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VII. INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS' INTERNAL REQUIREMENTS

In addition to the requirements established by the U.S. government for the employment of A-3 and G-5 domestic workers, international organizations, embassies, consular offices, and foreign missions and observer offices to international organizations
may have internal requirements with which their employees hiring G-5 or A-3 domestic workers must comply. In the case of embassies, consular offices, and foreign missions and observer offices to international organizations, these requirements are determined on a country-by-country basis. International organizations, however, may have organization-wide requirements, and Human Rights Watch spoke with representatives from the OAS, the U.N., the IMF, and the World Bank, all of which have internal policies that govern the employment of G-5 domestic workers by their employees.230

Human Rights Watch believes that international entities whose employees employ A-3 or G-5 domestic workers have the responsibility to try to prevent employer abuse of these workers. The reason for international entities' heightened responsibility for the private activities of their employees in this regard is two-fold. First, their employees enjoy the right to hire domestic workers with special visas solely because of their status as employees of these bodies. Secondly, the international entities with whom Human Rights Watch spoke, and likely others, assist their employees with the process of applying for domestic workers and endorse completed visa applications, becoming directly involved in the application process.

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank
As of spring 2000, over one thousand G-5 domestic workers were employed by employees of the IMF and the World Bank-235 with IMF employees and 834 with World Bank employees.231 Employees of the World Bank employ more G-5 domestic workers than employees of any other international organization.

In December 1999, the IMF and the World Bank issued a "Code of Conduct Regarding Employment of G-5 Domestic Employees" (Code of Conduct), effective January 1, 2000. Prior to the Code of Conduct, the IMF and the World Bank did not have formal procedures governing the employment of G-5 domestic workers by their employees, and complaints regarding employer mistreatment were handled on an ad hoc basis.232 The Code of Conduct, however, establishes minimum standards for IMF and World Bank employees employing G-5 domestic workers, compliance with which is mandatory and violation of which may result in disciplinary action, including dismissal.

      The Code of Conduct requires the potential employer of a G-5 domestic worker to submit to the World Bank or the IMF a copy of a written employment contract, containing certain terms and conditions of employment.233 The Code of Conduct also mandates that the employer of a G-5 domestic worker maintain employment records.234 According to IMF and World Bank officials, although records will be audited periodically, the audits will be paper audits only and will not include on-site visits or interviews with employers and workers.235 In addition, though as of 2001 employers must file with the IMF or World Bank annual "returns" summarizing wage payments made that year, these "returns" need not be signed by workers.236 Code of Conduct requirements not documented through employer records, such as whether a worker's passport has been confiscated or whether a worker is allowed to leave her employer's premises during non-work hours, therefore, will not be audited, and the veracity of paper records will not be independently confirmed.

The World Bank and IMF Code of Conduct also requires all new G-5 domestic workers and any current workers seeking to extend their visas to attend orientation sessions with their employers. 237 The orientation sessions address employers' and workers' mutual rights and responsibilities under the Code of Conduct and U.S. law but do not allow independent organizations, such as direct service providers, community-based organizations, and other NGOs, to participate. 238 A "G-5 Information Pamphlet" is distributed at the sessions, which summarizes many of the Code of Conduct provisions and informs the workers that if they believe they are not "being treated fairly under U.S. law or the Bank/Fund Code of Conduct," they may file complaints, using the telephone numbers provided, with the World Bank Professional Ethics Office, the IMF Ethics Officer, or the Worker Exploitation Task Force Complaint Line.239 The Code of Conduct states that if the IMF or World Bank receives such a complaint, the organization will "investigate" the matter,240 though according to IMF and World Bank officials, neither organization has yet developed formal complaint procedures.241

The United Nations Secretariat
As of June 2000, there were 363 G-5 domestic workers employed by employees of the U.N. Secretariat.242 According to a U.N. administrative instruction, an employee of the U.N. Secretariat wishing to employ a G-5 domestic worker must submit a visa application to the U.N. Visa Committee for assistance with the application process.243 The Visa Committee will review the application to ensure that the application complies with "all the conditions defined . . . by the United States authorities" and includes an employment contract, valid only for one year and containing other terms and conditions mandated by the U.N. 244 The U.N. Visa Committee makes recommendations for application endorsement to the Assistant Secretary-General of Human Resources Management at the U.N., who forwards endorsed applications to the U.S. Mission to the U.N. 245

