human rights and domestic workers

8/3/2019 Human Rights and Domestic Workers

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Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)Unit 4, 7 Floor, Mongkok Commercial Centre, 16 Argyle Street

Kowloon, Hong Kong Tel: +9852) 2698-6339 Fax: +(852) 2698-6367

LESSONSS e r i e s 2

Human Rights & Women

Domestic Workers

Human Rights Correspondence School[E-mail : [email protected] & Web: www.hrschool.org]

A Project of the

SummarSummarSummarSummarSummaryyyyy

This series of lessons is basedThis series of lessons is basedThis series of lessons is basedThis series of lessons is basedThis series of lessons is based

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differdifferdifferdifferdifferent countries in Asia.ent countries in Asia.ent countries in Asia.ent countries in Asia.ent countries in Asia.

They highlight the exploitativeThey highlight the exploitativeThey highlight the exploitativeThey highlight the exploitativeThey highlight the exploitative

situation in w hich domesticsituation in which domesticsituation in w hich domesticsituation in which domesticsituation in wh ich domestic

workers, at home and abrworkers, at home and abrworkers, at home and abrworkers, at home and abrworkers, at home and abroadoadoadoadoad

find themselves, and how theyfind themselves, and how theyfind themselves, and how theyfind themselves, and how theyfind themselves, and how they

have no rhave no rhave no rhave no rhave no recourse to ju sticeecourse to justiceecourse to ju sticeecourse to justiceecourse to justice

when their rights arwhen their rights arwhen their rights arwhen their rights arwhen their rights are abused.e abused.e abused.e abused.e abused.

The lessons touch on brThe lessons touch on brThe lessons touch on brThe lessons touch on brThe lessons touch on broaderoaderoaderoaderoaderissues:issues:issues:issues:issues:

1.1 .1 .1 .1 . Discrimination of womenDiscrimination of w omenDiscrimination of womenDiscrimination of w omenDiscrimination of w omen

in the labour marketin the labour marketin the labour marketin the labour marketin the labour market

2.2 .2 .2 .2 . Lack of rLack of rLack of rLack of rLack of regulationsegulationsegulationsegulationsegulations

concerning workingconcerning workingconcerning workingconcerning workingconcerning working

conditions leads to abuseconditions leads to abuseconditions leads to abuseconditions leads to abuseconditions leads to abuse

of the workersof the workersof the workersof the workersof the workers

3.3 .3 .3 .3 . Overseas domestic workersOverseas domestic workersOverseas domestic workersOverseas domestic workersOverseas domestic workers

have little rhave little rhave little rhave little rhave little recourse toecourse toecourse toecourse toecourse tojusticejusticejusticejusticejustice

4.4 .4 .4 .4 . Overseas domestic workersOverseas domestic workersOverseas domestic workersOverseas domestic workersOverseas domestic workers

ararararare pre p re pre p re prevented frevented frevented frevented frevented fromomomomom

rrrrreturning homeeturning homeeturning homeeturning homeeturning home.


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H U MAN R I G H T S & WO ME N D O ME S T I C WO R KE R S

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Human Rights and

Women Domestic Workers

This series of lessons is based on the issues which arise from recent newspaper reports from different

countries, on different aspects of women (overseas) domestic workers and exposing the extremely exploit-

ative position in which they find themselves as workers and as migrants.

The articles, summarised below, show that domestic workers can expect abuse and exploitation from all

those with whom they have to deal.

1. Washington Post, September 29 1999, Washington:

Domestic Servants protest treatment

This article reports a demonstration by domestic workers and their advocates in Washington, to protest

the bad treatment they suffer from employees of the World Bank/IMF. A woman from Equador who worked

as a nanny in Maryland received little more than $1 an hour, and became caught in a visa fraud scheme

involving an employee of the IMF; another IMF employee paid his Ethiopian domestic worker less than 3

cents an hour for more than eight years of work, and kept her illegally, after he left the IMF. He later ab-

sconded when she successfully sued him for back wages.

According to the report, more that 30,000 domestics have entered the United States in the 1990s underspecial employment visas, to work for foreign diplomats and employees of international groups..thousands

have fled their employers over the years..; Many of the domestics are treated fairly, but others are being held

as virtual prisoners, forced to work extraorinarily long hoursfor little or no pay. Employers routinely

confiscate their passports, confine them to the home, ignore written contracts and beat or sexually abuse

them, said the Campaign for Migrant Domestic Workers, who organised the rally.


