CYIL vol. 10 (2019)

DIANA CUCOS CYIL 10 ȍ2019Ȏ of its authorities, or where states have agreed to allow free movement, as in the case of EU citizens. 20 As strangers to a society, migrant workers may be unfamiliar with the national language, domestic laws, administration and practice, and less able than others to know and assert their rights. 21 They may be subject to abusive, exploitative and discriminatory treatment, and be subjected to unequal treatment and unequal opportunities at work and in their daily lives. They may also face racism and xenophobia. In some countries, national discrimination law does not protect migrant workers, and very often migrants are more likely to work in sectors where labour standards are not applied. Often, migrant workers perform the jobs that nationals refuse, namely, the so-called “three-Ds” jobs (dirty, degrading and dangerous) and are also over-represented in marginally viable, and sometimes semi-legal, sectors such as seasonal agricultural work, domestic services and the sex-industry, in which the protection of workers is underdeveloped. 22 It is not uncommon for migrant workers to be well-educated and skilled workers in their country of origin, but they become ready to accept unskilled work in the host country with the hope that this will be a temporary stage leading to a better type of employment and associated legal status. However, in many cases, this hope remains unrealized, and they remain in the unskilled and precarious part of the labour market of the host country. In general, it should be acknowledged that all people can be vulnerable to human rights violations when they enter, live and work in a foreign country in a regular situation as well as those who are in an irregular situation. However, irregular migrants are often disproportionately affected by human rights violations when compared to citizens of a state, or even when compared to regular migrants. They are vulnerable to discrimination, exploitation and marginalization, often living and working in the shadows, afraid to complain, and denied their human rights and fundamental freedoms. The main indicators of irregular migrants’ vulnerability is their statistical invisibility – they generally cannot or will not, avail themselves of the protection of the authorities – and the acute lack of information on types of violation, the place where they occur, and their characteristics. Abuses and violations are unrecorded where migrants are irregular. The Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly underlined the lack of information on abuses during removal, noting that it is “often only by chance” that ill-treatment comes to light. 23 Women migrants often suffer from double discrimination, as women and as migrants. Such gender differences must be taken into account when crafting and implementing labour migration policies. The Human Rights Framework The central international human rights treaties apply to all persons, including migrants. They are: 20 The Human Rights of Irregular Migrants in Europe , Commissioner for Human Rights, Council of Europe, CommDH/IssuePaper(2007)1, p. 7. 21 Ibidem. 22 PÉCOUD, A., DE GUCHTENEIRE P., Migration, Human Rights and the United Nations: An Investigation into the Low Ratification Record of the UN Migrant Workers Convention , GCIM, October 2004, p. 4. 23 Recommendation 1547 (2002) on expulsion procedures in conformity with human rights and enforced with respect for safety and dignity, Parliamentary Assembly, 22 January 2002.

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