A U.N. Visa Committee official told Human Rights Watch that the Committee maintains a file on employers of G-5 domestic workers.246 Three months after a domestic worker's arrival in the United States and if the one-year employment contract is renewed for another year, the U.N. Visa Committee requires the employer to submit proof of payment of wages-weekly or biweekly statements of earnings signed by the staff member and the visa holder-proof of health insurance, and proof of payment of taxes.247 According to the U.N. Visa Committee official, if staff members fail to submit the required documents, the Committee will contact them to remind them that disciplinary measures will be taken against those who fail to fulfill the requirements of visa issuance, ranging from written reprimand to dismissal.248 The U.N. Visa Committee official explained that if the Committee subsequently does not receive the required documents, it will not endorse additional G-5 applications for the staff members nor visa extensions for current G-5 workers and will inform the U.S. Mission to the U.N. accordingly.249

Although the Committee has received "telephone calls and an occasional letter" regarding employment "problems" between G-5 domestic workers and their employers, the number of which are not recorded, no disciplinary measures have ever been taken against a U.N. employee for mistreatment of a G-5 domestic worker.250 The U.N. Visa Committee official told Human Rights Watch:

      We always catch up with those who fail to pay on time and make them pay. . . If we receive a telephone call or letter from a G-5 alerting us to their concerns, we follow up with a phone call to the U.N. staff member to try to mediate and negotiate and draw the matter to the attention of the staff member. We then follow up with the employee . . . It has worked so far. At the U.N., we are a diplomatic organization; we know how to talk to each other.251

Unlike the World Bank and IMF, the U.N. does not conduct orientation sessions for G-5 domestic workers. Furthermore, while the U.N. Visa Committee provides employers with detailed guidelines regarding the employment of G-5 domestic workers, the workers receive no guidelines regarding their rights and duties.252 Despite the U.N.'s professed willingness to mediate the resolution of disputes between domestic workers and their employers, no system is in place to inform workers of this informal complaint and mediation process, severely limiting its utility.

The Organization of American States
In comparison to the three other international organizations reviewed in this report, the OAS adopts a relatively "hands-off" approach to the employment of migrant domestic workers by its employees. In 1999, fifty G-5 domestic workers worked for OAS employees.253 Although an OAS employee seeking OAS assistance with her application to employ a G-5 domestic worker must submit a written employment contract to the OAS based on the OAS Draft Contract for Domestic Employees,254 the OAS does not require employers to maintain records demonstrating compliance with contract terms.255 Instead, the OAS requires that employers file income tax returns with the OAS at the end of each tax year, though no disciplinary process exists for failure to file tax returns, and, according to an OAS official, "usually the employer doesn't bring in the tax returns."256

If the contract is breached or if provisions of U.S. law are violated and the G-5 worker files a complaint with the OAS, the OAS will not investigate the complaint.257 According to the OAS Director of the Office of External Relations, "If anyone is abused in the U.S., she must go to local authorities."258 The OAS Director of the Department of Human Resources explained, "As a convenience, we facilitate the [attainment] of the G-5 visa, but where is our responsibility with regard to the employer/employee relationship that is incurred? . . . I'm not sure that our mandate goes so far as to go into persons' homes. . . I'm not sure that our responsibility goes to that length."259 The OAS Director of the Office of External Relations added, "It's the job of the courts and other social institutions to investigate. We're not in a position to take any action against anyone . . . We don't have investigative [personnel] . . . for going into the private life and prying . . . We will not pursue anything until [the OAS employee] is found guilty in the courts,"260 at which time the OAS Secretary General will consider the violations of the OAS internal ethics code that may have occurred and determine the proper course of action.261

230 According to a State Department official, an employer can attempt to evade these requirements by applying for a domestic worker independently, without seeking assistance or sponsorship from the international organization, or by demanding that the domestic worker apply on her own behalf, as the State Department does not require the visa application to be vetted and approved by the international organization employing the potential employer. Human Rights Watch telephone interview, State Department Official C, January 26, 2001.

231 Human Rights Watch telephone interview, William Murray, IMF Senior Press Officer, June 8, 2000; Written responses to Human Rights Watch written interview questions, Richard Stern, Vice President, World Bank Department of Human Resources, June 1, 2000.

232 Human Rights Watch telephone interview, IMF Official, June 7, 2000; Human Rights Watch telephone interview, Murray, June 8, 2000. The IMF official who requested to remain anonymous told Human Rights Watch that he felt his work at the IMF would be compromised if his name were revealed in this report.

233 Ibid., Article II, Secs. 1-13. See Appendix I for an enumeration of the relevant employment contract terms required by the Code of Conduct.

234 Ibid., Articles V, VI. See Appendix I for a description of the employment records that the Code of Conduct requires employers to keep.

235 P. Kevin Craig, Chief of Staff Benefits Division, IMF Human Resources Department, at a meeting between the Campaign for Migrant Domestic Workers' Rights and the IMF-World Bank Working Group, Washington, DC, attended by Human Rights Watch, October 23, 2000; Human Rights Watch interview, John Donaldson, World Bank External Affairs Counselor, Washington, DC, February 29, 2000.

