inspection services to carry out such monitoring and to receive, investigate and address complaints of alleged violations. Social security and health services 42. States parties should ensure that migrant domestic workers are granted access to social security benefits on the basis of equal treatment with nationals (article 27). 43. States should ensure effective access of all migrant domestic workers to any medical care urgently required to avoid irreparable harm to their health (article 28). Particular attention should be given to women migrant domestic workers with irregular status, who are especially vulnerable during pregnancy, as they are often afraid to contact public health services out of fear of deportation. States should not require public health institutions providing care to report data on the regular or irregular status of a patient to immigration authorities. 44. States should ensure that migrant domestic workers in a documented or regular situation enjoy equal treatment with nationals in relation to social and health services (article 43(1)(e)). Moreover, the Committee recalls the obligations assumed by States under other core international human rights treaties, notably the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to take appropriate measures towards ensuring to all persons within their jurisdiction, irrespective of their immigration status, the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and medical care, services and attention in the event of sickness.9 Right to organize for collective bargaining and protection 45. The right to organize and to engage in collective bargaining is essential for migrant domestic workers to express their needs and defend their rights, in particular through trade unions (articles 26 and 40) and labour organizations. 46. The laws of States parties, particularly countries of employment of migrant domestic workers, should recognize the right of the latter to form and join organizations, regardless of migration status (article 26) and self-organization should be encouraged. 47. States parties are encouraged to provide migrant domestic workers with information about relevant associations that can provide assistance in the country/city of origin and employment. Freedom of religion or belief and freedom of expression 48. States parties should take effective measures to ensure that migrant domestic workers are free to practise the religion or belief of their choice, as well as their freedom of expression, individually or in community with others, in public and in private, in accordance with articles 12 and 13 of the Convention and other international human rights standards (articles 12 and 13). Access to justice and remedies 49. States of employment should ensure that all migrant domestic workers have access to mechanisms for bringing complaints about violations of their rights (articles 18, paragraph 1, and 83). States parties should ensure that such complaints are investigated in an appropriate manner and within a reasonable period of time and that cases of violations are appropriately sanctioned. To facilitate access to redress mechanisms, States parties could for example designate a domestic workers’ Ombudsperson. States parties should also ensure that migrant domestic workers can obtain legal redress and remedies for violations of their rights by employers who enjoy diplomatic immunity under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. 50. In order to ensure effective access to justice and remedies for all migrant domestic workers, the Committee considers that migrant domestic workers should be able to access 9 See International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, art. 12. As the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights underlines in its general comment No. 20 (2009) on non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights, “The Covenant rights apply to everyone including non-nationals, such as refugees, asylum-seekers, stateless persons, migrant workers and victims of international trafficking, regardless of legal status and documentation” (para. 30). See also Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, general recommendation No. 30 (2004) on discrimination against non citizens. 54