On the 26^th of June, the UN Human Rights Council held a dialogue on the human rights of migrants, attended by representatives from the European Union, UN agencies, NGOs, and countries such as the United States, India, Russia, and China. This discussion highlighted the need to protect the rights of migrants. It advocated for States to take measures to combat people trafficking, provide access to services for victims, regularise and expand pathways for migration and save lives at sea. Suggestions were made to facilitate safe, orderly migration and address the varying capacities of States.

The UN Human Rights Council, with the help of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants Felipe Gonzáles Morales, is working to protect and promote the rights of migrants. His report submitted to the council revealed that irregular migrants faced many barriers to accessing their fundamental rights and were often subject to torture, abuse, and discrimination. It recommended taking permanent measures to protect their rights, including regularising their legal status and providing protection for vulnerable migrant children.

He has visited Poland, Belarus, and Bangladesh and reviewed their initiatives. He has also highlighted the responsibility of States in search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea and criticised measures taken by States that have led to increased repression of mobility and have exacerbated trafficking in human beings. He has called for establishing an independent mechanism to investigate missing migrants.

Over 200 civil society organisations are calling on the Human Rights Council to create an independent international monitoring system to investigate human rights violations at international borders, provide accountability, and ensure justice for victims and their families. This would help to reduce human rights violations related to migration and address root causes.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have called on the UN Human Rights Council to monitor and address abuses occurring at international borders and to ensure the protection of all human rights. They expressed their gratitude to the Special Rapporteur for their suggestion to establish an independent international monitoring system. The organisations highlighted the often-lethal environment migrants face while in transit and the human suffering caused by migration management policies, particularly among certain groups.

The Mediterranean has become a mass grave for those seeking safety, and people in transit face severe human rights abuses in Europe, Turkey, Thailand, and the US-Mexico border. EU states are failing to fulfil their search and rescue obligations. Turkey and Croatia have been detaining and forcibly sending refugees back to their homelands, putting them at risk of further harm. There has been a lack of access to official information, and no comprehensive investigation has been conducted into the tragedy at the Morocco-Spanish border.

Migrants in transit are highly vulnerable to a range of human rights violations due to a lack of legal protection and resources. This is particularly true for migrant women and children, who can be subjected to gendered discrimination and abuse. International law requires states to mitigate the risks faced by migrants in transit, but often security-driven migration policies and xenophobic rhetoric exacerbate the situation. Migrants face numerous human rights violations at international borders, including unlawful profiling, torture and ill-treatment, gender-based violence, dangerous interception practices, and prolonged or arbitrary detention.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights OHCR has developed principles and guidelines to protect the human rights of migrants at international borders. This guidance is intended to ensure effective border governance through respect for the human rights of all migrants. OHCHR also provides technical advice to States and other stakeholders to facilitate the implementation of human rights-based policies.

International borders must be managed by human rights obligations, meaning that all migrants have the right to individual assessment of their needs and are protected from collective expulsions and refoulement. Additionally, arbitrary detention and discriminatory decision-making must be avoided, and particular attention must be paid to those in vulnerable situations.

Governments must consider the human rights of migrants when managing their borders. International law requires states to mitigate the risks faced by migrants in transit, and the OHCHR has guided to ensure the protection of human rights in this context. Governments must consider these principles when developing and implementing border policies.