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Elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls 2013, para. 34bbb
- Paragraph text
- [The Commission urges governments, at all levels[...] to take the following actions:] [Addressing structural and underlying causes and risk factors so as to prevent violence against women and girls]: Further adopt and implement measures to ensure the social and legal inclusion and protection of women migrants, including women migrant workers in origin, transit and destination countries, and promote and protect the full realization of their human rights, and their protection against violence and exploitation; implement gender-sensitive policies and programmes for women migrant workers and provide safe and legal channels that recognize their skills and education, provide fair labour conditions, and as appropriate facilitate their productive employment and decent work as well as integration into the labour force;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Education and training of women 1997, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- There is wide consensus that education and training for girls and women, in particular, provides high social and economic returns and is a precondition for the empowerment of women. Education should be aimed at raising and promoting awareness of the rights of women as human rights. Governments, national, regional and international bodies, bilateral and multilateral donors and civil society, including non-governmental organizations, should continue to make special efforts to reduce the female illiteracy rate to at least half its 1990 level, with emphasis on rural, migrant and refugee women, internally displaced women and women with disabilities, in keeping with the Beijing Platform for Action.
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 1997
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women 1998, para. a
- Paragraph text
- [Actions to be taken by Governments:] Consider, where appropriate, formulating bilateral, subregional and regional agreements to promote and protect the rights of migrant workers, especially women and girls;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 1998
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women and armed conflict 1998, para. e
- Paragraph text
- [Actions to be taken by Governments and international organizations:] Ensure the physical safety and security of all refugee women and girls and those internally displaced by, inter alia, adequately providing for and increasing their access to the right of return to their country or place of origin, and the participation of women in the committees responsible for the management of the camp(s), and ensure that camps are designed in accordance with the 1995 Guidelines on the Protection of Refugee Women27 of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; and arrange for gender-sensitive legal, social and medical services in camps, and for the talents and capabilities of refugee and displaced women and girls to be fully integrated in the development and implementation of these programmes while they are in these camps;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 1998
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women and armed conflict 1998, para. k
- Paragraph text
- [Actions to be taken by Governments and international organizations:] Encourage rehabilitation centres to ensure that the knowledge and professions of displaced and refugee people are utilized;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 1998
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender and all forms of discrimination, in particular racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance 2001, para. 1g
- Paragraph text
- [Actions to be taken by Governments, the United Nations and civil society, as appropriate]: The Platform for Action recognized that women face barriers to full equality and advancement because of such factors as their race, age, language, ethnicity, culture, religion or disability, because they are indigenous women or of other status. Many women encounter specific obstacles related to their family status, particularly as single parents, and their socio-economic status, including their living conditions in rural, isolated or impoverished areas. Additional barriers also exist for refugee women, other displaced women, including internally displaced women, as well as for immigrant women and migrant women, including women migrant workers. Many women are also particularly affected by environmental disasters, serious and infectious diseases and various forms of violence against women;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2001
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Enhanced participation of women in development: an enabling environment for achieving gender equality and the advancement of women, taking into account, inter alia, the fields of education, health and work 2006, para. 7j
- Paragraph text
- [The Commission urged Governments […] to take the following actions:] Incorporate gender perspectives in all policies and programmes on international migration, promote the full enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms by women migrants, combat discrimination, exploitation, ill-treatment, unsafe working conditions and violence, including sexual violence and trafficking, and facilitate family reunification in an expeditious and effective manner, with due regard to applicable laws, as such reunification had a positive effect on the integration of migrants;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2006
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Enhanced participation of women in development: an enabling environment for achieving gender equality and the advancement of women, taking into account, inter alia, the fields of education, health and work 2006, para. 7k
- Paragraph text
- [The Commission urged Governments […] to take the following actions:] Eliminate all forms of discrimination, sexual exploitation and violence against female refugees, asylum-seekers and internally displaced persons and promote their active involvement in decisions affecting their lives and communities, while recalling the relevant norms of international human rights law, international humanitarian law and international refugee law;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2006
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child 2007, para. 14.10.b
- Paragraph text
- [The Commission [...] urges Governments [...] to:] [14.10. Trafficking] (b) Strengthen and improve international cooperation and coordination, including regional efforts in the fight against trafficking in persons, especially women and girls, in order to prevent trafficking; protect, assist, rehabilitate and reintegrate victims; and prosecute and punish offenders in accordance with due process of law on the basis of the principles of shared responsibility, respect for human rights and the active cooperation of countries of origin, transit and destination and other relevant actors thereto;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2007
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls 2014, para. 42ii
- Paragraph text
- [The Commission urges Governments, at all levels [...] to take the following actions:] [Realizing women's and girls' full enjoyment of all human rights]: Promote and protect effectively the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all migrants, regardless of their migration status, especially those of women and children, and address international migration through international, regional or bilateral cooperation and dialogue and through a comprehensive and balanced approach, recognizing the roles and responsibilities of countries of origin, transit and destination in promoting and protecting the human rights of all migrants, and avoiding approaches that might aggravate their vulnerability;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women's empowerment and the link to sustainable development 2016, para. 23i