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AH R C H U MAN R I G H T S S CH O O L - LE S S O N S [Series 2]

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2. The Island, October 10, Sri Lanka:

Gang operating from BIA held for rape of returning housemaid

This article reported how domestic workers from Sri Lanka, on returning home after their stint of work

abroad, have been systematically preyed on by gangs operating in collaboration with the Airport Taxi Service

at Bandaranaike International Airport.

In the reported incident in the Dambulla Police Area, police raiding a private guest house after being

tipped by an informant who thought that there were terrorists housed there, were just in time to rescue 4

women from being sexually assaulted by the 6 men. One of the women had already been raped by 2 of the

men. The women said that they had paid Rs.40,000 to the taxi service to take them to their homes that same

day. But soon after leaving the BIA they were handed over by the taxi drivers to these 6 men.

Such cases were well-known, said a police spokesman. After the transfer from a vehicle of the taxi

service to one of the gangs operating outside the BIA, the women, who usually have to travel to their homes

in outlying districts outside Colombo are told that it would be unsafe to travel on at night. The gang then

bring them to a guest house, and then the same men later force their way into the rooms and abuse the women.

In another case women had been forced to pose in the nude and photographed.

3. South China Morning Post, O ctober 15, Hong Kong:

Maids should pay 20pc service charge

This article reports on the proposal made by a Hong Kong legislator that maids should pay for Immigra-

tion and Legal Aid Department help, as well as for the services which clean up the public places after they use

them on sun and free days. The proposal was criticised by the Confederation of Trade Unions as simply

another attempt to exploit maids. The proposal not only discriminates against low-income groups, it is racist.

They are neglecting the commitment of maids to society. Many families and professionals have been able to

back to work since they employed maids.

4 . Social Just ice , October 18, Bangladesh

Domestic workers form human chain to protest in Bangladesh

The Domestic Workers Association Bangladesh (DWAB), formed a human chain around the Bangladesh

Secretatriat on 27th September to press home their demands, which included recognition of their status as


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workers, fixation of minimum wages and protection from murder, rape, kidnaping and torture.

The speakers said that domestic workers are the victims of rape, murder and torture every day and the

government routinely failed to take any effective steps to stop such crimes committed against domestic work-

ers.

The speakers noted that just during the previous 100 days: 21 domestic workers were killed, 29 becamevictims of rape, 5 were killed after violation, 4 were burnt to death, 9 were abducted, 19 were tortured, 21 were

forced into prostitution, more than 300 smuggled, more than 3000 lost their job without any compensation,

and more than 15000 became homeless due to destruction of the slums in which they lived.

During the rally the association raised 9 demands including recognition as workers, fixation of minimum

wages, establishment of legal rights, and the protection of domestic workers from murder, rape, kidnaping

and torture. The association members also pointed out that recognition of the domestic worker is an issue that

transcend Bangladesh to similarly situated domestic workers around the world. A network of NGOs dedicated

to the protection and advancement of domestic workers is very much needed to address the problem interna-

tionally.

The members of the DWAB hope that the rally will dramatize their issues and bring cooperation and

support from trade unions, human rights organizations, womens organizations, development organizations

and other development agencies.

5. SCMP, 26 October 1999 , Nepal

This article reports that Nepals economy is being boosted by large amounts of money sent by its migrant

workforce, numbering 350,000, from abroad. The bulk of the total 35 billion rupees sent home in the last year

comes from Hong Kong, Japan, Brunei and Singapore, where an estimated 44,000 Nepalis are working.

However, the report also said most of the money is spent on property, gold and silver, and not put into savings

which can be mobilised by the government for industrial activity.

Asian Migrant Yearbook 1999, (Asian Migrant Centre & Migrant Forum in Asia):

In the case of Sri Lanka, a 1995 estimate put the foreign exchange remittances at a total of Rs. 41 billion,

which was equal to 20% of the countrys gross export earnings and equal to the whole state annual

budget for Education. Including their own families, the estimated 600,000 Sri Lankan migrant workers

supported at least 2.5 million people. It was also estimated that about 75% of the migrant workers then

would be women, working principally as domestic workers in the Middle East.


