A/51/301 English Page 13 Others were picked up by the police after running away and either arrested or returned to their employers." 5/ 21. Mass expulsions of migrant workers give rise to some concern regarding human rights, as has the severity of justice in certain countries when persons with immigrant status have been accused, rightly or wrongly, of criminal offences. One such case was the deterioration in relations between the Philippines and Malaysia in 1994, when the Malaysian authorities arrested and deported several hundred Philippine domestic workers for staying and working in the country illegally. Similarly, relations between the Philippines and Singapore deteriorated in 1995 after the execution of Flor Contemplación, a domestic worker who had been accused of murdering her employer; the Philippine authorities had cast doubt on the circumstances of the trial. 22. The Malaysian authorities accuse immigrants of criminal activities and of spreading disease. In Japan, extreme right-wing groups have written xenophobic slogans on signs in public gardens frequented by foreigners. Certain countries claim that the arrival of immigrants is a threat to national security. For example, the Thai authorities consider that the presence of 350,000 "illegal" immigrants from Myanmar is a threat to the country’s security. Measures of increasing severity are taken to control migratory flows and expel "illegal immigrants". The Republic of Korea has declared that it will expel all "illegal immigrants" in 1999. 6/ 23. The same stringent attitude to immigration is seen in Europe, where most member States of the European Union have adopted tougher legislation. As an example of this major trend, France has a particularly strict policy. The French National Assembly’s commission of inquiry on illegal immigration and unlawful residence in France by foreigners recently proposed a series of measures to improve control over immigration by non-Europeans. Many observers consider that these measures contravene human rights. Inter alia, the commission recommended that: "(a) The issuing of short-stay visas should be more systematically subject to proof of health insurance or, failing that, a medical examination by a physician approved by the consulate. This formality would be required in countries where the ’migratory risk’ (’risque migratoire’) is high and which have concluded no social security treaty with France; [Underlining by the Special Rapporteur.] "(b) Improvements should be made in the identification of visa applicants in countries where there is a migratory risk: consideration should be given to setting up a file containing the applicants’ fingerprints. Such fingerprinting would be carried out in those countries where there is a migratory risk and which do not take their citizens’ fingerprints before issuing national identity papers; "(c) The procedure for the issuing of the ’certificat d’hébergement’ should be reformed, by means of: . creation of lists of persons offering accommodation; /...