A/HRC/53/26/Add.3 B. Pre-departure 39. The Special Rapporteur is concerned about the challenges for migrant workers in the pre-departure phase. He was informed of the de facto high migration costs that are often borne by aspiring migrant workers who are desperate to go abroad and work. Aspiring migrants often must provide as much as $3,000 to $5,000 to gain access to work abroad. 40. Many of these aspiring migrant workers must sell their properties or take on loans that become excessive, leading to debt bondage. Once migrants arrive at their country of destination, most of the money they earn often must be used to pay off these debts, resulting in migrant workers being left with little to support themselves and their families. The exploitation of aspiring migrant workers thus begins even before they set foot in their place of employment overseas, and the high costs for migration often prohibit the poorest aspiring workers from gaining access to employment abroad. 41. The Special Rapporteur was informed of serious cases of visa trading, which contributes to debt bondage, involving the illegal practice of obtaining visas from employers by dalals and other intermediaries. Competition among various recruitment agencies fuels the sale of visas at high costs and the exploitation of aspiring migrant workers. Visa trading and contract replacement at the destination country also heightened the risk of trafficking and forced labour faced by migrant workers, and the Special Rapporteur notes that many cases involving such violations persist. 42. Many aspiring migrants do not fully understand the correct process for migration or the documentation they receive for their recruitment, due to lack of knowledge and skills. They are not aware of their rights under the relevant legal framework, let alone their means to gain access justice when abuses occur. 43. The Special Rapporteur observed with concern that, despite many efforts made by the authorities and international partners to encourage safe and fair migration practices, there are still far too many cases involving the exploitation of aspiring migrant workers at the predeparture stage. He stresses the need for the Government to implement existing regulations and policies to strengthen the protection of migrant workers, particularly those who are in situations of vulnerability, including the poor and illiterate. 44. The Special Rapporteur was also concerned at information that referred to close relationships and collaboration between government officials and personnel of private recruitment agencies, where both actors benefitted financially from the recruitment costs borne by aspiring migrants. Labour migration is a lucrative industry that opens up opportunities for collusion and questionable practices among personnel of recruitment agencies and individuals of influence, reportedly including some among the authorities in Bangladesh. 45. The Special Rapporteur notes the positive practice of providing pre-departure orientation training to aspiring migrants, but urges the Government to take a more comprehensive approach to training and the provision of timely and accessible information, to better inform them about the decisions that they must make and the available recourses and referral paths for victims of exploitation and abuse. He observed that many of those who had been victims of human rights abuses and exploitation were lower-skilled migrants who did not have the information or knowledge about the situation that they were in prior to their departure. The lack of knowledge, the desperation for work abroad and the lack of access to a protection framework and justice mechanisms among migrants create an environment conducive to further human rights abuses, including trafficking and gender-based violence. 46. The Special Rapporteur is encouraged to note the initiative being taken to promote registration and strengthen oversight of private recruitment agencies, but, without proper regulation of the use and recruitment of dalals, many of whom impose exorbitant costs on aspiring migrants for profit, the hope of lessening the costs of migration is diminished. 47. He welcomes the efforts to officially register dalals for better oversight and monitoring and commends the establishment of a database under the Ministry of Overseas Employment and Migrants Act to keep a record of aspiring workers, in order to lessen the GE.23-08750 7