STATEMENT
Human Rights Council 59th Session.
Item 3 - Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Trafficking (on the report “Migrant domestic workers and trafficking in persons: prevention, rights protection and access to justice”).
Statement delivered by Ambassador Mr. Tormod C. ENDRESEN,
Permanent Representative of Norway on behalf of the Nordic Baltic countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden
Check against delivery
23 June 2025
The Nordic-Baltic countries thank the Special Rapporteur for her report on migrant domestic workers and trafficking in persons: prevention, rights protection and access to justice.
We are alarmed by the heightened risk of exploitation and abuse migrant domestic workers face. While the majority of domestic workers are women, limited attention is paid to the gender dimensions of migration and the specific risks faced by migrant women workers. Such workers may endure sexual harassment, sexual and gender-based violence, and can also be at risk of sexual exploitation or forced labour.
We are concerned by the fact that many survivors of trafficking do not seek assistance from law enforcement bodies or report experiences of trafficking, out of fear of arrest, detention and deportation. Furthermore, women victims of trafficking returning home risk stigmatization, discrimination and poverty, together with the increased risk of being re-trafficked.
We urge states to act with urgency to remedy the gendered abuses of migrant domestic workers and take effective action to ensure accountability and access to justice for victims.
Special rapporteur, what do you see as most important to improve international collaboration, with the aim of reducing the risk of trafficking?
I thank you.