B. Gaps in protection Protection gaps: “legal” compensation and remedies. Those who return to their countries of origin in order to escape an abusive work relationship often have no access to support mechanisms and no possibility of seeking legal remedies. 18. A wide body of international treaties articulate human rights, including labour rights, basic to all human beings, including all workers.7 In line with other human rights treaties, the protection against abusive and exploitative labour conditions afforded under the Convention extends to all migrant workers, irrespective of their migration status. In this regard, the Committee notes with concern that, at national level, major categories of law often ignore, or explicitly exclude domestic work and workers in ways that contribute to exploitative labour practices and limit avenues for legal redress in cases of violations. 19. Labour law. In many countries, domestic workers are not legally recognized as “workers” entitled to labour protection. A number of premises and special definitions are used to exclude domestic workers from the protection of labour laws, including the consideration that they work for private persons, who are not considered to be “employers”. Equally, traditional perceptions of domestic work as tasks associated with unpaid work in the home performed by women and girls as well as traditional perceptions of domestic workers as either being “family helpers” often militate against the extension of national labour law to effectively cover domestic work. Because of their de facto and/or de jure, “unrecognized” status as “workers”, domestic workers are unable to exercise the rights and freedoms granted by labour law to other workers. 20. Some national labour laws include protections for domestic work and workers, but exclude migrant domestic workers from some or all of these protections. For example, migrant domestic workers are often restricted in their ability to organize for their labour rights. In other cases where labour or other standards and protections apply both to domestic work and to migrant domestic workers, laws can bar monitoring and labour inspections in home settings. 21. Immigration law. Laws regulating the conditions of entry and stay in countries of employment are often a source of specific vulnerabilities for migrant domestic workers. Overly restrictive immigration laws may lead to higher numbers of migrant domestic workers who are non-documented or in an irregular situation, and thus particularly vulnerable to human rights violations. Even for workers with a documented or regular migration status, similar vulnerabilities arise where immigration laws tie their status to the continued sponsorship of specific employers. Consequently, migrant domestic workers may risk deportation if they try to escape an abusive employment relationship or seek legal remedies against their employers. 22. Under some countries’ laws regarding work permit and security bond conditions, women migrants, including domestic workers, who get pregnant or who are found to be HIV positive lose their permit. It is not uncommon for women migrant workers to be subjected to mandatory health testing related to sexual and reproductive health without consent or counselling. 23. Contract law. National laws and regulations pertaining to contracts are often inapplicable to domestic work and/or domestic workers, either categorically or as a practical matter because domestic work is performed in the informal labour market. 7 The core international human rights treaties all contain standards and safeguards which are of relevance to the protection of migrant domestic workers. Several of the other human rights treaty- monitoring bodies have paid specific attention to the situation of migrants and migrant workers, including migrant domestic workers. See, in particular, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, general recommendation No. 26 (2008) on women migrant workers; Committee on Economic and Social Rights, general comment No. 18 (2005) on the right to work; Committee on the Rights of the Child, general comment No. 6 (2005) on treatment of unaccompanied and separated children outside their country of origin; Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, general recommendation No. 30 (2004) on discrimination against non citizens; Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 15 (1986) on the position of aliens under the Covenant. 50