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Rights of migrant workers in an irregular situation and members of their families 2013, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- International sources estimate that between 10 and 15 per cent of the world's international migrants are in an irregular situation, although the very nature of irregular migration makes it difficult to find reliable data on the scale of this phenomenon. While the economies of developing countries cannot absorb the large numbers of young men and, increasingly, women, seeking employment, population decline and ageing have reduced the labour force in developed countries, thereby generating a demand for low and middle-skilled migrant workers in many sectors of the economy. However, that demand has not been matched by a corresponding increase in regular migration channels. As a result, employers often resort to migrant workers in an irregular situation to fill the gaps.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Rights of migrant workers in an irregular situation and members of their families 2013, para. 21e
- Paragraph text
- [Migrant workers in an irregular situation, particularly women, are at increased risk of ill-treatment and other forms of violence at the hands of both private actors, including employers, and State officials which includes sexual violence, beatings, threats, psychological abuse, and denial of access to medical care, for example. Under article 16, paragraph 2, States parties have an obligation to protect all migrant workers and members of their families against violence, physical injury, threats and intimidation, whether by public officials or by private individuals, groups or institutions. This obligation requires States parties to:] Provide human rights training for public officials; and
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
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. 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. 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. 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
Rights of migrant workers in an irregular situation and members of their families 2013, para. 21a
- Paragraph text
- [Migrant workers in an irregular situation, particularly women, are at increased risk of ill-treatment and other forms of violence at the hands of both private actors, including employers, and State officials which includes sexual violence, beatings, threats, psychological abuse, and denial of access to medical care, for example. Under article 16, paragraph 2, States parties have an obligation to protect all migrant workers and members of their families against violence, physical injury, threats and intimidation, whether by public officials or by private individuals, groups or institutions. This obligation requires States parties to:] Adopt and implement legislation prohibiting such acts;
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Rights of migrant workers in an irregular situation and members of their families 2013, para. 21b
- Paragraph text
- [Migrant workers in an irregular situation, particularly women, are at increased risk of ill-treatment and other forms of violence at the hands of both private actors, including employers, and State officials which includes sexual violence, beatings, threats, psychological abuse, and denial of access to medical care, for example. Under article 16, paragraph 2, States parties have an obligation to protect all migrant workers and members of their families against violence, physical injury, threats and intimidation, whether by public officials or by private individuals, groups or institutions. This obligation requires States parties to:] Effectively investigate cases of abuse and violence;
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Rights of migrant workers in an irregular situation and members of their families 2013, para. 21f
- Paragraph text
- [Migrant workers in an irregular situation, particularly women, are at increased risk of ill-treatment and other forms of violence at the hands of both private actors, including employers, and State officials which includes sexual violence, beatings, threats, psychological abuse, and denial of access to medical care, for example. Under article 16, paragraph 2, States parties have an obligation to protect all migrant workers and members of their families against violence, physical injury, threats and intimidation, whether by public officials or by private individuals, groups or institutions. This obligation requires States parties to:] Effectively monitor the conduct of State agents, and regulate that of private persons and entities, with a view to preventing such acts.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- States parties should take appropriate measures to address the extreme vulnerability of undocumented migrant domestic workers, especially women and children. In particular, States parties should consider policies, including regularization programmes, to avoid or resolve situations in which migrant domestic workers are undocumented or are at risk of falling into irregular status (article 69).
