Violence Against Women Migrant Workers, G.A. res. 50/168, U.N. Doc. A/RES/50/168 (1995)



      The General Assembly,
 
      Recalling its resolutions 47/96 of 16 December 1992, 48/110 of 20
December 1993 and 49/165 of 23 December 1994, as well as Commission on the
Status of Women resolution 38/7 of 18 March 1994, and taking note of
Commission on the Status of Women resolution 39/7 of 31 March 1995 and
Commission on Human Rights resolution 1995/20 of 24 February 1995,
 
      Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General,
 
      Taking note with concern of the report of the Working Group on
Contemporary Forms of Slavery of the Subcommission on Prevention of
Discrimination and Protection of Minorities on its twentieth session, in
particular its observations with respect to the treatment of migrant workers,
 
      Acknowledging the preliminary report of the Special Rapporteur of the
Commission on Human Rights on violence against women, its causes and its
consequences,
 
      Stressing that the promotion of the human rights of women constitutes an
integral part of human rights activities of the United Nations, as reaffirmed
in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted by the World
Conference on Human Rights on 25 June 1993,
 
      Affirming the Programme of Action of the International Conference on
Population and Development, which called upon all countries to take full
measures to eliminate all forms of exploitation, abuse, harassment and
violence against women,
 
      Welcoming the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and the
Programme of Action of the World Summit for Social Development, adopted by the
World Summit on 12 March 1995, which declared that countries should take
concrete measures against the exploitation of migrants,
 
      Welcoming also the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action,
adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women on 15 September 1995, which
recognized the vulnerability to violence and other forms of abuse of women
migrants, including women migrant workers, whose legal status in the host
country depends on employers who may exploit their situations,
 
      Noting the large numbers of women from developing countries and from
some countries with economies 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, while acknowledging the primary duty of States to work for
conditions that provide employment and security to their citizens,
 
      Concerned by the continuing reports of grave abuses and acts of violence
committed against the persons of women migrant workers by some employers in
some host countries,
 
      Encouraged by some measures adopted by some receiving countries to
alleviate the plight of women migrant workers residing within their areas of
jurisdiction,
 
      Reiterating that acts of violence directed against women impair or
nullify their enjoyment of their human rights and fundamental freedoms,
 
      1.    Determines to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against
women and girls;
 
      2.    Calls upon States Members of the United Nations to adopt measures
for the effective implementation of the Declaration on the Elimination of
Violence against Women, including applying them to women migrant workers, as
well as all relevant measures emanating from recent world conferences;
 
      3.    Encourages Member States to enact and/or reinforce penal, civil,
labour and administrative sanctions in domestic legislation to punish and
redress the wrongs done to women and girls who are subjected to any form of
violence, whether in the home, the workplace, the community or society;
 
      4.    Also encourages Member States to adopt and/or implement and
periodically to review and analyse legislation to ensure its effectiveness in
eliminating violence against women, emphasizing the prevention of violence and
the prosecution of offenders, and to take measures to ensure the protection of
women subjected to violence and that they have access to just and effective
remedies, including compensation and indemnification and healing of victims,
and for the rehabilitation of perpetrators;
 
      5.    Reiterates the need for States concerned, specifically the sending
and receiving States of women migrant workers, to conduct regular
consultations for the purpose of identifying problem areas in promoting and
protecting the rights of women migrant workers and ensuring health, legal and
social services for them, adopting specific measures to address these
problems, setting up, as necessary, linguistically and culturally accessible
services and mechanisms to implement these measures and, in general, creating
conditions that foster greater harmony and tolerance between women migrant
workers and the rest of the society in which they reside;
 
      6.    Encourages Member States 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, as well as the Slavery
Convention of 1926;
 
      7.    Recommends that the issue of violence against women migrant
workers be included in the agenda of the inter-agency meeting that precedes
the regular session of the Commission on the Status of Women;
 
      8.    Requests the Secretary-General to convene a meeting of an expert
group, with the participation of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on
Human Rights on violence against women and under the regular programme of the
Division for the Advancement of Women of the Secretariat, to submit
recommendations for improving coordination of the various efforts of United
Nations agencies on the issue of violence against women migrant workers and to
develop concrete indicators as a basis for determining the situation of women
migrant workers for submission, through normal channels, to the General
Assembly at its fifty-first session;
 
      9.    Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
the Centre for Human Rights of the Secretariat and the Special Rapporteur, as
well as all relevant bodies and programmes in the United Nations system, when
addressing the issue of violence against women, to give particular attention
to the issue of violence perpetrated against women migrant workers and to
submit reports thereon to the General Assembly;
 
      10.   Invites trade unions to support the realization of the rights of
women migrant workers by assisting them in organizing themselves so as to
enable them better to assert their rights;
 
      11.   Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly
at its fifty-first session on the implementation of the present resolution,
including on reports received from all authorities and bodies in the United
Nations system, Member States, intergovernmental organizations and other
concerned bodies, with due regard for possible measures to improve the
reporting procedure.
      

 

 



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