CSW Resolution on Migrant Women

source: United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, Report on the forty-second session, E/1998/27, E/CN.6/1998/12, Economic and Social Council, Official Records, 1998.,Supplement No.7, United Nations New York, 1998 ;

Violence against women migrant workers

The Commission on the Status of Women,

Recalling all resolutions relevant to women migrant workers adopted by the General Assembly, in particular Assembly resolution 52/97 of 12 December 1997, the Commission on the Status of Women, the Commission on Human Rights and the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, as well as the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women,

Recalling also the outcome of major world conferences, specifically those pertaining to women migrant workers,

Emphasizing the need for objective comprehensive, broad-based information and a wide exchange of experiences and lessons learned by individual Member States and civil society in the formulation of policies and strategies to address the problem of violence against women migrant workers,

Noting the large numbers of women from developing countries and some countries in transition who continue to venture forth to more affluent countries in search of a living for themselves and their families as a consequence of poverty, unemployment and other socio-economic conditions, and acknowledging the duty of the sending States to work for conditions that provide employment and security for their citizens,

Acknowledging the economic benefits that accrue to sending and receiving countries from the employment of women migrant workers,

Recognizing the importance of continued co-operation at the bilateral, regional and international levels in protecting and promoting the rights and welfare of women migrant workers,

1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the thematic issues before the Commission on the Status of Women;

2. Invites concerned Governments, particularly of sending and receiving countries, to include in their national action plans information on the problems of women migrant workers;

3. Encourages concerned Governments, particularly of sending and receiving countries, to avail themselves of the expertise of the United Nations, including the United Nations Statistics Division and other relevant bodies such as the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women, to develop appropriate national data-collection methodologies that will generate comparable data on violence against women migrant workers as bases for research and analyses on the subject;

4. Invites Governments, in co-operation with relevant United Nations bodies, other intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations, to undertake further research on the causes and consequences of violence against women migrant workers;

5. Invites concerned States parties, particularly of sending and receiving countries, to include in their periodic reports to relevant human rights treaty bodies, updated and comprehensive information on actions they have taken to address the problem of violence against women migrant workers;

6. Invites Member States and non-governmental organizations to contribute to the proposed database of good practices and lessons learned on all forms of violence against women, information on bilateral and multilateral agreements, national experiences and lessons learned, initiatives and projects that have proved viable and effective in evolving national strategies and strengthening bilateral, regional and international co-operation for dealing with violence against women migrant workers;

7. Calls upon concerned Governments, particularly of sending and receiving countries, if they have not done so, to put in place penal and criminal sanctions to punish perpetrators of violence against women migrant workers and, to the extent possible, to provide victims of violence with the full range of immediate assistance, such as counselling, legal and consular assistance, temporary shelters and other measures, that will allow them to be present during the judicial process, as well as to establish reintegration and rehabilitation schemes for returning women migrant workers;

8. Encourages Member States to consider ratifying and complying with International Labour Organization conventions and to consider signing and ratifying or acceding to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families;

9. Encourages the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women to consider developing a general recommendation on the situation of women migrant workers;

10. Encourages concerned Governments, in particular those of sending and receiving countries, to adopt measures to regulate the recruitment and deployment of women migrant workers, as well as consider adopting appropriate legal measures against intermediaries who deliberately encourage the clandestine movement of workers and who exploit women migrant workers;

11. Requests the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Development Fund for Women and other relevant organizations of the United Nations system, within the context of the country co-operation and development assistance framework, to support national measures, in both sending and receiving countries, designed to strengthen preventive action, in particular education and information campaigns to increase awareness of the issue of violence against women migrant workers, and to ensure adequate briefing and training of prospective women migrant workers on the laws, culture, working and living conditions, possible problems, coping mechanisms and support services in the receiving countries;

12. Requests the Secretary-General to take into account the relevant provisions contained in the present resolution in preparing, for submission to the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session, the report on the problem of violence against women migrant workers requested by the Assembly in paragraph 10 of its resolution 52/97.