- Paragraph text
- [The Commission [...] urges Governments, at all levels [...] to take the following actions:] [Strengthening normative, legal and policy frameworks]: Recognize the contribution of migrants, including women migrant workers, to sustainable development, and acknowledge the need to eliminate violence and discrimination against women migrant workers and to promote their empowerment, including through international, regional or bilateral cooperation among all stakeholders, in particular countries of origin, transit and destination;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Article 3: Equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all civil and political rights - replaced by GC No. 28 1981, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Secondly, the positive obligation undertaken by States parties under that article may itself have an inevitable impact on legislation or administrative measures specifically designed to regulate matters other than those dealt with in the Covenant but which may adversely affect rights recognized in the Covenant. One example, among others, is the degree to which immigration laws which distinguish between a male and a female citizen may or may not adversely affect the scope of the right of the woman to marriage to non-citizens or to hold public office.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 1981
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
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
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Article 3: The equality of rights between men and women - replaces GC No. 4 2000, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- As regards article 12, States parties should provide information on any legal provision or any practice which restricts women's right to freedom of movement, for example the exercise of marital powers over the wife or of parental powers over adult daughters; legal or de facto requirements which prevent women from travelling, such as the requirement of consent of a third party to the issuance of a passport or other type of travel documents to an adult woman. States parties should also report on measures taken to eliminate such laws and practices and to protect women against them, including reference to available domestic remedies (see general comment No. 27, paragraphs 6 and 18).
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2000
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women migrant workers 2008, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- While States are entitled to control their borders and regulate migration, they must do so in full compliance with their obligations as parties to the human rights treaties they have ratified or acceded to. That includes the promotion of safe migration procedures and the obligation to respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of women throughout the migration cycle. Those obligations must be undertaken in recognition of the social and economic contributions of women migrant workers to their own countries and countries of destination, including through caregiving and domestic work.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2008
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women migrant workers 2008, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- Although both men and women migrate, migration is not a gender-neutral phenomenon. The position of female migrants is different from that of male migrants in terms of legal migration channels, the sectors into which they migrate, the forms of abuse they suffer and the consequences thereof. To understand the specific ways in which women are impacted, female migration should be studied from the perspective of gender inequality, traditional female roles, a gendered labour market, the universal prevalence of gender-based violence and the worldwide feminization of poverty and labour migration. The integration of a gender perspective is, therefore, essential to the analysis of the position of female migrants and the development of policies to counter discrimination exploitation and abuse.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2008
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women migrant workers 2008, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- All women migrant workers are entitled to the protection of their human rights, which include the right to life, the right to personal liberty and security, the right not to be tortured, the right to be free of degrading and inhumane treatment, the right to be free from discrimination on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, cultural particularities, nationality, language, religion or other status, the right to be free from poverty, the right to an adequate standard of living, the right to equality before the law and the right to benefit from the due processes of the law. These rights are provided for in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the many human rights treaties ratified or acceded to by States Members of the United Nations.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2008
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women migrant workers 2008, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Women currently make up about one half of the world's migrant population. Various factors, such as globalization, the wish to seek new opportunities, poverty, gendered cultural practices and gender-based violence in countries of origin, natural disasters or wars and internal military conflicts determine women's migration. These factors also include the exacerbation of sex-specific divisions of labour in the formal and informal manufacturing and service sectors in countries of destination, as well as a male-centred culture of entertainment, the latter creating a demand for women as entertainers. A significant increase in the number of women migrating alone as wage earners has been widely noted as part of this trend.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2008
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women migrant workers 2008, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Because violations of the human rights of women migrant workers occur in countries of origin, countries of transit and countries of destination, this general recommendation will address all three situations in order to facilitate the use of the Convention, further the rights of women migrant workers and advance substantive equality of women and men in all spheres of their lives. It is also recalled that migration is an inherently global phenomenon, requiring cooperation among States in multilateral, bilateral and regional levels.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2008
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women migrant workers 2008, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- Even before they leave home, women migrant workers face myriad human rights concerns, including complete bans or restrictions on women's out-migration based on sex or sex combined with age, marital status, pregnancy or maternity status, occupation-specific restrictions or requirements that women must have written permission from male relatives to obtain a passport to travel or migrate. Women are sometimes detained by recruiting agents for training in preparation for departure, during which time they may be subject to financial, physical, sexual or psychological abuse. Women may also suffer the consequences of restricted access to education, training and reliable information on migration, which may lead to increased vulnerability in relation to employers. Exploitative fees may be charged by employment agents, which sometimes cause women, who generally have fewer assets than men, to suffer greater financial hardships and make them more dependent, for example, if they need to borrow from family, friends, or moneylenders at usurious rates.
