A/HRC/38/41/Add.1 I. Introduction 1. The Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Felipe González Morales, conducted an official visit to Nepal from 29 January to 5 February 2018 at the invitation of the Government. The main focus of the visit was on labour migration from Nepal, recruitment practices, the assistance provided in destination countries and the return and reintegration of labour migrants. The Special Rapporteur also looked into the situation of migrants in Nepal. 2. During the mission, the Special Rapporteur met with representatives of the Government, including representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Protection, including its Department of Foreign Employment, the Foreign Employment Tribunal and the Foreign Employment Promotion Board, the Ministry for Women, Children and Senior Citizens, the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Human Rights Division of the Nepal Police. He also held meetings with representatives of the National Human Rights Commission, the diplomatic community, members of the United Nations country team, migrants and their families, and representatives of civil society organizations, international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), trade unions, recruitment agencies, associations of training centres for domestic workers, associations of pre-departure orientation centres, associations of medical centres and skills training providers in Kathmandu and Kailali and Morang districts. He also visited the labour village in Kathmandu. 3. The Special Rapporteur expresses his appreciation for the cooperation extended to him by the Government prior to, throughout and after the visit. He also thanks the United Nations country team for their valuable support and assistance. II. General background: migration from Nepal 4. With an average of 1,500 Nepalese migrant workers officially leaving Nepal every day for foreign employment, international labour migration forms an important part of the lives of Nepalese citizens.1 Most Nepalese migrant workers may see themselves compelled to migrate for a variety of reasons: extremely difficult economic circumstances, loss of land or employment, debt, the loss of a spouse, family illness, discrimination and a less than favourable socioeconomic status for women, minorities and low-caste or landless people, or in order to guarantee a better future for their children. 5. Most Nepalese migrant workers go to Malaysia, the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council and India. Over the years, a large recruitment industry has developed in Nepal. A total of 2,723,587 labour permits were issued by the Department of Labour and Employment between 2008/09 and 2014/152 and remittances, which are mainly spent on household consumption, loan repayments, asset acquisition, health and education, have become an important source of economic development and poverty reduction in the country, as they make up more than 30 per cent of gross domestic product. 3 Around 71 per cent of the remittances received in Nepal in 2015 came from the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.4 1 2 3 4 See Department of Foreign Employment, monthly reports providing overview of labour permits issued and renewed, available from www.dofe.gov.np/new/pages/details/34 (accessed 6 March 2018). See Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Protection, “Labour migration for employment. A status report for Nepal: 2014/2015”. See World Bank, remittances data for 2016, available from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/BX.TRF.PWKR.DT.GD.ZS. Asian Development Bank Institute, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and International Labour Organization, Safeguarding the Rights of Asian Migrant Workers from Home to the Workplace (2017). 3