Human Rights Council resolutions 8/10, 17/12,  26/19, 34/21, and most recently 43/6, each for a period of three years.

The mandate of the Special Rapporteur covers all countries, irrespective of whether a State has ratified the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, of 18 December 1990.

Learn more about the mandate

Current mandate holder

Felipe González Morales has been the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants since 2017. He is a Professor of International Law at the Diego Portales University, in Santiago, Chile, where he is also the Director of a Master in International Human Rights Law. He was a Commissioner and the Rapporteur on Migrants between 2008 and 2015 at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, where he was President from 2010 to 2011.

Read Mr. González Morales’ full biography and CV