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As basic resource material for an overview and country by country description and analyses of the plight

of migrant workers in Asia and of the organizing and struggle of migrants and their advocates, refer to the

Asian Migrant Yearbook 1999, Migration Facts, Analysis and Issues in 1998published by: Asian Migrant

Centre (AMC) and Migrant Forum in Asia , Hong Kong. Tel: (852)2312 0031 Fax: (852) 2992 0111 Email:

[email protected] Web site: http://migrantnet.pair.com/~amc

THE ISSUES

The basic issue concerning women domestic workers is that women in the less developed countries in

Asia, many with full educational qualifications and even professional training cannot find jobs in their own

professions, neither in their own countries, where unemployment is high, nor abroad, due to restrictions on

labour migration in possible receiving countries.

Domestic work in the households of the rich(er) has traditionally been one of the principal ways for poor

women (and children) to earn some form of remuneration, either in kind or in cash. Since the latter part of the

1970s, more and more women in Asia are finding themselves in positions of having to supplement or to

completely provide for their own or the familys sustenance. At the same time, the unequal economic and

social development both within societies and among different countries in Asia - led to diminishing employ-

ment opportunities for one group of women, but new opportunities for career and affluence for another group

of women, who then find themselves unable or unwilling to maintain both family and household duties as

well as a job and social life. For the first group of women, moving from the poorer rural regions of their

countries to more affluent urban centres, and from their poorer countries to the richer ones, domestic

work has become an economic option which pays more than even professions as nurses or teachers in coun-

tries as the Philippines or Sri Lanka.

Many issues arise from the plight of women domestic workers, whether they are working in their own

countries or in foreign countries; working overseas, the exploitation, and regularly, abuse and violence they

suffer as workers and women is exacerbated by their tenuous position as migrants.


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THE RIGHTS CON CERNED

are a number of fundamental human rights which should accrue to all persons everywhere, whether they

are in the countries of their birth or in another country. However, political and economic interests, embedded

in legal and social structures in all societies lead to exclusion, discrimination, exploitation and abuse of the

migrant (the stranger, the outsider).

These fundamental rights should apply also to all migrants, be they spouses, refugees, workers or just

travellers. These rights are enshrined in the international covenants and treaties agreed to by the States mem-

bers of the United Nations. Even though some states may not have ratified some of these covenants, they are

morally binding, and can serve as the principles which should be observed towards migrants in general and

women domestic workers in particular. States can be pressured to take measures which reflect these human

rights principles.

The basic human rights, which also migrants should enjoy, are contained in the following international

Conventions:

the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 (UDHR)

the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966 (ICESCR)

Underlining the tenets of these Conventions is

the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 1979 (CEDAW)

which states in Article 3:

States Parties shall take in all fields, in particular in the political, social, economic and cultural fields, all

appropriate measures, including legislation, to ensure the full development and advancement of women,

for the purpose of guaranteeing them the exercise and enjoyment of human rights and fundamental

freedoms on a basis of equality with men.

The UN Convention on the protection of Rights for All Migrant Workers and Members of their

Families, 1990 (ICPRMW) was adopted in 1990, and basically explicates specific protections for migrant

workers and their families based on the fundamental human rights already spelled out in the UDHR and

ICESCR. Since its promulgation in 1990, a global campaign has been launched by migrant workers organi-

zations and their advocates for the ratification of the Convention. But to date, only 11 countries have ratified


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it, among which only 3 Asian countries: Bangladesh, Philippines and Sri Lanka. The Convention will only

come into effect after 20 countries have ratified it.

Many reports have been commissioned and resolutions passed by the UN Commission on Human Rights,

the General Assembly and other relevant bodies.

These all describe and decry the often inhumane, and even life-threatening situations in which migrantworkers, and especially women domestic workers live and work. But the exhortations of the international

bodies have not led to substantial improvements.

THE LESSONS

In this series of lessons we will consider four main issues:

LESSON 1

Women are discriminated against in the labour market; not only is there even less employment opportu-

nities available for women than men, but women still do not receive equal remuneration for equal work.

Women working overseas suffer double discrimination as women and as migrants.

Rights concerned:

Rights to to the opportunity to work, and to enjoy just and favourable conditions of work , fair and equal

remuneration for work of equal value.

