Aliens receive the benefit of the right of peaceful assembly and of freedom of association. They may marry when at marriageable age. Their children are entitled to those measures of protection required by their status as minors. In those cases where aliens constitute a minority within the meaning of article 27, they shall not be denied the right, in community with other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion and to use their own language. Aliens are entitled to equal protection by the law. There shall be no discrimination between aliens and citizens in the application of these rights. These rights of aliens may be qualified only by such limitations as may be lawfully imposed under the Covenant. However, the scope and extent of human rights protection for non-citizens (sometimes referred to as “aliens” or “non-nationals”) remains controversial, uneven and, in some cases, uncertain. Notwithstanding repeated affirmations of the universality of human rights, State practice appears to support a different kind of treatment of aliens with respect to many aspects of public and private life. In addition, and despite the use of inclusive terminology, some of the major international human rights treaties contain provisions either implicitly or explicitly excluding non-citizens. Under such provisions, non-citizens unlawfully within the territory of a State are generally subject to even greater restrictions. The expansive position of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, for example, must be read in conjunction with restrictions on the application of certain rights to individuals lawfully within the territory of the State party76 and with the right of States parties to derogate from certain, non-fundamental rights For example, freedom of movement (art. 12 (1)) and protection from arbitrary expulsion (art. 13). 76 under specified circumstances.77 Of all the core human rights treaties, only the Convention on the Rights of the Child provides an unambiguous assurance that its provisions apply to all children within the jurisdiction of the State party, without discrimination of any kind.78 In its Advisory Opinion on the Juridical Conditions and Rights of Undocumented Migrants (Undocumented Migrants Case), the Inter-American Court of Human Rights gave a comprehensive analysis of the human rights of migrants and migrant workers. Its central position confirms that international human rights law does indeed extend basic protections to all persons including undocumented migrants: [T]he regular situation of a person in a State is not a prerequisite for that State to respect and ensure the principle of equality and non-discrimination, because … this principle is of a fundamental nature and all States must guarantee it to their citizens and to all aliens who are in their territory. This does not mean that they cannot take any action against migrants who do not comply with International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, article 4 (1), providing for derogations in times of public emergency which threaten the life of the nation provided that such measures are strictly required by the exigencies of the situation and do not involve discrimination “solely on the ground of race, colour, sex, language, religion or social origin”. Note that nationality is excluded from this list of prohibited grounds. According to the travaux préparatoires, this omission reflected an understanding of the fact that States will often find it necessary discriminate against aliens in times of national emergency. Nowak, op. cit., p. 86. 77 Article 2 (1) requires States parties to: “[r]espect and ensure the rights set forth in the present Convention to each child within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child’s or his or her parent’s or legal guardian’s race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status”. For a more detailed analysis of the applicability of the other core human rights treaties to non-citizens, see Gallagher, International Law of Human Trafficking, chap. 3. 78 COMMENTARY 59