236 Letter to Martha Honey, Campaign for Migrant Domestic Workers' Rights, from P. Kevin Craig, Chief of Staff Benefits Division, IMF Human Resources Department, December 7, 2000.

237 WB/IMF Code of Conduct Regarding Employment of G-5 Domestic Workers, Article III; Human Rights Watch interview, IMF Official, Washington, DC, March 31, 2000; Written responses to Human Rights Watch interview questions, Stern, June 1, 2000. The sessions are scheduled to be held quarterly and sponsored jointly by the IMF and the World Bank. Human Rights Watch interview, IMF Official, Washington, DC, March 31, 2000; Written responses to Human Rights Watch interview questions, Stern, June 1, 2000.

238 Human Rights Watch interview, IMF Official, Washington, DC, March 31, 2000.

239 The World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund's G-5 Information Pamphlet, (no date).

240 WB/IMF Code of Conduct Regarding Employment of G-5 Domestic Workers, Article VII.

241 Human Rights Watch interview, IMF Official, Washington, DC, March 31, 2000; Written responses to Human Rights Watch written interview questions, Stern, June 1, 2000.

242 Human Rights Watch telephone interview, State Department Official D, June 15, 2000. As of June 2000, there were also 388 G-5 domestic workers employed by employees of foreign missions to the U.N. U.N. Secretariat internal regulations, however, do not apply to the foreign missions.

243 "Administrative instruction: Visa status of non-United States staff members serving in the United States, members of their household and their household employees, and staff members seeking or holding permanent resident status in the United States," ST/AI/2000/19, December 18, 2000, para. 7.1. (emphasis added).

244 Human Rights Watch telephone interview, U.N. Visa Committee Official, March 15, 2000; "Administrative instruction: Visa status of non-United States staff members serving in the United States, members of their household and their household employees, and staff members seeking or holding permanent resident status in the United States," ST/AI/2000/19, December 18, 2000, para. 7.1; Standard Contract for Household Employees under G-5 Visa (no date). The U.N. Visa Committee Official requested to remain anonymous in this report. See Appendix I for an enumeration of the relevant contract terms required by the U.N.

245 Human Rights Watch telephone interview, U.N. Visa Committee Official, March 15, 2000; "Secretary-General's bulletin: Visa Committee," ST/SGB/2000/11, May 22, 2000, paras. 3.4, 3.5.

246 Human Rights Watch telephone interview, U.N. Visa Committee Official, March 15, 2000.

247 Ibid.; "Visa Committee: Undertaking by Staff Member," VISA COMMITTEE/JGM/MQ/1, April 1997; "Administrative instruction: Visa status of non-United States staff members serving in the United States, members of their household and their household employees, and staff members seeking or holding permanent resident status in the United States," ST/AI/2000/19, December 18, 2000, para. 6.3.

248 Human Rights Watch telephone interview, U.N. Visa Committee Official, March 15, 2000. See Appendix I for a description of the record-keeping requirements mandated by the U.N.

249 Ibid.

250 Ibid.; Human Rights Watch telephone interview, U.N. Visa Committee Official, March 20, 2000.

251 Human Rights Watch telephone interview, U.N. Visa Committee Official, March 15, 2000.

252 Ibid.

253 Human Rights Watch telephone interview, State Department Official B, June 13, 2000. In 1999, there were also sixty-nine G-5 domestic workers employed by members of foreign missions to the OAS. OAS regulations, however, are not applicable to foreign missions.

254 In contrast to the IMF, World Bank, and U.N., the OAS does not require its employees seeking to hire G-5 domestic workers to obtain OAS endorsement or sponsorship of the visa applications. According to an OAS official, failure to seek OAS endorsement or sponsorship "is not against the rules, just unusual." Human Rights Watch telephone interview, Yolanda Morris, Senior Specialist, OAS Department of Human Resources, January 26, 2001. See Appendix I for an enumeration of the employment contract terms required by the OAS.

255 Organization of American States Process for the Request of an Employment Contract for a Domestic Employee, (no date); Human Rights Watch interview, Yolanda Morris, Senior Specialist, OAS Department of Human Resources, Washington, DC, February 26, 2000.

256 Human Rights Watch interview, Morris, Washington, DC, February 26, 2000.

257 From 1995 through February 2000, the OAS received approximately three such complaints. Ibid.

258 Human Rights Watch interview, Eduardo del Buey, Director, OAS Office of External Relations, Washington, DC, February 26, 2000.

259 Human Rights Watch interview, Nelson Laporte, Director, OAS Department of Human Resources, Washington, DC, February 26, 2000.

260 Human Rights Watch interview, del Buey, Washington, DC, February 26, 2000.

261 Human Rights Watch interview, Laporte, Washington, DC, February 26, 2000

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