A/59/377 Rapporteur wishes to thank the Mexican National Institute for Migration (INM) for its invitation to take part in a working meeting to be held in January 2005 to review actions taken by INM on the recommendations contained in document E/CN.4/2003/85/Add.2. 2. Case studies 10. In all her work, as mandated by the Commission on Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur takes into account a gender perspective when analysing information received and pays special attention to cases of discrimination and violence against women. She also considers it essential to take account of the composition and source of migration flows in order to better protect the human rights of migrants, given the risks and abuses they may face during the migration process. 11. The report presented by the Special Rapporteur to the Commission on Human Rights at its sixtieth session (E/CN.4/2004/76) focused on the living, working and employment conditions of migrant workers employed in domestic service. In the Special Rapporteur’s view, the situation of this group illustrates three of the most important challenges of international migration in modern times: first, the extent and feminization of migration. What is new about these movements is no longer their magnitude so much as the increase in the number of countries of origin and the high proportion of women involved, particularly in certain Asian countries; second, the difficulty of obtaining recognition of the human rights of immigrants, particularly those with irregular administrative status; and lastly, the need for rightsbased migration management. 12. Using the broad definition of the tasks involved in domestic service developed by the International Labour Organization (ILO),3 the Special Rapporteur analysed in her report the treatment of female migrant workers employed in this sector in the light of the principal international human rights instruments and the legal framework developed by ILO in this area. The Special Rapporteur observes again in her report that, even when there exists a range of basic human rights norms that are applicable to non-citizens, the reality that immigrant women — particularly those in domestic service — face is a far cry from what is laid down in international law. Women employed in domestic service must accept abusive clauses in their contracts, are lured into debt by recruitment agencies, have their documents withheld and, in many cases, are subjected to ill-treatment and sexual violence by their employers. The Special Rapporteur describes how many women selected by recruitment agencies end up as victims of trafficking and, consequently, of labour exploitation which may involve conditions that are tantamount to servitude or forced labour. In the Special Rapporteur’s view, the reason for the abuse and discrimination suffered by these women is their triple status as women, immigrants and, in many cases, as undocumented persons. 13. In her report the Special Rapporteur encourages States which admit such workers under a sponsorship and special visa system to review their legislation and ensure that the workers’ status does not depend directly on the employment relationship with a given employer, since such dependent status leaves these women without protection and even leads them to remain silent about abuses for fear of being dismissed and/or repatriated. 7