One in Thirty: Protecting Fundamental Rights for the World’s Migrants and Refugees

As of 2017, there were nearly 258 million migrants and refugees worldwide, representing 1 in 30 people. Whether driven by war, natural disasters, poverty, or endemic violence, refugees and migrants share the same basic needs upon arriving in a new country. This chapter explores whether the world’s constitutions lay a foundation for migrants and refugees to meet those basic needs without discrimination, including by protecting their rights to health, education, and decent working conditions. Further, this chapter interrogates whether choices about constitutional language—such as using the word “citizens” instead of “everyone”--can have profound consequences for migrants’ and refugees’ lives. Finally, this chapter assesses whether constitutions include protections for the 10 million stateless people who are not officially citizens of any country.