A/70/310 16. The relationship between recruitment practices amongst agencies and subagents and the immigration status of migrants is complex. Recruiters do facilitate regular opportunities, whereby migrants arrive in countries of destination with a legitimate visa. However, there are some cases where agents have also been reported to create fake documents to facilitate entry into destination countries, thus leaving migrants in an irregular situation when they arrive. Migrants can also find themselves in a situation of immigration irregularity if they overstay their visas or lose employment that is a condition of their visa. 17. The role of recruiters and subagents does not end when migrants reach countries of destination. They can continue to play an ongoing role in the experiences of migrants through, for example, arranging housing and/or acting as landlords, collecting ongoing payments for recruitment fees or debt incurred by migrants during recruitment, and renewing work permit for migrants, often for further fees. Migrants may also need to deploy the services of recruiters in countries of destination, as they often experience low job security. Migrants’ visas are often tied to their employment, leaving them vulnerable to pay additional recruitment fees to recruiters if they lose their job when in the country of destination. Migrants can therefore become caught in a vicious cycle where they have to redeploy and pay for the services of recruiters to ensure continued employment. 2. Recruitment practices and human rights 18. The practices of unethical recruiters and their subagents sit on a complex spectrum of human rights violations. Such recruiters commonly exploit migrants, directly or indirectly, at every stage of the migratory process. Additionally, some unethical recruiters also can perpetrate and/or facilitate a range of broader human rights abuses with impunity. The patterns of these violations differ between recruiters, countries and different groups of migrants and are not fully understood due to a lack of coherent and disaggregated data. Significant suffering, however, unites the experience of many low-wage migrants who utilize the services of unethical recruiters. 19. As discussed below, economic exploitation of migrants can include charging large fees for recruitment services, which can force migrants into situations of effective debt bondage and forced labour; changing the terms of employment agreed in countries of origin; and facilitating employment in exploitative labour conditions. Recruitment is the first stage of the migration process. The already precarious situation of the migrant is aggravated by unethical recruitment practices of unscrupulous recruiters who focus on profit maximization at any cost. This contributes to millions of individuals being highly vulnerable to other multiple and severe abuses of their rights, including: trafficking; violence, including sexual violence, particularly directed towards women; restrictions of freedom of movement; racism and xenophobia; and denial of the right to remedy for violations. Severe economic exploitation 20. Economic exploitation begins as migrants decide to leave their home country and migrate to countries where there are possible economic opportunities. Unscrupulous recruiters charge large fees for facilitating work opportunities for 6/26 15-13569