The General Assembly,
Recalling that the Charter of the United Nations reaffirms faith in human rights and fundamental freedoms, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women,
Reaffirming the principles set forth in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, adopted by the General Assembly by its resolution 34/180 of 18 December 1979 and annexed thereto,
Welcoming the reaffirmation made in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights, that gender-based violence and all forms of sexual harassment and exploitation are incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person and must be eliminated by legal measures and through national and international cooperation,
Noting that large numbers of women from developing countries continue to venture forth to more affluent countries in search of a living for themselves and their families, as a consequence of poverty, unemployment and other socio-economic situations in their home countries, while acknowledging the primary duty of States to work for conditions that provide employment to their citizens,
Recognizing that it is the duty of sending countries to protect and promote the interests of their citizens who seek or receive employment in other countries, to provide them with appropriate training/education, and to apprise them of their rights and obligations in the countries of employment,
Aware of the moral obligation of receiving or host countries to ensure the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all persons within their boundaries, including migrant workers, in particular women migrant workers, who are doubly vulnerable because of their gender and because they areforeigners,
Noting with concern the continuing reports of grave abuses and acts of violence committed against the persons of women migrant workers by some of their employers in some host countries,
Stressing that acts of violence directed against women impair or nullify the enjoyment by women of their human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Convinced of the need to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and the need to protect them from gender-based violence,
1. Expresses grave concern at the plight of women migrant workers who become victims of physical, mental and sexual harassment and abuse;
2. Recognizes with appreciation the efforts exerted by some receiving countries to alleviate the negative situation of women migrant workers;
3. Welcomes the recommendation to the General Assembly by the Economic and Social Council in its resolution 1993/10 of 27 July 1993 of the draft Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women;
4. Reaffirms the provision in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action that the rights of women should form an integral part of United Nations human rights activities, including the promotion of all human rights instruments specifically relating to women;
5. Calls upon all countries, particularly the sending and receiving States, to cooperate in taking appropriate steps to ensure that the rights of women migrant workers are protected;
6. Also calls upon the countries concerned to take appropriate measures to ensure that law-enforcement officials and the judiciary assist in guaranteeing the full protection of the rights of women migrant workers;
7. Urges both sending and host countries to help ensure that women migrant workers are protected from unscrupulous recruitment practices, if needed, by the adoption of legal measures;
8. Encourages Member States to consider signing and ratifying or acceding to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families;
9. Invites trade unions to support the realization of the rights of women migrant workers by assisting them in organizing themselves so as to enable them better to assert their rights;
10. Requests treaty-monitoring bodies and calls upon non-governmental organizations concerned with violence against women to include, where appropriate, the situation of women migrant workers in their deliberations and findings and to supply relevant information to United Nations bodies and Governments;
11. Calls upon non-governmental organizations concerned in cooperation with both the sending and the host countries to conduct seminars and training programmes on human rights instruments, particularly those pertaining to migrant workers;
12. Urges all States, with the support of relevant non-governmental organizations, to adopt appropriate measures to provide support services to women migrant workers who have become traumatized as a consequence of violations of their rights by, inter alia, unscrupulous employers and/or recruiters, and to provide resources for their physical and psychological rehabilitation;
13. Also urges that the subject of violence against women migrant workers be included in the agenda of the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, to be held in Beijing in 1995;
14. Calls upon competent bodies and specialized agencies of the United Nations system, other intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations to inform the Secretary-General of the extent of the problem and to recommend further measures to implement the purposes of the present resolution;
15. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its forty-ninth session on the implementation of the present resolution, taking into account the relevant views of the Commission on the Status of Women in its discussion of the subject of violence against women at its thirty-eighth session, in March 1994.
85th plenary meeting
20 December 1993
