Recruitment practices and the human rights of migrants 2015, para. 31

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Paragraph text: Systemic barriers to access to justice can compound abuses of migrants' rights. A number of human rights standards, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, recognize that everyone has the right to an effective remedy from the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted to him or her. Despite these international protections, many migrants face serious barriers to accessing remedies when they are exploited and abused within and as a result of the recruitment process. These barriers include: lack of local language skills; limited knowledge about rights and means of remedy; geographical constraints; restrictions of migrants' freedom of movement; fear among migrants of retaliation or economic losses if they make complaints against recruiters; long processing times for complaints; a general practice of recruiters of deliberately avoiding giving migrants documents that could prove payment of fees; fragmentation of different rights across various judicial and non-judicial mechanisms; the growth of non-judicial remedies; and a lack of legal aid.

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Person(s) affected