Sidestepping Rights: An Analysis of the Intersection of Human Rights Obligations and Their Practical Implications for Older Migrants

Abstract

This chapter concerns human rights, and its international legal setting in relation to migration and older age, and its implications for experiences of civic exclusion. There is a lack of scientific literature exploring the labour status of migrants, the relationship between labour experiences and civic and socio-cultural exclusionary processes, and the implications for socio-economic exclusion outcomes. The principles of equality and non-discrimination enshrined in several international human rights legal instruments will be presented within an international mobility perspective to assess whether the protection mechanisms of human and labour rights are in line with the migratory phenomenon brought by globalization. In this context, the chapter’s focus will be on the rights to work and social security as two main human rights provisions to circumvent mechanisms of civic exclusion, and secure better socio-economic outcomes for older migrants. A case derived from a research project concerning migrants and pensions in a Swedish municipality will provide an illustrative example of some of the principal dilemmas illuminated in the intersection of generalized rights and practical outcomes.