- 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
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women migrant workers 2008, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Women migrant workers may face sex- and gender-based discrimination, including compulsory HIV and AIDS testing for women returnees, moral "rehabilitation" for young women returnees and increased personal and social costs compared to men, without adequate gender-responsive services. For example, men may return to a stable family situation, whereas women may find disintegration of the family upon their return, with their absence from home regarded as the cause of such disintegration. There may also be a lack of protection against reprisals from exploitative recruiting agents.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2008
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women migrant workers 2008, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Once they reach their destinations, women migrant workers may encounter multiple forms of de jure and de facto discrimination. There are countries whose Governments sometimes impose restrictions or bans on women's employment in particular sectors. Whatever the situation, women migrant workers face additional hazards compared to men because of gender-insensitive environments that do not allow mobility for women, and that give them little access to relevant information about their rights and entitlements. Gendered notions of appropriate work for women result in job opportunities that reflect familial and service functions ascribed to women or that are in the informal sector. Under such circumstances, occupations in which women dominate are, in particular, domestic work or certain forms of entertainment.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2008
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women migrant workers 2008, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- In addition, in countries of destination, such occupations may be excluded from legal definitions of work, thereby depriving women of a variety of legal protections. In such occupations, women migrant workers have trouble obtaining binding contracts concerning terms and conditions of work, causing them sometimes to work for long hours without overtime payment. Moreover, women migrant workers often experience intersecting forms of discrimination, suffering not only sex- and gender-based discrimination, but also xenophobia and racism. Discrimination based on race, ethnicity, cultural particularities, nationality, language, religion or other status may be expressed in sex- and gender-specific ways.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2008
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women migrant workers 2008, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- Women migrant workers often suffer from inequalities that threaten their health. They may be unable to access health services, including reproductive health services, because insurance or national health schemes are not available to them, or they may have to pay unaffordable fees. As women have health needs different from those of men, this aspect requires special attention. They may also suffer from a lack of arrangements for their safety at work, or provisions for safe travel between the worksite and their place of accommodation. Where accommodation is provided, especially in female-dominated occupations such as factory, farm or domestic work, living conditions may be poor and overcrowded, without running water or adequate sanitary facilities, or they may lack privacy and hygiene. Women migrant workers are sometimes subjected to sex-discriminatory mandatory HIV/AIDS testing or testing for other infections without their consent, followed by provision of test results to agents and employers rather than to the worker herself. This may result in loss of job or deportation if test results are positive.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2008
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women migrant workers 2008, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- Discrimination may be especially acute in relation to pregnancy. Women migrant workers may face mandatory pregnancy tests followed by deportation if the test is positive; coercive abortion or lack of access to safe reproductive health and abortion services, when the health of the mother is at risk, or even following sexual assault; absence of, or inadequate, maternity leave and benefits and absence of affordable obstetric care, resulting in serious health risks. Women migrant workers may also face dismissal from employment upon detection of pregnancy, sometimes resulting in irregular immigration status and deportation.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2008
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women migrant workers 2008, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Women migrant workers may be subjected to particularly disadvantageous terms regarding their stay in a country. They are sometimes unable to benefit from family reunification schemes, which may not extend to workers in female- dominated sectors, such as domestic workers or those in entertainment. Permission to stay in the country of employment may be severely restricted, especially for women migrant workers in domestic work when their time-fixed contracts end or are terminated at the whim of the employer. If they lose their immigration status, they may be more vulnerable to violence by the employer or others who want to abuse the situation. If they are detained, they may be subject to violence perpetrated by officials in detention centres.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2008
