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exploitation they suffer, as they fear retaliation from recruitment agents and
employers: they cannot afford being fired and sent back home or being barred from
future work abroad, as this would mark the end of the migration project in which so
much has already been invested.
44. Moreover, the redress mechanisms that exist in labour law systems are most
often complaint-based: the onus is on the migrant herself to bring forward a
complaint about her exploitation. If migrants do not complain, little can be done to
provide effective redress.
IV. Shifting the bottom line: wholesale transition to an
ethical system
45. These economic dynamics and the perverse incentives they create make
wholesale transition to an ethical system vital. If transition to more ethical
recruitment practices is voluntary and/or piecemeal, the companies least responsive
to change will gain a competitive advantage by being able to maintain prices that
are based upon the suffering of migrants.
46. While the impossibility of rewriting international labour recruitment practices
overnight is acknowledged, Governments can achieve wholesale change through
approaching the problem from a systemic and holistic perspective, and integrating
the perspectives of migrants, private sector organizations and civil society into the
development of a range of legal and policy interventions. The issue of international
recruitment practices and the impact on the human rights of migrants is gaining
increased attention within international debates about human rights, migration and
sustainable and equitable development. Governments, businesses and civil society
organizations are becoming more sensitized to the complex issues and there are
examples of good practices in relation to government laws and policies, regional
cooperation, and private companies, as discussed in the annex available on the
Special Rapporteur’s website. It is vital to build upon these elements of progress,
in order to nurture, within the political class, the moral compass and the political
courage necessary to transform the treatment of migrants during recruitment.
47. Creating this wholesale shift cannot be achieved by tackling separate elements
of the problem, or working exclusively with limited stakeholders groups. It requires
a comprehensive range of initiatives that tackle the root causes and structural
elements of current practices over the short, medium and long term. It must include
the perspectives of all stakeholders: migrants, civil society, private sector,
governments, and international organizations.
48. Transition to an ethical system should be based upon the United Nations
Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the wealth of human rights
instruments, labour standards and soft law norms.
49. The key elements of such a transition are discussed below, including relevant
current examples of good practices that should be built upon, and followed by
detailed recommendations for States Members of the United Nations, international
organizations and private sector organizations.
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