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Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 62d (i)
- Paragraph text
- [While the States of employment have the primary responsibility to protect the rights of migrant domestic workers, embassies and consulates of States of origin should play an active role in protecting the rights of their nationals employed as migrant domestic workers. In particular, embassies and consulates of countries of origin that are present in countries where migrant domestic workers are employed are encouraged, in coordination with the authorities in the countries of employment, to:] [Receive, record and report information that can be useful to migrant domestic workers in the country of employment as well as to prospective migrant workers back home regarding:] Actual country and employment conditions;
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 32b
- Paragraph text
- [In line with articles 64 and 65, States of origin and employment are encouraged to cooperate on:] The use of standard, unified and binding employment contracts, with fair, full and clear conditions and labour standards that are enforceable - and enforced - by systems of law in countries both of origin and employment. Such standard contracts, as well as services where migrant domestic workers can receive counselling and guidance or submit complaints, could also usefully be included in bilateral and multilateral agreements between countries of origin and employment;
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 62d (ii)
- Paragraph text
- [While the States of employment have the primary responsibility to protect the rights of migrant domestic workers, embassies and consulates of States of origin should play an active role in protecting the rights of their nationals employed as migrant domestic workers. In particular, embassies and consulates of countries of origin that are present in countries where migrant domestic workers are employed are encouraged, in coordination with the authorities in the countries of employment, to:] [Receive, record and report information that can be useful to migrant domestic workers in the country of employment as well as to prospective migrant workers back home regarding:] The experience of migrant domestic workers, including travel and arrival, migration-related fees and debt, the effects on family, workplace conflicts, issues of rights and access to justice.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- 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.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- 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". Accordingly, the Convention expressly provides protection to migrant workers and their family members not only when the migrants are actually working, but "during the entire migration process of migrant workers and members of their families, which comprises preparation for migration, departure, transit and the entire period of stay and remunerated activity in the State of employment as well as return to the State of origin or the State of habitual residence".
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- The withholding of passports by the employer is widespread, reinforcing isolation and dependence and restricting the movement of the migrant worker out of the house as well as out of the country.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Labour law. In many countries, domestic workers are not legally recognized as "workers" entitled to labour protection. A number of premises and special definitions are used to exclude domestic workers from the protection of labour laws, including the consideration that they work for private persons, who are not considered to be "employers". Equally, traditional perceptions of domestic work as tasks associated with unpaid work in the home performed by women and girls as well as traditional perceptions of domestic workers as either being "family helpers" often militate against the extension of national labour law to effectively cover domestic work. Because of their de facto and/or de jure, "unrecognized" status as "workers", domestic workers are unable to exercise the rights and freedoms granted by labour law to other workers.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 28c
- Paragraph text
- [For nationals considering whether to migrate for domestic work, States parties should take appropriate measures to disseminate information on their rights under the Convention as well as the conditions of their admission and employment and their rights and obligations under the law and practice of other States (article 33). Such awareness-raising could include:] Essential information and perspectives on: (i) Migration-related fees and debt; (ii) Family aspects and effects on family life, such as separation, right to family visits or return, pregnancy during employment, etc.; and (iii) Other risks of domestic work outside the country of origin.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 29c
- Paragraph text
- [For workers who have made the decision to migrate for domestic work, States parties are encouraged to develop more specific pre-departure training and awareness-raising programmes. Such training may be developed in consultation with relevant non-governmental organizations, migrant domestic workers and their families, and recognized and reliable recruitment agencies, and could cover:] Awareness-raising training, including issues of migration, working conditions, social security, debt, finance and work-related fees and basic knowledge on methods of conflict resolution, and avenues for redress;
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 29e
- Paragraph text
- [For workers who have made the decision to migrate for domestic work, States parties are encouraged to develop more specific pre-departure training and awareness-raising programmes. Such training may be developed in consultation with relevant non-governmental organizations, migrant domestic workers and their families, and recognized and reliable recruitment agencies, and could cover:] Contact information for emergency assistance, including embassies and consulates and relevant civil society organizations in countries of employment; and
