A/HRC/38/41 70. Bilateral agreements are a first step towards the portability of social security entitlements. Such agreements, however, often apply only to regular migrants. The availability of and access to portable pensions can be crucial for the decision of migrant workers on whether to retire in the country of origin or of destination. 41 (e) Stigma due to migration 71. Returnees may face large debts, incurred in the payment of recruitment fees and loans or in payments made to smugglers. If the migratory project has not been successful and the migrant not managed to send remittances or returns without savings, reintegration may become a challenge. In addition, returnees may be poorly perceived by their families and communities, particularly if funds had been mobilized to finance the migrant’s journey. Communities and families may also need to identify new alternative sources of income after having lost those previously assured by remittances. 72. Returnees may face stigma and discrimination in their own community as a result of their failed migration experience, and decide to settle elsewhere in their country of origin. Migrant women may face additional stigma where their migration is associated with sexual exploitation. Their return can be particularly challenging when attempting to rejoin the family and to reintegrate into the community structure. During his visit to Nepal, the Special Rapporteur noted that migrant women returning from the Middle East or Malaysia faced additional challenges because of their migratory experience. For women in need of help, there are insufficient shelters providing comprehensive psychosocial support and reintegration assistance (see A/HRC/38/41/Add.1). In some communities, returning young men are perceived as having failed to meet their gendered role as family providers, which may also add to the stigma against them. 73. Migrants who have been deported may be subjected to additional human rights abuse and stigma. The fact that they were forcibly removed raises concern not only in the authorities but also among family members and the larger community that they may have committed a crime in the destination country. Many deportees face mistreatment, arbitrary detention and violence, intimidation, extortion, confiscation of property by government officials, statelessness, homelessness, lack of access to work, medical care and education. In many countries, returnees from Europe are suspected of being spies and subsequently receive threats. In other countries, irregular departure is a criminal offence; deportees run the risk of a prison term upon their return to their country. In such cases, deportation becomes a significant barrier to reintegration. (f) Well-governed mobility policies as a prerequisite to reintegration 74. Studies show that restrictive migration policies in a destination country undermine return programmes and may undermine prospects for reintegration upon a migrant’s return. Living and working conditions in the host country play a preponderant role in reintegration. The ability to secure employment and to have access to independent housing and the freedom to develop social contacts while abroad are likely to be important factors in supporting the reintegration of returnees. 42 A study on returnees to Nigeria showed that migrants who had been able to stay in their country of destination for as long as they desired were less inclined to remigrate; instead, they were more focused on readjusting to life in Nigeria.43 75. Well-governed and effective migration policies would mitigate most of the risks that returnees face while respecting fully the human rights of migrants, including when facilitating reintegration. In order to enhance their ability to reintegrate, returning migrants 41 42 43 Nurulsyahirah Taha, Karin Astrid Siegmann and Mahmood Messkoub, “How portable is social security for migrant workers? A review of the literature”, International Social Security Review, vol. 68, No. 1, January-March 2015. World Bank Group, “Migration and remittances: Special topic: return migration”, Washington, D.C., October 2017. Jenny Pennington and Brhmie Balaram, “Homecoming: return and reintegration of irregular migrants from Nigeria”, Institute for Public Policy Research, April 2013. 15