Background

The Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children will devote her report to the 59th session of the Human Rights Council, in June 2025, to the issue of migrant domestic workers and trafficking in persons. The Report will examine labour rights, rights of migrant domestic workers, the migration context, effective rights protection and challenges in ensuring access to justice and effective remedies. 
The objective of the report is to examine the limits of current legal and policy frameworks that contribute to risks of trafficking in persons for migrant domestic workers, including in enforcement of labour law, equality law, and limited access to safe and regular migration. 
She will also review challenges and gaps in the identification of victims of trafficking, access to protection and long-term inclusion for survivors. Special attention will be given to the intersections of gender and race in the context of domestic work, migration status, the situation of children and rights of persons with disabilities. 
To inform her report, the Special Rapporteur welcomes contributions from States, local and regional governments, national human rights institutions, civil society organisations, academics, UN agencies and other stakeholders.

Key questions and types of input/comments sought

• National efforts to ratify the ILO Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) and good practices in implementation of national legislation, programmes and policies
• Labour migration:
  • Good practices in preventing trafficking in persons of migrant domestic workers
  • Good practices in protecting migrant domestic workers and ensuring effective rights protection
  • Migrant worker visa regimes; gaps, challenges and proposals for reform
  • Role of recruitment agencies and challenges, and good practices in monitoring of recruitment agencies
  • Roles of consular services, embassies and missions in assistance and protection services
  • Pathways to long term residence and citizenship for migrant domestic workers
• Enforcement of labour rights:
  • Role of labour inspectors in domestic work sector and good practices in establishing/enhancing labour inspection in this sector
  • Gaps and challenges in national labour regimes, limited scope of labour standards and challenges in enforcement of labour standards
  • Role of trade unions and workers’ associations in protecting and supporting domestic workers and combating trafficking in persons in the domestic sector
• Accountability for trafficking in persons in the domestic sector:
  • Good practices in ensuring effective investigations, prosecution and international cooperation to combat impunity in the domestic work sector
  • Good practices in ensuring effective remedies, including compensation, for victims
• Challenges and good practices in identifying victims of trafficking in persons in the domestic sector and access to protection
• Good practices in long term integration of survivors of trafficking in persons in domestic work
• Gender dimension of trafficking in persons in the domestic sector, risks to sexual exploitation and particular associated challenges to gender dimension in prevention and protection of persons at risk of trafficking or victims of trafficking in persons
• Risks faced by minority communities, indigenous peoples, afro-descendant communities in the domestic work sector
• Rights of persons with disabilities and trafficking in the domestic work sector: effective prevention, protection and partnership measures
• Child trafficking in the domestic work sector: prevalence, particular challenges and effective prevention and protection strategies

Reponses to the list of issues above would be greatly appreciated.

Other relevant information, not listed above, may also be included in your submissions.

How inputs will be used?

Submissions will be posted on the mandate’s website. Should you wish to maintain confidentiality of your submission, kindly clearly indicate it at the moment of submission.

For more on information on the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children and the activities of the mandate please click here.