A/HRC/22/72 protections, there is a marked absence of freedom of association and collective bargaining, which are often associated with forced labour, discrimination and harassment. 109 69. Temporary and seasonal workers are in many countries ineligible for paid parental leave.110 In New Zealand, rural women together with Maori, Pacific, and other minority women face difficulties in accessing child care and parental leave. 70. Social security systems based on individual contributions do not provide adequate social security for women involved in informal employment, or who are unable to contribute sufficiently to the system, such as seasonal or temporary workers. 111 Rural women employed in the garment sector in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic represent 80 per cent of the workers and they face poor working conditions and discrimination. Women in Laos are more likely to be involved in temporary and seasonal employment, which provides little job security. 112 71. In Spain, the intensive farming of strawberries relies almost entirely on a seasonal workforce. The recruitment of workers takes place in the country of origin and it is based on criteria such as marital status, motherhood and commitment to return at the end of the contract. The Spanish legal framework offers very little protection to seasonal workers. Days not worked are not paid and union representation of these workers is almost impossible. This situation exposes women to discriminatory recruitment practices and disrespect for labour rights while maintaining them in the host country in a condition of dependency on their employers, which increases the risks of abuse.113 72. Climate change and disasters may also constitute factors inducing migration. These factors may aggravate social problems and augment the pressure on gender roles and status of women.114 IV. Strategies and policies for the legal protection of rural women 73. All strategies and policies need to recognize at the outset that: (a) Rural women and men have specific requirements in carrying out their livelihoods, roles and responsibilities; (b) Participatory processes involving equally rural women and men are required in the design of all projects; (c) Rural women are productive agents and active actors in rural development, agriculture, local and national economies, and contributors to food security and social wellbeing; and (d) Rural women are a diverse group by age, religion, ethnicity, socio-economic status, marital status, or geographic residence. 74. The primary consideration for increasing the protection of women through strategies and policies which promote de jure and de facto equality is of a legal nature, flowing from states’ human rights obligations under international law. There is a legal imperative to treat 109 110 111 112 113 114 18 UN-Women, Enabling rural women’s economic empowerment, note 25 above, p. 15. CEDAW, Concluding Observations, New Zealand (CEDAW/C/NZL/CO/6), 2007, para. 36. CESCR, Concluding Observations, Chile (E/C.12/1/Add.105), 2004, para. 20. CEDAW, concluding observations, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (CEDAW/C/LAO/CO/7), 2009, para 35. Submission by the International Federation for Human Rights. Submission by IOM.