Ref. UDHR: 23 / ICESCR:6,7 / ICPRMW: 9 (right to life), 25 (equal treatment with nationals of the State

of employment in respect of remuneration and other terms of employment),

LESSON 2

The set-up of live-in domestic workers and the lack of legal or other regulations pertaining to the

nature and conditions of domestic work render the domestic worker vulnerable to exploitaiton of her labour,


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as well as abuse of her person :

Rights concerned::

Rights to be free: from being held in slavery or servitude, or being required to perform forced or

compulsory labour; from torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment ; from arbitrary

or unlawful interference with their privacyRef. UDHR: 4,5,12 / ICPRMW: 10, 11, 14; Decl. On the Elimination of All Forms of Violence Against

Women

LESSON 3

Overseas Domestic workers are in a juridical no-mans land :

Rights concerned:

Right to access to justice and fair treatment; equal protection before the law, without discrimination

Ref: UDHR: 7,8,10 / ICPRMW: 18

LESSON 4

Overseas Domestic Workers are prevented from returning to their own countries

Rights concerned:

Right to freedom of movement to leave any State, including their State of origin and the right at any

time to re-enter their State of origin. Ref: UDHR: 13 / ICPRMW: 8


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LESSON 1

Women are discriminated against in the labour market; not only is there even less employment opportu-

nities available for women than men, but women still do not receive equal remuneration for equal work.

Women working overseas suffer double discrimination as women and as migrants

The Issue:

In the case of women who leave their countries to look for employment elsewhere, both their countries of

origin and the countries where they find employment should be held responsible for violation of the right to

obtain employment in order to sustain their lives and that of their family members.

The root cause of the rise in female labour migration is the lack of employment for women in their own

countries. States are accountable for the violation of womens right to employment and to receive proper and

equal remuneration, when in their economic policies they promote labour migration instead of creating jobs at

home, and when they condone gender discrimination in the selection and remuneration of personnel for the

available jobs.

The Asian Migrant Yearbook 1999 reports that:

In 1998 many countries also declared more aggressive labour export policies. Top labor exporters like

the Philippines, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladeshreiterasted their reliance on labour export to

help them weather the crisis, and even prop up their economic growth targets. Thailand, whose export of

migrant labourers has already slowed down since the early 1990s, has reversed gears by announcing its

target to export 200,000 migrants in 1999. Korea, which stopped exporting migrants in the 1970s, and

has become an importing country since then, has now resurrected an overseas deployment office as it

announced plans to export 20,000 workers in 1999. China is projected to capture 3% of the global labour

market before 2010.

States which receive migrant women workers violate the right to employment and to receive just and

proper remuneration, when they do not regulate the status and working conditions of migrants, but leave themat the mercy of exploitative agencies and employers.

In a few countries, like Hong Kong, migrant workers and their advocates have organized to achieve

certain protections and social benefits for Overseas Domestic Workers, like a minimum wage and maternity

leave.


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But when resources are scarce, these benefits are eroded, as governments blame migrant workers for

drawing too much on the national expenditure. In the last 2 months, domestic workers in Hong Kong have had

to take to the streets several times to protest wage cuts, withdrawal of maternity benefits, threat to tax over-

seas domestic workers for public services, (Newsreport 3)

The Rights concerned in this issue are enshrined in the UDHR: 23 / ICESCR:6,7 / ICPRMW: 9 (right to

life), 25 (equal treatment with nationals of the State of employment in respect of remuneration and other termsof employment),

UDHR: Article 23

Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work

and to protection against unemployment.

Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.

Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his

family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social

protection.

Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

ICESCR:Article 6

1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right to work, which includes the right of

everyone to the opportunity to gain his living by work which he freely chooses or accepts, and will take

appropriate steps to safeguard this right.

2. The steps to be taken by a State Party to the present Covenant to achieve the full realization of this

right shall include technical and vocational guidance and training programmes, policies and techniques

to achieve steady economic, social and cultural development and full and productive employment under

conditions safeguarding fundamental political and economic freedoms to the individual.

Article 7

The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of just and

favourable conditions of work which ensure, in particular:


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(a) Remuneration which provides all workers, as a minimum, with:

(i) Fair wages and equal remuneration for work of equal value without distinction of any kind, in particu-

lar women being guaranteed conditions of work not inferior to those enjoyed by men, with equal pay for

equal work;

(ii) A decent living for themselves and their families in accordance with the provisions of the present

Covenant;

(b) Safe and healthy working conditions;

(c) Equal opportunity for everyone to be promoted in his employment to an appropriate higher level,

subject to no considerations other than those of seniority and competence;

(d ) Rest, leisure and reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay, as well as

remuneration for public holidays

ICPRMW:Article 9

The right to life of migrant workers and members of their families shall be protected by law

Article 25

1. Migrant workers shall enjoy treatment not less favorable than that which applies to nationals of the

State of employment in respect of remuneration and:

(a) Other conditions of work, that is to say, overtime, hours of work, weekly rest, holidays with pay,

safety, health, termination of the employment relationship amid any other conditions of work which,

according to national law and practice, are covered by this term;

(b) Other terms of employment, that is to say, minimum age of employment, restriction on home work

and any other matters which, according to national law and practice, are considered a term of employment.