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 29f
- Paragraph text
- [For workers who have made the decision to migrate for domestic work, States parties are encouraged to develop more specific pre-departure training and awareness-raising programmes. Such training may be developed in consultation with relevant non-governmental organizations, migrant domestic workers and their families, and recognized and reliable recruitment agencies, and could cover:] Other information needed on logistics, safety, health, human rights issues and points of assistance during the entire migratory process.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- The right to organize and to engage in collective bargaining is essential for migrant domestic workers to express their needs and defend their rights, in particular through trade unions (articles 26 and 40) and labour organizations.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 27c
- Paragraph text
- [A number of factors make it difficult for migrant domestic workers to claim their rights and seek redress in case of violations, including the fact that:] Migrant domestic workers who depend on their employers for their immigration status may not report abuse for fear of arrest, detention or deportation. In some countries, if the victim brings a formal complaint against the employer, he or she can neither seek alternative employment while the case is in court, nor leave the country for the duration of the case. These restrictions, and the long periods it may take for cases to be resolved, often lead to domestic workers choosing not to report complaints or withdrawing their cases in order to return home more quickly.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 29a
- Paragraph text
- [For workers who have made the decision to migrate for domestic work, States parties are encouraged to develop more specific pre-departure training and awareness-raising programmes. Such training may be developed in consultation with relevant non-governmental organizations, migrant domestic workers and their families, and recognized and reliable recruitment agencies, and could cover:] A comprehensive "know your rights" curriculum, covering both international and national frameworks, using the Convention as a reference;
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 29b
- Paragraph text
- [For workers who have made the decision to migrate for domestic work, States parties are encouraged to develop more specific pre-departure training and awareness-raising programmes. Such training may be developed in consultation with relevant non-governmental organizations, migrant domestic workers and their families, and recognized and reliable recruitment agencies, and could cover:] Know your obligations orientation to essential aspects of the law and culture of the country of employment;
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 30b
- Paragraph text
- [Where appropriate, States parties could also support pre-departure training offering:] Training for specific types of work, including key job skills where appropriate; and
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- States parties should ensure that migrant domestic workers are granted access to social security benefits on the basis of equal treatment with nationals (article 27).
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 28b
- Paragraph text
- [For nationals considering whether to migrate for domestic work, States parties should take appropriate measures to disseminate information on their rights under the Convention as well as the conditions of their admission and employment and their rights and obligations under the law and practice of other States (article 33). Such awareness-raising could include:] Basic knowledge of applicable national and transnational legal frameworks;
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- States should ensure effective access of all migrant domestic workers to any medical care urgently required to avoid irreparable harm to their health (article 28). Particular attention should be given to women migrant domestic workers with irregular status, who are especially vulnerable during pregnancy, as they are often afraid to contact public health services out of fear of deportation. States should not require public health institutions providing care to report data on the regular or irregular status of a patient to immigration authorities.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- States should ensure that migrant domestic workers in a documented or regular situation enjoy equal treatment with nationals in relation to social and health services (article 43(1)(e)). Moreover, the Committee recalls the obligations assumed by States under other core international human rights treaties, notably the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to take appropriate measures towards ensuring to all persons within their jurisdiction, irrespective of their immigration status, the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and medical care, services and attention in the event of sickness.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- States of employment should ensure that all migrant domestic workers have access to mechanisms for bringing complaints about violations of their rights (articles 18, paragraph 1, and 83). States parties should ensure that such complaints are investigated in an appropriate manner and within a reasonable period of time and that cases of violations are appropriately sanctioned. To facilitate access to redress mechanisms, States parties could for example designate a domestic workers' Ombudsperson. States parties should also ensure that migrant domestic workers can obtain legal redress and remedies for violations of their rights by employers who enjoy diplomatic immunity under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- In order to ensure effective access to justice and remedies for all migrant domestic workers, the Committee considers that migrant domestic workers should be able to access courts and other justice mechanisms without fear of being deported as a consequence, and that migrant domestic workers should have access to temporary shelter when needed due to the abusive circumstances of their employment. States parties are encouraged to consider time-bound or expedited legal proceedings to address complaints by migrant domestic workers. Moreover, States parties are encouraged to enter into bilateral agreements in order to ensure that migrants who return to their country of origin may have access to justice in the country of employment, including to complain about abuse and to claim unpaid wages and benefits.