§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they propose that the United Kingdom should ratify the United Nations Convention of 1990 on the rights of all migrant workers and their families; and, if not, which articles they consider unacceptable. [HL3190]
§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Rooker)The Government have no plans at present to sign and ratify the covention. We consider we have already struck the right balance between the need for immigration control and the protection of the interests and rights of migrant workers and their families in the United Kingdom. The rights of migrant workers and their families are protected in United Kingdom legislation, including the Human Rights Act 1998, and the United Kingdom's existing commitments under international law.
The convention in its totality applies to migrant workers and members of their families during the entire migration process, including their entry into the United Kingdom. We consider that the pre-entry and on-entry scope of the convention could undermine the United Kingdom's system of frontier controls were the UK to ratify the convention.