WASHINGTON - A new international treaty to protect the rights of migrant workers around the world takes effect Tuesday, although most nations that import migrant labor, including the United States, have not ratified it and thus will not be bound by its provisions.

Nonetheless, the entry into force of the treaty, called the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, is being hailed by human rights and labor activists as a major milestone in ensuring that migrants do not suffer discriminatory treatment.

"The Convention is not an open invitation for more migration," said a statement issued by the international migrant advocacy group, December 18, and signed by almost 300 other national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), "but an instrument that provides a necessary universal basic standard to protect the human rights of both documented and undocumented migrant workers."

New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) called Tuesday for the industrialized countries that benefit economically from migration to sign and ratify the treaty, particularly in light of the difficult plight faced by many migrant laborers and their families since the launch of the "war on terrorism" after the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and the Pentagon.

"Fears of terrorism and economic insecurity have prompted a backlash against migrants and other foreigners in many countries," said Rory Mungoven, HRW's global advocacy director. "Migrant workers are vulnerable at the best of times, but they now need protection more than ever."

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan joined in HRW's appeal for wealthy countries to ratify the Convention. "Only when it is ratified by a large number of countries, including those receiving significant numbers of immigrants, will we be able to say that the promise of the Convention is being translated into reality," he said.

The treaty, which took 13 years to obtain the minimum 20 ratifications for it to take effect, has now been ratified by a total of 22 countries, all of them net exporters of migrants.

Ratifiers include Azerbaijan, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cape Verde, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, the Philippines, Senegal, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Uganda, and Uruguay.

Ten others have signed the treaty but not yet ratified it.

The United Nations estimates that some 175 million people--or roughly three percent of the world's total population--are estimated to be living outside their country of origin. While many of these are refugees searching for safety from violence, persecution, or, in some cases, natural disaster, most are seeking better economic opportunities for themselves and their families.

The current net annual flow of migrants is 2.3 million, with the largest net senders including China, Mexico, India, the Philippines, and Indonesia. The biggest net gainers over the next half century are projected to be the United States, Germany, Canada, Britain, and Australia.

According to the UN, some 60 percent of international migrants live in more developed countries, and almost one out of ten people living in more developed regions is a migrant. The ratio of migrants in developing countries is one in 70.

Countries with the largest number of migrants include the United States, with an estimated 35 million, Russia (13 million), Germany and Ukraine (7 million each), and France (6 million). At the same time, countries with the highest percentage of international migrant stock in their total population include the United Arab Emirates (74 percent), Kuwait (58 percent), Jordan (40 percent), Israel (37 percent), and Singapore (34 percent).

Because of their status, however, many migrants suffer discrimination both in jobs that are available to them and in gaining access to social services for themselves and their families. In some cases, for example, migrants cannot receive certain kinds of welfare benefits or even education for their children, despite the fact that they often pay as much in taxes as citizens.

In addition, migrants take jobs that citizens of wealthier countries often refuse in key economic sectors such as agriculture, construction, high tech, and domestic services. At the same time, however, they are subject to racism, abuse, and even violent attacks. Undocumented migrants are particularly vulnerable to exploitation and even blackmail by unscrupulous employers, police, and even immigration officials. This may be especially true of migrant women who often become domestic servants.

The Convention provides a comprehensive framework for the protection of migrants--regardless of their legal status--from discrimination and other abuses by their countries of origin, transit countries, and host countries alike.

But HRW said Tuesday that the Convention "is not soft on illegal immigration. All it asks is that undocumented migrants be treated in full compliance with the law, and not subjected to abuse."

Advocates of the treaty, like Geneva-based December 18 (the UN-recognized International Migrants' Day) argue that the issue of international migration is largely misunderstood, particularly in northern countries, whose publics often see migrants as a never-ending source of competition for jobs and a drain on government services.

"Migration is a phenomenon, not a problem," according to a letter signed by 290 NGOs, including Amnesty International, Anti-Slavery International, and the Asian Human Rights Commission. "Without efforts to share wealth more evenly, migration will only increase. In this matter, no short term and obvious solutions exist."

"(We) call on all political leaders to embrace the potential migrants represent, to 'demythologize' migration, to address the negative myths and fears and to inform the voters about the benefits of a migration policy that includes respect and dignity for all migrants."

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