CMW/C/GC/1
United Nations
International Convention on the
Protection of the Rights of
All Migrant Workers and
Members of Their Families
Distr.: General
23 February 2011
Original: English
Committee on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers
and Members of Their Families
General comment No. 1 on migrant domestic workers
I.
Introduction
1.
Domestic work is an important occupation for millions of individuals, accounting
for up to 10 per cent of total employment in some countries.1 The trend over the past
decades has been a growing prevalence of migrants amongst domestic workers. Women
make up the overwhelming majority of these workers.
2.
Noting the omission of express references to either domestic work or domestic
workers in a broad range of national and international frameworks of law, the Committee
on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
(hereinafter referred to as the Committee), at its eleventh session in October 2009, resolved
to issue a general comment in order to provide States with guidance on how to implement
their obligations under the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All
Migrant Workers and the Members of Their Families (hereinafter referred to as the
Convention) with respect to migrant domestic workers. The Committee organized a Day of
General Discussion on this subject on 14 October 2009, which generated strong
participation by States, international organizations, non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) and trade organizations, civil society and migrants, including a number of written
perspectives and studies. This general comment draws upon those contributions as well as
the Committee’s experience in reviewing with States parties their reports on the
implementation of the Convention.
3.
As defined by the Convention, the term “migrant worker” refers to any person who
“is to be engaged, is engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of
which he or she is not a national”2. Accordingly, the Convention expressly provides
1
There is no accurate data on the number of domestic workers throughout the world, partly due to the
high incidence of undeclared domestic work and the fact that national statistics often do not count
domestic workers as a distinct category. However, such data as are available show that domestic work
accounts for between 4 and 10 per cent of total employment in developing countries and between 1
and 2.5 per cent in industrialized countries. See International Labour Organization (ILO) (2009),
“Decent Work for Domestic Workers”, Report IV(1), International Conference, 99th session, 2010.
2
Convention, art. 2. Article 3 of the Convention excludes from its scope of application a number of
categories of workers, including certain employees of international organizations and of States,
investors residing outside of their State of origin, whose status are regulated by general international
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