2. It shall not be lawful to derogate in private contracts of employment from the principle of equality of

treatment referred to in paragraph I of the present article.

3. State Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that migrant workers are not deprived of any

rights derived from this principle by reason of any irregularity in their stay or employment. In particular,


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employers shall not be relieved of any legal or contractual obligations, nor shall their obligations be

limited in any manner by reason of any such irregularity.

LESSON 2

The set-up of live-in domestic workers and the lack of legal or other regulations pertaining to the

nature and conditions of domestic work render the domestic worker vulnerable to exploitaiton of her labour,

as well as abuse of her person.

The Issue

The specific forms of violence and abuse that women domestic workers are systematically subjected to,

in their own countries as well as when they work overseas, are endemic in the isolated and private natureand structure of domestic work. Live-in domestic workers, maids, helpers, whatever they are called are, as

a rule, constantly at the beck and call of the employers and their families. Coupled with their precarious legal

status, this puts them in a situation of near-slavery.

Many studies have been done by NGOs and GOs as well as the ILO of the conditions under which this

growing army of Asias women are conscripted to live and work. Not only bad to sub-human living and

working conditions, but blatant injustice as non-payment of wages as well as criminal acts of physical, sexual

and psychological violence against domestic workers, sometimes amounting to torture, and resulting in death,

have been documented. (Newsreport 4).


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o Gloria Barlaan (Hong Kong), 42: died in fall from a fiat on 28September 1993.

o Maricel Lorico (Hong Kong), 18: died after leaping from a l9~

floor flat in November 1993

o Heidi Juperatum (Hong Kong), 26: was found dead with acoat

hanger twisted around her neck on 17 April 1994.

o Iluininada Cruz (Hong Kong), 37: fell from a 7th floor flat after

having locked herself in the bathroom at her employers house

in June 1994.

o Marilou 0. Aromin (Hong Kong), came to Hong Kong in June

1986, and disappeared in 1994.

o Merlita Sultara (KSA), was killed by propane gas poisoning on1 January 1996.

o Zalma Harid (Kuwait), waskilled by car accident on 11 Novem-

ber1996.

o Maria Immaculata Basit (KSA), died of ha asphyxia due to

hanging: on 20 December 1996.

o Marites de Cardo (Hong Kong) 37, said to have been strangled

and sexually assaulted. Her body as found naked at her work-

place on 8 March 1997.

o Jahalia Sahid (Kuwait), 27; was killed by a car accident on 10

February 1997

o Leonila Ferry Libunao (Italy) 40: was stabbed to death on 5March 1997

o Asuncion Banaay Suzuki (Japan), 29; drowned on 1 June

1997.

Asian Migrant Yearbook 1999 compiled a list of known cases of domestic workers from the Philippines who have died while in service:

(Sources: T.N.T. Newsletter of Kanlungan, no. 17, Apr-June 1997; Asia Pacific Mission for Migrant Filipinos; KASAMA The Newsletter

ofSPAN(Solidarity Philippines Australia Network), Vol. 13 No. 2, April-June, 1999;AMC Infobank.)

REPORTED CASES OF FILIPINA MIGRANT DOMESTIC

WORKERS WHODIED WHILE WORKINGABROAD (1990s)

o Grace Guinadan Coloma (Hong Kong), 35; died after jump-ing from a 12th floor flat on 13 June 1997, after the employer

continually shouted at her.

o Esrelita Ramos Pepito (Japan), 24; was killed by a car acci-

dent on 4 July 1997

o Marite Fetalino de Cardo (Hong Kong), 36; was killed due to

unspecified reasons.

o Sofia Cansa (Kuwait), died of high blood pressure.

o Sofia Kanisa Rocaya (Kuwait), died of cardiovascular cancer.

o Noria Abad ~uwait), died of encephalorrhagia on 23 Septem-

ber 1997.

