A/HRC/23/41 communicable diseases.8 Camps in transit countries9 or assisted voluntary returns to the sending State10 may help in reducing health vulnerabilities of irregular migrant workers. 4. Economic necessity, lack of information and low educational and skill levels can drive migrant workers towards hazardous and poorly regulated 3D jobs. An the absence of effective safeguards to protect the rights of migrant workers in such industries – coupled with exploitative practices by unscrupulous recruitment agencies, intermediaries and employers – create living and working conditions that hinder the full realization of the right to health. 5. Cultural and linguistic differences may magnify the vulnerability of migrant workers in receiving States, especially in the absence of family or social support networks. Legal, information and employment-related barriers to accessing health facilities, goods, and services also heighten vulnerability. For irregular migrants, the challenges are even greater because they are likely to have lesser, if any, health care entitlements, protection under occupational health and safety laws or access to redress mechanisms, while constantly facing the threat of detention and deportation. Laws linking immigration control and health systems are particularly damaging as they are a direct barrier to accessing health care, and perpetuate discrimination and stigma rather than promote social inclusion. II. Conceptual framework 6. The right to health framework is primarily grounded in article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which recognizes the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of mental and physical health. General comment No. 14 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights elaborates upon, and interprets, the right to health. It mandates States to respect, protect and fulfil the right to health of everyone, including migrant workers. States are also required to improve the underlying determinants of health – prerequisites for the realization of the right to health – such as education, nutritious food, potable water, adequate sanitation, and safe and healthy work and living conditions. Migration should be seen as an underlying determinant, as the processes of pre-departure and reintegration in sending States, and arrival, stay and integration in receiving States determine health outcomes of migrant workers. 7. Rights of migrant workers are explicitly recognized under a number of international law instruments. The 1990 International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families details the rights of migrant workers and their families throughout the entire migration process, tailoring the obligation of States according to the stage of migration, including departure from and return to sending States, and transit and employment in receiving States. 8. The International Labour Organization (ILO), through various conventions and recommendations places obligations on States11 and certain duties to recruitment agencies, 8 9 10 11 4 WHO, Health of Migrants, (April 2008), document A61/12, para. 17, available from http://www.iom.int/jahia/webdav/shared/shared/mainsite/microsites/IDM/workshops/migrant_human _rights_032509/nygren_krug_en.pdf. IOM, Migration Health, Report of IOM Activities 2011 (2011). IOM, Tanzania‟s Mixed Migration Unit, prospectus, available from http://www.iom.int/files/live/sites/iom/files/Country/docs/IOM-Info-Sheet-MMU-221012-Final.pdf. International Labour Office (ILO), Equality of Treatment (Accident Compensation) Convention, 1925 (No. 19) , Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97), Equality of Treatment