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- States parties shall take appropriate measures to protect the unity of the families of migrant domestic workers in a regular situation (article 44, paragraph 1). In particular, migrant domestic workers should have reasonable opportunities for family contact and family-related mobility, including opportunities to communicate with family left behind, travel to participate in essential family matters such as funerals, and, especially in the case of long-term migrants, to visit spouses and children in other countries. States parties should ensure that children separated from one or both parents are allowed to maintain direct contact with both parents on a regular basis.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- As noted by the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the position of female migrants is different from that of male migrants with regard to, inter alia, the migration channels used, the sectors of the labour market where they are employed, the forms of abuse they suffer and the consequences and impact thereof. Recognizing that most domestic workers are women and girls and taking into consideration traditional roles, the gendered labour market, the universal prevalence of gender-based violence and the worldwide feminization of poverty and labour migration, States should incorporate a gender perspective in efforts to understand their specific problems and develop remedies to the gender-based discrimination that they face throughout the migration process.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- States parties should repeal sex-specific bans and discriminatory restrictions on women's migration on the basis of age, marital status, pregnancy or maternity status (articles 1 and 7), including restrictions that require women to get permission from their spouse or male guardian to obtain a passport or to travel (article 8) or bans on women migrant domestic workers marrying nationals or permanent residents (article 14), or securing independent housing. States parties should also repeal discriminatory laws, regulations and practices related to HIV, including those which result in the loss of work visas based on HIV status, and ensure that medical testing of migrant domestic workers, including tests for pregnancy or HIV, is only done voluntarily and subject to informed consent.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 62a
- Paragraph text
- [While the States of employment have the primary responsibility to protect the rights of migrant domestic workers, embassies and consulates of States of origin should play an active role in protecting the rights of their nationals employed as migrant domestic workers. In particular, embassies and consulates of countries of origin that are present in countries where migrant domestic workers are employed are encouraged, in coordination with the authorities in the countries of employment, to:] Ensure adequately trained staff and mechanisms (including telephone hotlines) to receive and address complaints made by migrant domestic workers, including through the provision of legal aid;
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 62b
- Paragraph text
- [While the States of employment have the primary responsibility to protect the rights of migrant domestic workers, embassies and consulates of States of origin should play an active role in protecting the rights of their nationals employed as migrant domestic workers. In particular, embassies and consulates of countries of origin that are present in countries where migrant domestic workers are employed are encouraged, in coordination with the authorities in the countries of employment, to:] Provide counselling and facilitate appropriate shelter for migrant domestic workers, especially women and children, fleeing from abusive employment circumstances;
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- In many countries, recruitment agencies, labour brokers, and other intermediaries charge exorbitant fees to migrant domestic workers and do not provide accurate information, meaningful preparation for migrants before travel, or written contracts. In particular, migrants are often not provided with information on their rights and on avenues for reporting abuse. Some prospective migrant domestic workers are deceived by illegal recruitment agents and lured into paying for fraudulent visas or other documentation and non-existent jobs.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- While transiting through foreign countries, women and girls are particularly at risk of being subjected to physical and sexual abuse by agents and intermediaries.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Upon arrival the migrants are often left stranded with high levels of debt from their migration and without legal papers and employment, rendering them vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. Even where contracts had been signed pre-departure, many migrant domestic workers are compelled to sign new contracts upon arrival, nearly always for less pay and often for different work conditions of employment and abode than had been agreed upon or promised and often in a language they do not understand, without legal counselling, and under duress.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph