CEDAW General Recommendation 26 on Women Migrant Workers’ Ba (Accessedfrom http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/docs/GR_26_on_women_ migrant_workers_en.pdf) 1. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (the Committee), affirming that migrant women, like all women, should not be discriminated againstin any sphere oftheir life, decided atits thirty-second session (January 2005), pursuantto article 21 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women(the Convention), to issue a general recommendation on some categories of women migrant workers who maybeat risk of abuse and discrimination.” 2. This general recommendation intends to contribute to the fulfillment of the obligations of States parties to respect, protectandfulfill the human rights of women migrant workers, alongsidethelegal obligations containedin othertreaties, the commitments made under the plans of action of world conferences and the important work of migration-focused treaty bodies, especially the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Membersoftheir Families.* While the Committee notesthat the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Membersof Their Families protects individuals, including migrant women,onthe basis of their migration status, the Convention on the Elimination ofAll Formsof Discrimination against Womenprotectsall women,including migrant women, against sex- and gender-based discrimination. While migration presents new opportunities for women and may be a means for their economic empowermentthrough wider participation, it may also place their human rights and security at risk. Hence, this general recommendation aimsto elaborate the circumstances that contribute to the specific vulnerability of many women migrant workers andtheir experiences of sex- and gender-based discrimination as a cause and consequenceofthe violations of their humanrights. 3. While Statesare entitled to control their borders and regulate migration, they must do so in full compliance with their obligations as parties to the human rightstreaties they haveratified or accededto. That includes the promotion of safe migration procedures and the obligation to respect, protect andfulfill the human rights of women throughoutthe migration cycle. Those obligations mustbe undertaken in recognition of the social and economic contributions of women migrant workersto their own countries and countries of destination, including through care-giving and domestic work. 4. The Committee recognizes that migrant women maybe classified into various categories relating to the factors compelling migration, the purposes of migration and accompanying tenure of stay, the vulnerability to risk and abuse, and their status in the country to which they have migrated, and theireligibility for citizenship. The Committee also recognizes that 1 The Committee acknowledges the contribution of the Committee on the Protection ofthe RightsofAll Migrant workers and Members oftheir Families during the preparationof this general recommendation. 2 The Committeeon theElimination of Discrimination against Women acknowledgesandseekstobuild on the important work on the rights of migrants completed bythe other humanrighttreaty bodies, the Special Rapporteur on the HumanRights of Migrants, the United Nations Development Fund for Women,the Division for the Advancement of Women, the Commission on the Status of Women, the General Assembly, and the Sub-Commission on the Promotion andProtection of HumanRights. The Committeealso refers to its earlier general recommendations, such as general recommendationNo. 9 on the gathering ofstatistical data on the situation of women, especially general recommendation No. 12 on violence against women, general recommendation No. 13 on equal remuneration for work ofequal value, general recommendation No. 15 on the avoidanceofdiscrimination against womenin national strategiesfor the prevention and control of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome(AIDS), general recommendation No. 19 on violence against womenand general recommendation No. 24 on women's accessto healthcare,as well as the concluding comments madeby the Committee when examiningthe reports ofStatesparties. 3 Besidestreaties and conventions,thefollowing programmesand plansofaction are applicable. The United NationsVienna Declaration and ProgrammeofAction approved at the 1993 World Conference on HumanRights (part Il, paras. 33 and 35). ProgrammeofActionofthe Cairo International Conference on Population and Development (chapter X). Programmeof Action of the World Summit for Social Development (chap. 3). Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, Fourth World Conference on Women, World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance August-September 2001. international Labour Organization Plan of Action for Migrant Workers, 2004. 15