Women's Human Rights Resources Database

This paper analyzes the plight of women migrant domestic workers in the Middle East and the Gulf Region. The study begins by examining push and pull factors that contribute to the vulnerability of women migrants, including gendered aspects of migration and labour. An assessment of national laws and their provisions for migrant domestic workers is also provided. The second half of the report looks at strategies to mitigate rights violations, prevent trafficking and protect victims. The report concludes with a set of recommendations for IGOs, NGOs, governments and academics in the region. Personal narratives throughout the report illustrate the lack of protection and justice afforded to women migrant domestic workers. [Descriptors: Migration - Labour Migration, International - Asia]

This extensive report focuses on two groups of women migrants in Canada: live-in caregivers and mail-order brides. The analysis of the live-in caregivers program outlines policy rationales for the historical development of this program and identifies potential amendments to existing legislation to better protect the rights of these women. In assessing the status of mail-order brides, the report reviews the complex legal framework which governs this form of migration. The report uses a feminist analytical framework to demonstrate how the apparently neutral legislation governing these types of migration results in significant human rights violations. The authors conclude by advocating for both domestic and international action to better protect the rights of these women migrants. [Descriptors: Migration - Refugees and Immigration, Canada]

This publication is a compilation of workshop proceedings and papers presented at the Canadian Council for Refugees' International Conference on Refugee Women Fleeing Gender-Based Persecution held in Montreal in May 2001 (full conference proceedings can be ordered from the Canadian Council for Refugees). The conference examined recent developments which have begun to address the obstacles for women claiming refugee status on the grounds of gender-based persecution. Emerging legal standards and proposals for reforms discussed at the conference included granting asylum in cases of persecution by private actors when states do not afford victims adequate protection and addressing the cultural barriers that hinder successful asylum claims by women. [Descriptors: Migration - Refugees and Immigration, International]

This paper begins with a discussion of the extent to which the reproductive health of women refugees and internally displaced persons is threatened by their vulnerable situation, including the risk of sexual coercion and the lack of access to reproductive health care. The paper then moves to consider the relevant legal and policy framework for the protection of these populations. The paper explicitly identifies the relevant human rights provisions and provides the text from international and regional treaties and conventions which protect these rights. In conclusion, the paper states that the right to reproductive self-determination is critical for the protection of refugee women. [Descriptors: Migration - Refugees and Immigration, International]

This comment by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) addresses the above-titled report prepared by the Immigration Legislative Review Advisory Group (ILRAG). The March 1998 report takes a critical look at Canada's immigration objectives, legislation and policy. This comment looks particularly at ILRAG's recommendations regarding refugees and assesses these proposals in relation to international human rights standards, and "best practices" by States. The comment deals with the following areas of concern: (1) access to refugee status determination procedures, (2) treatment pending status determination, (3) status determination procedures, (4) criteria for protection, (5) appeal from a negative determination, and (6) the status and rights of recognized refugees. [Descriptors: Migration - Refugees and Immigration, Canada]

The compilation and analysis of legal norms relevant to internally displaced persons aims to restate obligations under existing international human rights and humanitarian law and to identify areas where existing international law does not respond adequately to the protection and assistance needs of internally displaced persons. Section 6 of the report focuses on gender-specific violence facing displaced persons and comprehensively reviews the international legal instruments relevant to the protection of women from gender-based violence. This report formed the basis for the development of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. [Descriptors: Migration - Refugees and Immigration, International]

This Convention addresses the protection of rights of individuals who are not considered nationals of any one state. The Convention outlines the status which such persons shall receive in regards to various issues including property, employment and access to the judicial system. The rights of having the work of women recognized is specifically addressed. [Descriptors: Migration - Refugees and Immigration, International]

This document discusses human trafficking and various international anti-trafficking laws, focusing on the UN Trafficking Protocol. It begins by providing a background of human trafficking, debates concerning its definition and the impact of these differing opinions on the treatment of trafficking under international law. The authors then compare the treatment of women under CEDAW and the Trafficking Protocol. They conclude that while CEDAW aims to achieve equality between women and men, the Trafficking Protocol prioritizes law enforcement and fails to address the demand side of trafficking as well as the structural economic inequalities that fuel trafficking of women. They argue that in order for anti-trafficking strategies to be effective, the Trafficking Protocol must focus on the rights and needs of women. [Descriptors: Migration - Trafficking, International]

