E/CN.4/2004/76 page 14 origin and of destination, have taken steps to prevent illegal recruitment and abuses by recruitment agencies. Some countries, such as Pakistan, have a system for monitoring the work of recruitment agencies, which can only recruit subject to the authorization of the Ministry of Employment after an embassy check on the employer’s credibility. Employers who have been reported for not abiding by contracts or for committing abuses are put on a list, and are prohibited from recruiting people from the country again. 3. Contract of employment and legal recognition of domestic work 51. One of the factors contributing to the vulnerability of migrant domestic workers, to their trafficking and to violations of their human rights is the absence of a written contract of employment. Some women migrate without having signed any contract.18 Sometimes there is just a verbal agreement between the employer and the recruitment agency. Even when the country of destination requires a contract of employment in order to grant a visa, the workers do not always receive a copy. Women migrating under such conditions often discover upon arrival that they have been recruited for a different job from that agreed upon. 52. Another situation that concerns the Special Rapporteur is the signing of contracts in the country of employment in languages which the migrant domestic workers do not understand. Through these contracts, some workers accept conditions which are detrimental to them. The Special Rapporteur received information on cases of women who signed contracts stipulating that they would not have the right to leave their employer’s house. Others signed contracts which provided for fines in the event of their returning to their countries of origin before a given period of time had elapsed. 53. In many countries, domestic work is not governed by labour law or is explicitly excluded from legislation on wages, working conditions, sexual harassment, etc.19 In some, migrant domestic workers are regarded as temporary workers under the protection of their employers. In both cases, even where there is a contract, it does not establish obligations for the parties. 54. When there is no contract and/or the domestic work is not covered by some legislation on labour rights, there is no legal basis for claiming rights and obtaining fair compensation in the event of violations of working conditions, fair remuneration, pension, social security and health insurance coverage and compensation in the event of unfair dismissal or sexual harassment. Moreover, in the event of an accident at work or of illness, there is nothing to protect the migrant against dismissal. 55. Thus, many female migrant domestic workers tend to work in precarious and exploitative conditions. When they are illegally within the country or their legal right to be there depends on their employment relationship with their sponsors, these precarious conditions are compounded by their vulnerability and defencelessness in the face of exploitative and unfair practices by employers.20 56. Unless the State keeps an eye on their circumstances, migrant domestic workers are completely isolated and unprotected, and this increases their vulnerability to abuse and violations.