- 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. 1
- Paragraph text
- Domestic work is an important occupation for millions of individuals, accounting for up to 10 per cent of total employment in some countries. 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.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- Whereas many of the human rights issues and concerns identified in this general comment are relevant to all domestic workers, several issues and concerns are specific to the situation of domestic workers who are migrants. Generally, migrant domestic workers are at heightened risk of certain forms of exploitation and abuse. At the heart of their vulnerability is isolation and dependence, which can include the following elements: the isolation of life in a foreign land and often in a foreign language, far away from family; lack of basic support systems and unfamiliarity with the culture and national labour and migration laws; and dependence on the job and employer because of migration-related debt, legal status, practices of employers restricting their freedom to leave the workplace, the simple fact that the migrants' workplace may also be their only shelter and the reliance of family members back home on remittances sent back from the domestic work. Women migrant domestic workers face additional risks related to their gender, including gender-based violence. These risks and vulnerabilities are further aggravated for migrant domestic workers who are non-documented or in an irregular situation, not least because they often risk deportation if they contact State authorities to seek protection from an abusive employer.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of c ... 2017, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- States should strengthen measures to grant nationality to children born in their territory in situations where they would otherwise be stateless. When the law of a mother’s country of nationality does not recognize a woman’s right to confer nationality on her children and/or spouse, children may face the risk of statelessness. Likewise, where nationality laws do not guarantee women’s autonomous right to acquire, change or retain their nationality in marriage, girls in the situation of international migration who married under the age of 18 years may face the risk of being stateless, or be confined in abusive marriages out of fear of being stateless. States should take immediate steps to reform nationality laws that discriminate against women by granting equal rights to men and women to confer nationality on their children and spouses and regarding the acquisition, change or retention of their nationality.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Rights of migrant workers in an irregular situation and members of their families 2013, para. 21c
- Paragraph text
- [Migrant workers in an irregular situation, particularly women, are at increased risk of ill-treatment and other forms of violence at the hands of both private actors, including employers, and State officials which includes sexual violence, beatings, threats, psychological abuse, and denial of access to medical care, for example. Under article 16, paragraph 2, States parties have an obligation to protect all migrant workers and members of their families against violence, physical injury, threats and intimidation, whether by public officials or by private individuals, groups or institutions. This obligation requires States parties to:] Prosecute and punish those responsible with appropriate punishments;
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Rights of migrant workers in an irregular situation and members of their families 2013, para. 21d
- Paragraph text
- [Migrant workers in an irregular situation, particularly women, are at increased risk of ill-treatment and other forms of violence at the hands of both private actors, including employers, and State officials which includes sexual violence, beatings, threats, psychological abuse, and denial of access to medical care, for example. Under article 16, paragraph 2, States parties have an obligation to protect all migrant workers and members of their families against violence, physical injury, threats and intimidation, whether by public officials or by private individuals, groups or institutions. This obligation requires States parties to:] Provide adequate reparation to victims and members of their families;
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Rights of migrant workers in an irregular situation and members of their families 2013, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- States parties must also take into consideration the special situation of women migrant workers in detention. States parties must ensure separate facilities for men and women, ensure the provision of gender-specific health care services, and also provide for the specific needs of pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and mothers with young children. States should avoid detaining women migrant workers in the final months of pregnancy or if they are nursing. The United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules) provide useful guidelines for States in these situations.
- 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
- 2013
Paragraph
Rights of migrant workers in an irregular situation and members of their families 2013, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- Article 11 of the Convention requires States parties to take effective measures against all forms of forced or compulsory labour by migrant workers. This includes debt bondage, passport retention, and illegal confinement, for example. Article 21 obliges States parties to ensure that employers and recruiters do not confiscate or destroy travel or identity documents belonging to migrant workers. States parties should provide training to law enforcement officers, and ensure that occupations dominated by migrant workers, especially women migrant workers, such as domestic work and some forms of entertainment, are protected by labour laws and subject to inspections.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Under some countries' laws regarding work permit and security bond conditions, women migrants, including domestic workers, who get pregnant or who are found to be HIV positive lose their permit. It is not uncommon for women migrant workers to be subjected to mandatory health testing related to sexual and reproductive health without consent or counselling.
- 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
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 16f
- Paragraph text
- [Whereas the right to water applies to everyone, States parties should give special attention to those individuals and groups who have traditionally faced difficulties in exercising this right, including women, children, minority groups, indigenous peoples, refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, migrant workers, prisoners and detainees. In particular, States parties should take steps to ensure that:] Refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons and returnees have access to adequate water whether they stay in camps or in urban and rural areas. Refugees and asylum-seekers should be granted the right to water on the same conditions as granted to nationals;
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 16g
- Paragraph text
- [Whereas the right to water applies to everyone, States parties should give special attention to those individuals and groups who have traditionally faced difficulties in exercising this right, including women, children, minority groups, indigenous peoples, refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, migrant workers, prisoners and detainees. In particular, States parties should take steps to ensure that:] Prisoners and detainees are provided with sufficient and safe water for their daily individual requirements, taking note of the requirements of international humanitarian law and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners;
