Host countries must to more to protect the human rights of migrant workers, according to a new report from the UN Human Rights Office.

The report, titled “We wanted workers, but human beings came”, analysed temporary labour migration programs in the Asia-Pacific region – the largest single region of origin of migrants in the world.

It was released to mark the International Migrants Day on 18 December.

Each year millions of migrants leave their countries under temporary labour migration programs. The International Labour Organization estimates there are 169 million migrant workers in the world.

The report says that many cases temporary labour migration programs impose restrictions on a range of human rights.

It highlights situations in which migrant workers are forced to live in overcrowded and unsanitary housing, are unable to afford nutritious food and, are denied adequate healthcare.

It also says migrant workers are often faced with prolonged and in some cases mandatory separation from their families.

Also, migrants were put at a disproportionate risk of COVID-19 infection by policies that excluded them from government support in several countries, the report says.

“Migrant workers are often dehumanised. They are human beings entitled to human rights and full protection of their human dignity. They should not be expected to give up their rights in return for being able to migrate for work, however crucial it is for them and their families, and for the economies of their countries of origin and destination,” the report said.

It said that in the Gulf States and Singapore temporary migrant workers are prohibited under the terms of their work permit from marrying citizens or permanent residents without the express permission of the Government.

In Qatar, certain residential zones are designated family zones and properties there cannot be rented to temporary migrants as they are not allowed to migrate with their families.

In some seasonal schemes there are reports that migrants, including in Australia and New Zealand, are expected to work on Saturdays and Sundays, leaving them unable to attend religious services.

The report says migrant domestic workers in some countries have reported being told they would be fired if they prayed or fasted while at work.

Migrant construction workers also reported receiving substandard medical care in clinics provided by their employers.

The report says migrant workers are “consistently excluded by policy or practice from access to justice and remedies for human rights abuses whether in the workplace or outside”.

It says many labour contracts amount to “systems of control” that generate situations of vulnerability for migrant workers due to their being in a country in which they lack citizenship attachment, their temporary legal status, as well as other barriers such as language and culture.

“In particular, the risk or threat of deportation and of being blacklisted by recruiters from future entry through TLMPs – with the associated loss of the financial investment made and debts incurred by the migrant

– gives employers considerable power and forces migrant worker compliance with poor living and working conditions without complaint.

“This extreme power asymmetry, combined with the sanctioned divestment of many of the rights of migrant workers on these programmes, can too easily act as a licence for exploitation and other rights abuses. It can also drive precarious forms of migration: for example, the risk of exploitation when a migrant worker feels compelled to marry a national in order to stay in the destination country beyond their contract

Period,” the report said.

“Measures that curtail human rights cannot be justified by arguing that migrants’ immigration status is temporary, nor can States delegate to employers and other private actors their obligation as duty-bearers to ensure the human rights of all migrant workers and members of their families,” the report said. 

“States need to put in place comprehensive, human rights-based labour migration policies along migration corridors in and from Asia and the Pacific as an alternative to restrictive, and in some cases exploitative, temporary programmes,” it said.

To read the full report, click here