o Chona Lasquites (Japan), was beaten to death

o Babylyn Asia (Malaysia), cause of death unknown

o Novelita Redulta (Italy), cause of death unknown

o Imelda Ritua (USA), was beaten to death.

o Ely Rose Miguel (Taiwan), 30: was reported to have commit-

ted suicide.

o Concepcion Ortega Dagaraig (Qatar), 30; died of respiratory

disease.

o Annabel Strzelecki (Australia), was last seen at her home

address on 6 June 1998, and is still missing.

o Glenda Lorio (Hong Kong), 31; was found dead inside amanhole on 23 May 1999 by her alleged Nigerian ex-lover/

employer who is now detained at the Tsim Sha Tsui Police

station pending investigation.


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The Rights concerned in this issue are Rights to be free:

from being held in slavery or servitude, or being required to perform forced or compulsory labour; from

torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment ;

from arbitrary or unlawful interference with their privacy

Ref. UDHR: 4,5,12 / ICPRMW: 10, 11, 14

UDHR:Article 4

No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their

forms.

Article 5

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 12

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor

to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such

interference or attacks.

ICPRMW:Article 10

No migrant workers or member of his or her family shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or

degrading treatment or punishment

Article 11

1. No migrant worker or member of his or her family shall be held in slavery or servitude.

Article 14

No migrant worker or member of his or her family shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference

with his or her privacy, family, home, correspondence or other communications, or to unlawful attacks

on his or her honour and reputation. Each migrant worker and member of his or her family shall have the


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right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

LESSON 3

Overseas Domestic workers are in a juridical no-mans land

The Issue

Even when some governments - at both sending and receiving ends - do institute some guidelines for

working conditions, the quasi-regulated status of domestic work works corruption in the hand. On the one

hand migrant workers require legal documents (passports, working permits) in order to leave and enter coun-

tries, and this is strictly controlled by government offices. But on the other hand there is no supervising body

which is responsible for making sure that the recruitment and detachment of migrant workers occur honestly.This mix of strict official requirements and private agencies offering services to aspirant migrants who are

mostly poor and uneducated pave the way for corruption at all levels and stages of the migration trajectory,

with the aspirant migrant worker caught in a maze of illegality and debts.

Women migrant workers have no recourse to justice when their rights are violated, since they have no

legal security of employment under national labour laws. Often this adds to their vulnerability to other forms

of abuse and violence, since they are afraid to jeopardise their (sometimes unofficial) jobs by reporting abuses

to the police.

When women migrant workers do attempt to seek redress they are confronted and often deterred by the

discriminatory attitudes and behaviour of police and other officials. Or they are confronted with the collusion

of the rich with the powerful, as in cases of immunity of diplomatic officials from prosecution (Newsreport 1)

when they have been guilty of breach of contract, or even when they have abused domestic workers.

At this moment, Amnesty International is running a world-wide campaign to publicise the plight of

migrant workers in Saudi Arabia. Under the closed, arbitrary system of that country, untold numbers of

migrants workers, including many women domestic workers, have been imprisoned, convicted of various

crimes, punished in degrading ways and even executed, without the knowledge of their families or even the


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diplomatic representatives of their countries. There is serious doubts as to the fairness of the processes, and

great concern that the rights to due process of the persons concerned are being violated.

An active case is described by AI in a campaign folder:

A Life at Risk

Siti Zainab, a 32-year-old Indonesian domestic worker, is reported to be currently detained, possibly in apolice station in medina, on charges of murdering her employer. She is alleged to have confessed to the

crime under police interrogation, but no information is available about any trial that might have taken

place. According to reports, police suspect that she is psychologically ill. Amnesty International fears

hat she is at risk of execution.

The Rights concerned in this issue is the Right to access to justice and fair treatment; equal protection

before the law, without discrimination

Ref: UDHR: 7,8,10 / ICPRMW: 18

UDHR:Article 7

All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law.

All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any

incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8 : Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for

acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10 : Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and

impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against

him.

ICPRMW: Article 18

1. Migrant workers and members of their families shall have the right to equality with nationals of the

State concerned before the courts and tribunals. In the determination of any criminal charge against them

or of their rights and obligations in a suit of law, they shall be entitled to a fair and public hearing by a


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competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law.

2. Migrant workers and members of their families who are charged with a criminal offence shall have the

right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law.

