Already in 1975, The Final Act of the Helsinki Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, included a specific chapter on Economic and social aspects of migrant labor. Participating States, considering that the movements of migrant workers in Europe have reached substantial proportions and that they constitute an important economic, social and human factor  stress that the problems arising from the phenomenon should be dealt with by the parties directly concerned (also taking due account of the requirements of each State’s socioeconomic situation), in order to resolve these problems in their mutual interest and having regard to the obligation of each State to comply with bilateral and multilateral agreements.

They commit themselves to ensure, through collaboration between the host country and the country of origin, the conditions under which the orderly movement of workers might take place but also to protect their personal and social welfare, to ensure equality of rights between migrant workers and nationals with regard to conditions of employment and work and to social security, and to ensure that migrant workers enjoy satisfactory living conditions, especially housing conditions. Migrant workers should receive, as far as possible, regular information in their own language, children of migrant workers should have access to education, under the same conditions as the children of the host country and receive supplementary education in their own language. The participating States should bear in mind that migrant workers, particularly those who have acquired qualifications, can, upon return to their countries of origin, help to remedy any deficiency of skilled labor in their country of origin and should to facilitate, as far as possible, the reunion of migrant workers with their families.

The commitment to work in order to improve the general situation of migrant workers and their families is expressed in the Madrid document of 1983 (“Cooperation in the Field of Economics, of Science and Technology and of the Environment”, paragraphs 27 and 28) . The participating States recommend that, among other measures for facilitating the social and economic reintegration of returning migrant labor, the payment of pensions as acquired or established under the social security system of the host country, should be ensured by appropriate legislative means or reciprocal agreements.

In the Vienna document of 1989 (“Cooperation in other areas”, par. 40 to 44) and in the Copenhagen and Paris documents of 1990, participating States return on particular aspects of the promotion of the rights of migrant workers and their families, with special attention to family reunification.

In the Moscow document of 1991 (paragraphs 38 to 38.4), specific attention I paid to measures in order to respect and uphold migrants’ rights to express freely the own ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic characteristics. Participating States explicitly condemn all acts of discrimination on the ground of race, color and ethnic origin, intolerance and xenophobia against migrant workers. They recommend that the CSCE, in its future work on the human dimension, consider appropriate means to hold focused discussions on all issues regarding migrant workers.

In the Helsinki document of 1992 (“Decisions”, chapter VI, par. 36 to 38) the participating States state that human rights and fundamental freedoms are universal and are also to be equally enjoyed by migrant workers wherever they live. They encourage the creation of conditions to foster greater harmony in relations between migrant workers and the rest of the society of the participating State in which they lawfully reside. States commit to create the conditions for promoting equality of opportunity in respect of working conditions, education, social security and health services, housing, access to trade unions as well as cultural rights for lawfully residing and working migrant workers.

These principles are reconfirmed in the Budapest document of 1994 (“Decisions”, chapter VIII, par. 28 to 31), in which the participating States also stress the importance of taking appropriate measures to better prevent racist attacks and other manifestations of violent intolerance against migrant workers and their families.

Analysis provided by: Antonella C. Attardo PhD (History of Law), Italy.