This declaration is based on the idea that the fundamental rights of individuals should be protected even within countries of which they are not nationals. The rights of women are specifically highlighted in ensuring fair and equal treatment within employment. [Descriptors: Migration - Refugees and Immigration, International]

The author notes that asylum has been extended in United States law to include some gender-based treatment, such as female genital mutilation (FGM), viewed as a type of persecution. The author points out that despite references to international norms suggesting what constitutes a refugee and the criteria of a "well-founded fear of persecution," US law has not moved beyond FGM to view general gender-based persecution as a ground for asylum. The author suggests that even this basis for asylum arose when American society "found it so outrageous as to criminalize it domestically." This extensive bibliography is itself a collection of annotations of recent literature from American and English secondary sources concerning the direction of US legislation and asylum case-law. [Descriptors: Migration - Refugees and Immigration, International - North America]

The purpose of the guidelines is to identify some of the specific protection issues facing refugee women. The document focuses on the variety of mechanisms needed to achieve protection of refugee women, including the international legal framework. The guidelines address both the physical security problems and legal protection problems faced by refugee women. Under legal issues, there is a discussion of the lack of inclusion of gender within the 1951 Refugee Convention and a recommendation that governments recognize gender-related persecution as falling within the particular social group category. Also contained in the guidelines are many practical recommendations for increasing the protection of refugee women. [Descriptors: Migration - Refugees and Immigration, International]

This Handbook produced by UNHCR is a comprehensive resource for interpreting the 1951 Refugee Convention and the Additional Protocol. The document focuses primarily on the strict legal interpretation and reviews each article of the Convention and the Protocol. Although there are limited specific references to women, the Handbook is a useful tool and can be used in conjunction with the Guidelines on the Protection of Refugee Women. [Descriptors: Migration - Refugees and Immigration, International]

This report discusses the situation of Indonesian female migrant domestic workers in Malaysia. It describes the human rights violations of workers by recruiters as well as workplace abuses by employers. The report also highlights some of the failures to provide protection of migrant workers' rights by both the Indonesian and Malaysian governments. Domestic and international laws are also examined in order to determine the extent to which both Southeast Asian governments have addressed these human rights violations. The report concludes that both governments have failed to uphold their international human rights obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and urges ratification of other relevant treaties. [Descriptors: Migration - Labour Migration, International - Asia]

These Guidelines issued by the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board are often cited as the first explicit governmental recognition that persecution on account of gender is a valid ground on which to claim refugee status. The guidelines emphasize that for these claims to be accepted a link must be made between gender and the feared persecution and that these claims are still assessed on an individual basis. There are several items of note within the Guidelines including that persecution on account of gender can occur as a result of both public and private action and that sub-groups of women could also be considered as persecuted groups. The Guidelines also review some of the evidentiary issues in these types of claims and provide recommendations for how to best recognize the social and political circumstances of these women. [Descriptors: Migration - Refugees and Immigration, Canada]

Adopted by the General Conference of the International Labour Organization on July 1, 1949, this ILO Convention entered into force on January 22, 1952. The Convention affirms the rights of individuals who migrate for employment and the obligations of sending and receiving governments. While the provisions do not apply specifically to women migrant workers, they cover a range of issues that are relevant to women who migrate for employment including misleading immigration and emigration propaganda, provision of medical care, discrimination in the labour market, injuries and illnesses, and remittances. Also annexed to the Convention are provisions dealing with the recruitment, placement and conditions of labour migrants recruited via non-government and government schemes, as well as provisions related to the movement of migrants' personal belongings, tools and equipment. [Descriptors: Migration - Labour Migration, International]

This paper looks at the exploitation of migrant workers by organized crime in the larger context of labour migration and regulation. It begins by discussing push and pull factors including the demand for cheap labour in destination countries, lack of employment security in origin countries, poverty and the loss of traditional economies and societies. The second section examines various dimensions of the exploitation of migrant workers including immigration policies, labour standards and gender. The third section provides an overview of trafficking for forced labour in different regions. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations. [Descriptors: Migration - Labour Migration, International]

