December 12, 2025
On December 1, 2025, the United Nations Committees on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) and on the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (CMW) adopted the Joint General Comments 38–39 (CERD) and 7–8 (CMW), establishing new authoritative guidance on combating xenophobia and racism, and safeguarding the rights of migrants and others perceived as such.
These Joint General Comments constitute a landmark first stance from UN Committees on the way xenophobia and racism impact the enjoyment of a wide range of rights by migrants and others perceived a such. Furthermore, they integrate important substantive contributions by first recognizing that xenophobia and racism are structural forms of discrimination rooted in colonialism and slavery. In addition, the Joint General Comments are clear in determining intersectionality as a guiding principle for interpreting State obligations, which allows for the use of an interpretation tool that will consider how overlapping forms of discrimination affect migrants and others perceived as such. Third, the Committees uphold the criteria developed by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). Consequently, they integrate the notion of the right to health as the right of every person to the highest attainable standard of health, including its four core elements: availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality.
Specifically on the right to health, the Joint General Comments address mental health as an integral component of the right to health of all migrants and persons perceived as such. They also underline special guidelines to address the accessibility barriers faced by migrants with disabilities and protections for their rights. Moreover, the texts integrate the principle of confidentiality, as well as references to the management of data and personal information, issues that are of vital importance when accessing health in the migration context and beyond. The Joint General Comments also underscore the importance of the impact the bias of healthcare personnel and the provision of services in general might have on mental health outcomes.
Concerning State duties, the Joint General Comments emphasize the duties to ensure non-discriminatory access to the full range of health services, including sexual and reproductive health care. The texts also reaffirm the need to adopt special protections concerning reproductive health, among others, to ensure that women are not penalized or deported for pregnancy or having children.
The issuance of these Joint General Comments significantly advances a comprehensive rights-based framework rooted in existing health standards in favor of the full realization of the right to health for all migrant persons and others perceived as such. The Joint General Comments are a reflection of the contributions, discussions and views of a broad range of stakeholders, including the Center for Health and Human Rights and other academic institutions, who participated in a consultative process led by CERD and CMW over the last two years. Several of the aforementioned topics were included in our submission to the Committees for the final texts. The Center for Health and Human Rights celebrates these Joint General Comments and reaffirms its commitment to advance the right to health for all persons around the globe.