3. In the determination of any criminal charge against them, migrant workers and members of their

families shall be entitled to the following minimum guarantees:

(a) To be informed promptly and in detail in a language they understand of the nature and cause of the

charge against them;

(b) To have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of their defence and to communicate with

counsel of their own choosing:

(c) To be tried without undue delay;

(d) To be tried in their presence and to defend themselves in person or through legal assistance of their

own choosing; to be informed, if they do not have legal assistance, of this right; and to have legal

assistance assigned to them, in any case where the interests of justice so require and without payment by

them in any such case if they do not have sufficient means to pay;

(e) To examine or have examined the witnesses against them and to obtain the attendance and examina-

tion of witnesses on their behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against them;

(f) To have the free assistance of an interpreter if they cannot understand or speak the language used in

court;

(g) Not to be compelled to testify against themselves or to confess guilt.

4. In the case of juvenile persons, the procedure shall be such as will take account of their age and the

desirability of promoting their rehabilitation.

5. Migrant workers and members of their families convicted of a crime shall have the right to their

conviction and sentence being reviewed by a higher tribunal according to law.

6. When a migrant worker or a member of his or her family has, by a final decision, been convicted of a

criminal offence and when subsequently his or her conviction has been reversed or he or she has been

pardoned on the ground that a new or newly discovered fact shows conclusively that there has been a

miscarriage of justice, the person who has suffered punishment as a result of such conviction shall be

compensated according to law, unless it is proved that the nondisclosure of the unknown fact in time is


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wholly or partly attributable to that person.

7. No migrant worker or member of his or her family shall be liable to be tried or punished again for an

offence for which he or she has already been finally convicted or acquitted in accordance with the law

and penal procedure of the State concerned.

LESSON 4

Overseas Domestic Workers are prevented from returning to their countries

The Issue

Sometimes it is because they have unpaid debts which hold them in the country of employment, or they

still have to continue working to send money home to their families. The case of Italy: undocumented domes-tic workers have to pay a progressive fine for each (month?year?) that they stay in the country without the

proper papers. For some, the fine has grown so large that they cannot afford to leave the country.

For those fortunate enough to have finished their contracts successfully and can return home, there is

usually nothing to return to, as all their hard-earned money has been used up to maintain their families, send

their children to school. Sometimes they have been able to save some money and build houses, where they can

retire on return.

It is an open secret that customs and other authorities at airports pose a hindrance, to say the least, to

returning migrant workers. They systematically demand a share of the acquired goods and/or dollars of the

returning workers.

In countries where law and order has broken down, like in Sri Lanka, (Newsreport 2) they are again

victimised, both by criminal gangs and with the direct or indirect collusion of officials.

All these situations illustrate the violation of the right of migrant workers to a safe return to their own

countries.


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The Rights concerned

Right to freedom of movement to leave any State, including their State of origin and the right at any

time to re-enter their State of origin

Ref: UDHR: 13 / ICPRMW: 8

UDHR: Article 13

Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State.

Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

ICPRMW: Article 8

1. Migrant workers and members of their families shall be free to leave any State, including their State of

origin. This right shall not be subject to any restrictions except those that are provided by law, are

necessary to protect national security, public order (ordre public), public health or morals or the rights

and freedoms of others and are consistent with the other rights recognized in the present part of the

Convention.

2. Migrant workers and members of their families shall have the right at any time to enter and remain in

their State of origin.


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Research and Discussion:

1. Which jobs are available for women in your country? Are there sufficient and suitable jobs for all

women?

2. What should be done to improve the job situation for women?

3. Do many women work as domestic workers in your country?

4. Are the many women from other countries working as domestic workers in your country?

5. Do many women lfrom your country leave to work as domestic workers overseas? Why?

6. What do you know about the conditions of work of domestic workers in your own country?

When they work overseas?

Action:

o Invite some domestic workers to tell you / your group about their lives and work, and discuss together what

they need and what you can do to help.

o Find out if there are any organisations working on the rights of (women) migrant workers in your country,

and ask them what they are doing.

o Check out some of the web-sites where you can get more information about the problems faced by migrant

workers, as well as suggestions for action.

Some useful web-sites:

Migrant Forum in Asia : www.migrantnet.pair.net

International Labour Organisation: http://webdev.pub.ilo.org:9654/?Ilo+IloHTML (publications on migrant work-

ers)

International Organisation for Migration, Migration web http://www.iom.int/defaultmigrationweb.asp

UN documents: www.UNHCHR.org

human rights and domestic workers

Documents