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 16e
- Paragraph text
- [Whereas the right to water applies to everyone, States parties should give special attention to those individuals and groups who have traditionally faced difficulties in exercising this right, including women, children, minority groups, indigenous peoples, refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, migrant workers, prisoners and detainees. In particular, States parties should take steps to ensure that:] Nomadic and traveller communities have access to adequate water at traditional and designated halting sites;
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
The right to social security (Art. 9) 2007, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- Whereas everyone has the right to social security, States parties should give special attention to those individuals and groups who traditionally face difficulties in exercising this right, in particular women, the unemployed, workers inadequately protected by social security, persons working in the informal economy, sick or injured workers, people with disabilities, older persons, children and adult dependents, domestic workers, homeworkers, minority groups, refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons, returnees, non-nationals, prisoners and detainees.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Older persons
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
The right to just and favourable conditions of work (Art. 7) 2016, para. 78
- Paragraph text
- Violations of the right to just and favourable conditions of work can occur through acts of commission, which means direct actions of States parties. Adoption of labour migration policies that increase the vulnerability of migrant workers to exploitation, failure to prevent unfair dismissal from work of pregnant workers in public service, and introduction of deliberately retrogressive measures that are incompatible with core obligations are all examples of such violations.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Certain segments of the population face a greater risk of suffering intersectional and multiple discrimination. For instance, investment-linked evictions and displacements often result in physical and sexual violence against, and inadequate compensation and additional burdens related to resettlement for, women and girls. In the course of such investment-linked evictions and displacements, indigenous women and girls face discrimination both due to their gender and because they identify as indigenous people. In addition, women are overrepresented in the informal economy and are less likely to enjoy labour-related and social security protections. Furthermore, despite some improvement, women continue to be underrepresented in corporate decision-making processes worldwide. The Committee therefore recommends that States parties address the specific impacts of business activities on women and girls, including indigenous women and girls, and incorporate a gender perspective into all measures to regulate business activities that may adversely affect economic, social and cultural rights, including by consulting the Guidance on National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights. States parties should also take appropriate steps, including through temporary special measures, to improve women’s representation in the labour market, including at the upper echelons of the corporate hierarchy.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Among the groups that are often disproportionately affected by the adverse impact of business activities are women, children, indigenous peoples, particularly in relation to the development, utilization or exploitation of lands and natural resources, peasants, fisherfolk and other people working in rural areas, and ethnic or religious minorities where these minorities are politically disempowered. Persons with disabilities are also often disproportionately affected by the negative impacts of business activities, in particular because they face particular barriers in accessing accountability and remedy mechanisms. As noted by the Committee on previous occasions, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants are at particular risk of facing discrimination in the enjoyment of Covenant rights due to their precarious situation, and under article 7 of the Covenant, migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to exploitation, long working hours, unfair wages and dangerous and unhealthy working environments.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Women migrant workers 2008, para. 24b (iii)
- Paragraph text
- [Countries of origin must respect and protect the human rights of their female nationals who migrate for purposes of work. Measures that may be required include, but are not limited to, the following:] [Education, awareness-raising and training with standardized content: States parties should develop an appropriate education and awareness-raising programme in close consultation with concerned non-governmental organizations, gender and migration specialists, women workers with migration experience and reliable recruiting agencies. In that regard, States parties should (articles 3, 5, 10 and 14):] Provide information on methods and procedures for migrating to work for women workers who wish to migrate independently of recruitment agencies;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2008
Paragraph
Women migrant workers 2008, para. 26k
- Paragraph text
- [States parties in countries where migrant women work should take all appropriate measures to ensure non-discrimination and the equal rights of women migrant workers, including in their own communities. Measures that may be required include, but are not limited to, the following:] Social inclusion of women migrant workers: States parties should adopt policies and programmes with the aim of enabling women migrant workers to integrate into the new society. Such efforts should be respectful of the cultural identity of women migrant workers and protective of their human rights, in compliance with the Convention (article 5);
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2008
Paragraph
Women migrant workers 2008, para. 24b (vi)
- Paragraph text
- [Countries of origin must respect and protect the human rights of their female nationals who migrate for purposes of work. Measures that may be required include, but are not limited to, the following:] [Education, awareness-raising and training with standardized content: States parties should develop an appropriate education and awareness-raising programme in close consultation with concerned non-governmental organizations, gender and migration specialists, women workers with migration experience and reliable recruiting agencies. In that regard, States parties should (articles 3, 5, 10 and 14):] Encourage the media, information and communication sectors to contribute to awareness-raising on migration issues, including on the contributions women migrant workers make to the economy, women's vulnerability to exploitation and discrimination and the various sites at which such exploitation occurs;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2008
Paragraph
Women migrant workers 2008, para. 24c (i)
- Paragraph text
- [Countries of origin must respect and protect the human rights of their female nationals who migrate for purposes of work. Measures that may be required include, but are not limited to, the following:] [Regulations and monitoring systems, as follows:] States parties should adopt regulations and design monitoring systems to ensure that recruiting agents and employment agencies respect the rights of all women migrant workers. States parties should include in their legislation a comprehensive definition of irregular recruitment along with a provision on legal sanctions for breaches of the law by recruitment agencies (article 2 (e));
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2008
Paragraph