Committee on Migrant Workers: General Comment No. 5 (2021) on migrants’ rights to liberty, freedom from arbitrary detention and their connection with other human rights

7 October 2021

On 24 September 2021, the UN Committee on Migrant Workers released its General Comment No. 5 (2021), which provides an authoritative interpretation of articles 16 and 17 and other articles of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, focusing on migrants’ right to liberty and freedom from arbitrary detention. The Global Detention Project provided the Committee with expert advice and comments during various phases of the drafting of the General Comment, as well as a written submission highlighting key concerns related to migration-related detention practices. At the launch event for the General Comment, on 7 October 2021, the Global Detention Project’s Michael Flynn and Abdul Aziz Muhamat were invited to comment on the importance of the document in efforts to promote the human rights of people in detention.