To address this issues NHRC has thematic committees31 linked with the communities and public at large mandated to promote human rights. Currently there are 10 such platforms under several thematic areas32. The Committees consist of civil society organizations, human rights activists, state institutions, academicians, development agencies and intergovernmental agencies. These committees are chaired by NHRCB commissioners, allowing space to own and promote work carried out by these Committees using the Commission’s platform. The committees meet on a regularly basis and are responsible for coordination, promotion and foster cooperation among the participating agencies. Based on a wellstructured annual work plan, it will undertake joints events, fact finding missions and research. The priority areas of engagement are identified based on the accepted recommendations of the Universal Period Review, concluding recommendations of the treaty bodies, the 7th five-year plan(2016- 2020) and contemporary/emerging issues in the sector. General Information- Issue 8 Most recruitments of migrant workers are conducted through private recruitment agents or through individual efforts of the aspirant migrants. By law the licensed recruiting agencies are subjected to supervision and monitoring of the state agencies through the licensing system. As per the study done by NHRCB33, only a few well- established recruiting agents have direct contact with the foreign employers concerned and the other agents are working as de facto sub agents of the established recruiting agents. Most of the medium sized and small recruiting agents are not able to arrange work permits on their own. They purchase work permits at a higher cost, either from private individuals or from agents of employers who come to Dhaka with work permits to sell. Moreover, many of these recruiting agents do not practice ethical business; they only work to gain a profit. In the premise, there is a high risk of aspirant migrants being subjected to fraud by private recruiting agents. The OEM Act provided clear guidance on this matter; Section 21 of the OEM Act 2013 provides for the Cost of Migration: ‘The Government may, by an Order, prescribe the ceiling of the cost of migration to be charged for recruitment and overseas employment’. However, so far a circular/notice prescribing the ceiling has not been issued. Section 22 of the OEM Act 2013 articulates the Employment contract i.e. (1) The recruitment agent shall cause to be concluded an employment contract between the recruited worker and the employer, in which stipulations concerning the worker's wages, accommodation facilities, duration of employment, compensation amount in the event of death or injury, cost of emigration to and return from the foreign country, and so on shall be stated. (2) For the contract mentioned in the Subsection (1), the recruitment agent shall be deemed to be a representative of the overseas employer, and about liabilities arising from the contract, the said recruitment agent and the employer shall be liable jointly and severally. (3) The recruitment agent shall submit a copy of the contract concluded under the Subsection (1) to the Bureau and to the Bangladesh Mission in the concerned foreign country. 31 The Thematic Committees were established on 8th August 2016 at the 41st Commission meeting Committee on Women’s Rights, Committee on CHT Affairs, Committee on Dalits, Hijra and other Excluded Minorities, Committee on Business and Human Rights and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility), Committee on Person with Disability and Autism, Committee on Migrant Worker’s Rights, Committee for Protection of Religious and Ethnic Minorities & Non-citizen’s rights, Committee for Child Rights, Child Labour and Anti Trafficking and Migration, Committee on Economic, Social, Cultural, Civil and Political Rights and Committee on Elderly People’s Rights 33 Protecting Migrant workers from Bangladesh – A Study of legal compliance with Migrant Workers’ Rights- 2012 32 8