This paper discusses trafficking in Central Asia. It begins by describing the social, political and economic conditions that fuel trafficking in the region. An overview of trafficking for sexual and labour exploitation and the differences between trafficking and smuggling are then discussed. The paper also discusses definitional debates and the blurry line between trafficking and other forms of irregular migration that involve exploitation and human rights violations. The author questions "whether the UN intended the [trafficking] definition to be read in a narrow way [&] or whether it was intended as an inclusive definition capable of capturing a diversity of contexts". Advocating an approach that combines prosecution, protection and prevention, the author concludes that separate elements of trafficking should be criminalized in order to ensure that rights violations related to irregular migrations other than trafficking are recognized. [Descriptors: Migration - Trafficking, International]

The focus of this paper is the exploitation of migrant domestic workers and the necessity of looking for protection mechanisms beyond the new Migrant Worker's Convention. The paper begins with an examination of the movement of women workers globally. In looking to the needs of women migrant workers, the paper argues that an intersectionality approach would be appropriate for recognizing the impacts of gender, race and ethnicity. As such, the protection of women, workers, and migrants as separate regimes could be utilized to assist women migrant workers in seeking protection under existing human rights norms. [Descriptors: Migration - Labour Migration, International

Based largely on interviews with trafficked women, health care providers, NGOs, law enforcement officers and policymakers, this study focuses on the health risks, consequences and barriers of trafficked women in order to assess the impact of trafficking on womens physical, mental, reproductive, social and economic well-being. It examines the effect of trafficking on various aspects of womens health and human dignity at each stage of trafficking from pre-departure to integration/re-integration into society. It ends with a human rights analysis of health and trafficking, focusing on the right to health and international treaties that protect this right. The report also recommends a set of principles that promote the health rights of trafficked women. [Descriptors: Migration - Trafficking, International]

This paper discusses the sex trafficking of women and children in the Americas. Using a human rights framework, the author begins by analyzing the demand and supply sides of trafficking for sexual exploitation, as well as the impunity with which traffickers are treated. She argues that these three factors allow for the growth of the trafficking industry: "the resulting environment allows high profits at low risk for the traffickers, but with serious health risks and human rights violations for the victims". Human rights violations and the impact on women's health are also discussed. The paper ends with an assessment of international law and the effectiveness of their protection. [Descriptors: Migration - Trafficking, International - Latin America]

This review of the immediate implementation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees guidelines contains detailed information on the practical implementation of these guidelines within refugee populations. Under legal concerns, the report identifies that women are often unable to claim refugee status independent from their husbands, leading to significant obstacles for women claiming refugee status. There is also a discussion about the lack of legal frameworks within the refugee camps which leads to protection concerns for refugee women. [Descriptors: Migration - Refugees and Immigration, International]

"This comprehensive report offers an overview of current refugees issues worldwide, background information on international refugee and human rights law, a wide variety of well-researched case histories and key arguments for refugee advocates". Although this report is from 1997, it still provides a good introduction to refugee issues. Amnesty identifies in its conclusions that the refugee crisis cannot be solved unless human rights are respected and calls on governments to fulfill their human rights obligations under international law. The report also recognizes the different challenges facing refugee women, particularly if fleeing violence from within the home. [Descriptors: Migration - Refugees and Immigration, International]

This United Nations General Assembly Resolution, which was adopted 24 February 2000, requests States to protect migrants' human rights; strongly condemns racial discrimination and xenophobia with regard to access to employment, housing, schooling, and services; calls upon States to ensure that immigration policies do not discriminate against migrants; reiterates the need for States to protect the human rights of migrants (especially for women and children); and encourages States to enact criminal legislation to combat the international trafficking of migrants. [Desciptors: Migration -Labour Migration, Refugees and Immigration, Trafficking]

This paper seeks to provide an overview of key issues related to trafficking and identify areas for future research, with a special focus on trafficking in Canada. The authors begin by discussing the debates over the trafficking definition and examining various theoretical perspectives on trafficking. They then analyze the role of organized crime and look at legislative responses, noting governments tendency to focus on the organized crime aspect. Although this paper does not focus specifically on women, it notes the growth in the feminization of international migration and the disproportionate impact of trafficking on women and girls. [Descriptors: Migration - Trafficking, Canada]