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5.5
Ensure equal access for all migrants to reliable legal information, effective
legal aid, competent and affordable legal representation and competent
interpretation and translation services
5.6
Reduce crime and violence against migrants during their migration journeys
and in destination countries, and ensure effective protection and assistance to
victims of exploitation and abuse
Indicators
(a) Increased number of complaints filed by migrants of human and labour
rights violations, discrimination or abuse with any judicial or quasi -judicial
institutions
(b) Increased proportion of cases in which migrants were effectively
provided with competent legal representation, adequate legal aid and proper
translation and interpretation services
(c) Increased number of court fee waivers for all those who cannot afford
them, including migrants
(d) Increased number of prosecutions for human trafficking, labour
exploitation and forced labour targeting migrants
(e) Increased number of cases in which migrants are offered special visa
protection or other protective measures for victims of trafficking and forced labour
Goal 6.
Ensure easy access for all migrants to basic services, including education and health
Rationale
65. Newly arrived migrants could face a variety of challenges in accessing public
services, such as health care, education or housing, given their limited command of
the local language and their lack of knowledge of the laws and systems of the host
country. The enjoyment of such rights by migrants is effectively hampered in the
absence of relevant support, such as the provision of languag e training or free
information on relevant laws and regulations. A related concern is the lack of
disaggregated indicators on the economic, social and cultural rights of all migrants,
which would be useful for adequate policymaking, including on enhancing the
accessibility of such services.
66. Migrants may be more vulnerable to poor health by virtue of their often low
socioeconomic status, the sometimes harrowing process of migration and their
vulnerability as non-nationals in the new country. The mental health of migrants is
an issue of concern, with factors such as human rights violations before or during
the migration process, social isolation caused by separation from family and social
networks, job insecurity, difficult living conditions, detention and exploitative
treatment potentially having adverse effects. Migrant women and girls often
experience more problematic pregnancy and gynaecological health issues compared
with the host population. Those working in domestic services face widespread
physical, sexual and psychological abuse and therefore require urgent health care
and protection. Access to health care for migrants and the level of such care,
however, varies enormously, depending on State policies and the immigration status
of the migrant.
67. Access to public services, such as health care, education, local police, social
services, public housing, labour inspections and health and safety inspections, is key
to ensuring that such services are able to perform their mission with the trust of all
beneficiaries, including migrants, and that migrants do not fear detection, detention
and deportation. Too frequently, immigration enforcement services enlist other
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