7 The Vienna Convention grants diplomats, the family of diplomats, and the administrative, technical and service staff of embassies and international organizations various levels of immunity from the laws of the foreign state in which they reside. Diplomats have immunity to civil and criminal jurisdiction under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961.Why do some diplomats and staff of international organizations have immunity? 5 In the 1990's, over 30,000 of these visas were issued by the State Department. State Department issues over 2,200 A-3 and G-5 visas, mostly to female domestic workers. Some migrant domestic workers enter the United States on A-3 or G-5 visas - "special visas" issued to the personal employees of diplomats and staff of international organizations.How many domestic workers do diplomats and staff of international organizations currently employ in the United States? 4 The ability of diplomats and the staff of international organizations to cloak themselves with diplomatic immunity encourages their abusive practices and can present a significant legal hurdle to women workers seeking to assert their rights in U.S. Too often, diplomat employers subject migrant women workers to psychological and physical abuse to force them to labor against their will. Their gender, isolation in the home, immigration status, and education levels make migrant women domestic workers particularly vulnerable to such abuse.Īmong the most vulnerable populations of migrant domestic workers are those workers employed by diplomats and the staff of international organizations. 3 Yet, while domestic workers care for America's homes and families, employers frequently subject migrant women workers to illegal and abusive working conditions. 2 Thousands of these women workers are migrants. 1 In 1999, 98.5 percent of domestic workers in the United States were women.
Millions of people are employed as domestic workers in American homes. > State Department Report: Human Rights Practices - 2005 Modern Slavery: Domestic Worker Abuse by Foreign Diplomats in the United States > News: Domestic Worker Advocates Say Diplomats Should Keep Own Houses in Order () > News: ACLU Charges Kuwait Government and Diplomats With Abusing Domestic Workers () > News: Abused Domestic Workers of Diplomats Seek Justice From International Commission () Fact Sheet: Trafficking and Exploitation of Migrant Domestic Workers