The Government has been urged to use its forthcoming presidency of the EU to highlight a new UN convention on the rights of migrant workers.
The convention comes into effect tomorrow and has been ratified by 22 countries to date, none of them members of the EU.
Ms Siobhán O'Donoghue of the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) said the Government should take a leadership role during its EU presidency in getting the agreement of states to ratify the convention.
The Convention on the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers and Members of their Families places obligations on countries receiving such workers, as well as the countries from which they leave.
It demands that states work to prevent and eradicate illegal migration as well as calling for action on the protection of undocumented workers.
Ms O'Donoghue said migrant workers throughout the world were making significant contributions to the economies of developed and developing countries.
"These workers and their families are frequently denied rights and subjected to exploitative treatment. The convention offers the only international mechanism to protect such workers and raise standards in their treatment."
Father Bobby Gilmore, who also works with the MRCI, which is based in Dublin, said respect for the human rights of migrants should be an inherent part of every government's migration policy.
"This convention provides the benchmark for ensuring migrants human rights are protected."
The MRCI, which was formerly known as the Migrant Information Centre, says it will continue to campaign for ratification of the convention.
It will also, it said, continue to raise awareness of the "many incidences of exploitation and denial of human rights being experienced by migrant workers and their families".
Further information about the convention is available on the website www.december18.net