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women migrant workers 2008, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Women migrant workers are more vulnerable to sexual abuse, sexual harassment and physical violence, especially in sectors where women predominate. Domestic workers are particularly vulnerable to physical and sexual assault, food and sleep deprivation and cruelty by their employers. Sexual harassment of women migrant workers in other work environments, such as on farms or in the industrial sector, is a problem worldwide (see E/CN.4/1998/74/Add.1). Women migrant workers who migrate as spouses of male migrant workers or along with family members face an added risk of domestic violence from their spouses or relatives if they come from a culture that values the submissive role of the women in the family.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2008
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women migrant workers 2008, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- Access to justice may be limited for women migrant workers. In some countries, restrictions are imposed on the use of the legal system by women migrant workers to obtain remedies for discriminatory labour standards, employment discrimination or sex- and gender-based violence. Further, women migrant workers may not be eligible for free government legal aid, and there may be other impediments, such as unresponsive and hostile officials and, at times, collusion between officials and the perpetrator. In some cases, diplomats have perpetrated sexual abuse, violence and other forms of discrimination against women migrant domestic workers while enjoying diplomatic immunity. In some countries, there are gaps in the laws protecting migrant women workers. For example, they may lose their work permits once they make a report of abuse or discrimination and then they cannot afford to remain in the country for the duration of the trial, if any. In addition to these formal barriers, practical barriers may prevent access to remedies. Many do not know the language of the country and do not know their rights. Women migrant workers may lack mobility because they may be confined by employers to their work or living sites, prohibited from using telephones or banned from joining groups or cultural associations. They often lack knowledge of their embassies or of services available, due to their dependence on employers or spouses for such information. For example, it is very difficult for women migrant domestic workers who are scarcely ever out of sight of their employers to even register with their embassies or file complaints. As such, women may have no outside contacts and no means of making a complaint, and they may suffer violence and abuse for long periods of time before the situation is exposed. In addition, the withholding of passports by employers or the fear of reprisal if the women migrant worker is engaged in sectors that are linked to criminal networks prevent them from making a report.
- 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
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women migrant workers 2008, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Undocumented women migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse because of their irregular immigration status, which exacerbates their exclusion and the risk of exploitation. They may be exploited as forced labour, and their access to minimum labour rights may be limited by fear of denouncement. They may also face harassment by the police. If they are apprehended, they are usually prosecuted for violations of immigration laws and placed in detention centres, where they are vulnerable to sexual abuse, and then deported.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2008
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Core obligations of States parties under article 2 2010, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- Subparagraphs (a), (f) and (g) establish the obligation of States parties to provide legal protection and to abolish or amend discriminatory laws and regulations as part of the policy of eliminating discrimination against women. States parties must ensure that, through constitutional amendments or by other appropriate legislative means, the principle of equality between women and men and of non-discrimination is enshrined in domestic law with an overriding and enforceable status. They must also enact legislation that prohibits discrimination in all fields of women's lives under the Convention and throughout their lifespan. States parties have an obligation to take steps to modify or abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices which constitute discrimination against women. Certain groups of women, including women deprived of their liberty, refugees, asylum- seeking and migrant women, stateless women, lesbian women, disabled women, women victims of trafficking, widows and elderly women, are particularly vulnerable to discrimination through civil and penal laws, regulations and customary law and practices. By ratifying the Convention or acceding to it, States parties undertake to incorporate the Convention into their domestic legal systems or to give it otherwise appropriate legal effect within their domestic legal orders in order to secure the enforceability of its provisions at the national level. The question of direct applicability of the provisions of the Convention at the national level is a question of constitutional law and depends on the status of treaties within the domestic legal order. The Committee takes the view, however, that the rights to non-discrimination and equality in all fields of women's lives throughout their lifespan, as enshrined in the Convention, may receive enhanced protection in those States where the Convention is automatically or through specific incorporation part of the domestic legal order. The Committee urges those States parties in which the Convention does not form part of the domestic legal order to consider incorporation of the Convention to render it part of domestic law, for example through a general law on equality, in order to facilitate the full realization of Convention rights as required by article 2.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph