Basic Documents

The second revised edition of "Basic Documents on International" "Migration Law" brings together in a single volume the principal international conventions, declarations and instruments governing international migration in the form in which they stood as of early 1997. It contains the texts of these materials (or, where appropriate, extracts from the texts) together with information on the current state of ratification of each instrument and indications of any reservations, interpretative declarations or other statements made by the States parties. The book begins with excerpts from general multilateral texts, ranging from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the Vienna Declaration of 1993. This is followed by instruments governing nationality and statelessness; materials relating to refugees; and texts emanating from the Council of Europe, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, the European Community and Union and the International Labour Organization. The selection ends with a miscellany of texts of general significance, from the Inter-American Convention on Territorial Asylum of 1954 to the Convention of Human Rights concluded by the Commonwealth of Independent States in 1995. This publication is not intended for scholars alone, but also for practitioners in migration law. The texts are of practical significance for those concerned with the administration of the laws affecting migration and for representatives of those affected by these laws. It also serves as a companion to Richard Plender's monograph, "International Migration Law."

Since the publication of the second edition of this outstanding collection there has been a continued and rapid growth in the number international conventions, protocols, declarations and recommendations governing migration; and a transformation of the European Union’s the legislation on the subject. The present edition takes account of these developments.