A/HRC/38/41/Add.1 79. Such provisions only drive migration further underground and a considerable number of Nepalese women use irregular channels through India, often at the hands of unscrupulous recruiters. Others leave through official channels and with a different job description, but find themselves employed as domestic workers in the destination country. The Special Rapporteur heard multiple accounts of women who did not end up with the jobs they had agreed to, had been brought to countries different than the ones they were promised, and sometimes ended up in trafficking rings in third countries. 80. Nepalese women migrant workers need better protection from the Government. The Special Rapporteur strongly urges the Nepalese authorities to develop a human rights-based, holistic and comprehensive policy, aimed at better protection of women migrant workers in destination countries, which should be elaborated through close consultation with all relevant stakeholders, including the relevant ministries, civil society organizations, the National Human Rights Commission and women migrant workers themselves. Assistance from international NGOs and United Nations agencies would be relevant in this regard. The Special Rapporteur further urges the Nepalese authorities to ensure better protection of female domestic workers abroad and to include such provisions in any bilateral agreements or memorandums of understanding concluded with destination States. The Special Rapporteur further believes that Nepal would find it easier to negotiate the legal protection of Nepalese domestic workers abroad if it included domestic work in national labour laws, in line with ILO Convention No. 189. VI. Migration to India 81. India remains a major destination country for Nepalese workers, with around 37 per cent of Nepalese migrants.11 Since migrants are not required to have any official documents to enter and work in India, they are not considered migrants by the Government of Nepal, which is inconsistent with the concept of migration according to international law. While there is only limited data available as to how many Nepalese migrant workers cross the border into India or Indian workers into Nepal, it is estimated that India is the country with the highest number of Nepalese migrants, who leave temporarily or seasonally, or settle there permanently. Men are typically employed as security guards, hotel staff or in the construction sector, while women are engaged in domestic work. Most of them come from Provinces 6 and 7. 82. The Special Rapporteur was also informed that in the Terai belt, there is a sizeable migration to Nepal from India. However, no official records exist on the Nepalese side. 83. The Special Rapporteur was made aware of cases of exploitation, abuse and even deaths of Nepalese migrants at the hands of employers in India. The migrants concerned or their family members were either not aware of any complaints procedure, were afraid of reprisals if they lodged a complaint, or did not think their claim would be successful. In the absence of an agreement defining the rights, needs and interests of migrants, they have very few or no means of seeking redress for violations suffered in India. 84. The Special Rapporteur is further concerned over accounts of migrant children leaving from Nepal to work in India as labour migrants and accounts of the trafficking for sexual exploitation of women and girls. The Special Rapporteur notes the positive development of the deployment of a police liaison officer in India. He also notes the need to increase the number of women police officers at local police stations and at the main border crossings and encourages enhanced training for identification of potential victims of trafficking. 85. The Special Rapporteur encourages the Nepalese authorities to ensure better protection for Nepalese citizens, including by collecting data on the types of violations and abuse incurred, developing relevant policies and opening consulates in those Indian cities where there are significant numbers of Nepalese migrants. That would ensure a communication system for rescuing stranded migrants and repatriating migrant victims of 11 14 See Government of Nepal, National Population and Housing Census 2011.