A/HRC/15/20* next in the street with no income, legal residence status, family support network, return air ticket or right to seek another job. 55. Reporting on domestic slavery, the Council of Europe has highlighted the structurally similar case of women in arranged transnational marriages, also referred to as “mail-order brides”.25 Faced with an unfamiliar partner and sociocultural context, such women can easily find themselves in situation of abuse, exploitation, and, in extreme cases, domestic and sexual servitude. Their visa status typically depends on the continuation of the arranged marriage for at least a certain number of years. In order to lessen dependencies, some countries have created a special legal residence status for divorced or separated migrant women who can prove that they were severely abused or exploited by their partner.26 56. Domestic work also draws in many women and girls with irregular migration status, because it is less visible, usually provides cash payment and, in many cases, a place to stay. Women in such situations usually fear reporting exploitation to the authorities, especially where criminal investigations and the enforcement of labour standards are linked to immigration control. Domestic workers without papers include women who should qualify for asylum or other protected status, but face deportation because States fail to respect their international obligations not to subject to refoulement persons who would face persecution or torture upon their return.27 Victims of gender-based persecution — e.g. women at risk of “honour” killings — are also prone to becoming undocumented migrants vulnerable to exploitation, because national authorities fail to recognize such persecution or unrealistically assume that the victim has “internal flight alternatives” in her country of origin. 57. A specific protection gap exists with regard to domestic workers employed by diplomats or international civil servants with diplomatic status. A number of cases have been reported, in which diplomats subjected their domestic employees to servitude and related abuse. Migrant domestic workers employed by diplomats are a particular vulnerable group. Firstly, their visa status typically depends on continued employment by the diplomat and they are therefore not free to change employers in case of exploitation. Secondly, diplomatic immunities and privileges shield diplomats from the enforcement of national legislation. Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, diplomats enjoy immunity from criminal action. In addition, many foreign ministries and courts tend to interpret the Vienna Convention as granting diplomats immunity from civil suits brought by their domestic workers, even though article 31 of the Vienna Convention excludes civil immunity for “professional or commercial activity exercised by the diplomatic agent in the receiving State outside his official functions”. 58. The Special Rapporteur is concerned that sending countries have a tendency to hush up credible reports of exploitation committed by their diplomats, rather than to launch criminal investigations. Meanwhile, receiving countries often lack the courage to demand a lifting of diplomatic immunity or declare perpetrating diplomats to be personae non grata, while at the same time providing independent residence rights to the victims. 25 26 27 12 Domestic slavery: servitude, au pairs and mail-order brides, paras. 27–34. Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, mission to the Netherlands, A/HRC/4/34/Add.4, paras. 58–59. See 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, art. 33, and Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, art. 3. See Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, concluding observations on China, CEDAW/C/CHN/CO/6, paras. 33–34 (on the vulnerability of women from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to exploitation). GE.10-15169