ASEAN Seeks to
Protect and Promote Migrant Workers Rights
ASEAN Secretariat, 21 July 2010
About 13.5 million migrant workers from ASEAN Member States
have fanned out to work in other countries across the
globe. Of this number, over 5 million are working within
ASEAN. As part of ASEAN’s commitment to protect
and promote the rights of migrant workers, the ASEAN Committee
on the Implementation of the ASEAN Declaration on the
Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers
(ACMW) convened the 3rd ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour
in Ha Noi from 19 to 21 July 2010. This year’s Forum
carried the theme “Enhancing Awareness and Information
Services to Protect the Rights of Migrant Workers”.
Participated by Labour officials and representatives
of workers and employers organisations and NGOs from ASEAN
Member States, in addition to experts from international
organisations such as the International Labour Organization
(ILO), International Organization for Migration (IOM)
and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM),
the Forum served as a platform for stakeholders to develop
common understanding on the roles and responsibilities
of the various stakeholders in enhancing awareness and
information services to better protect and promote the
rights of migrant workers. The Forum also provided the
opportunity to highlight experiences in providing appropriate
information services to promote and protect the rights
of migrant workers, and in this process, encourage the
documentation and sharing of good practices and lessons
learned. In addition, participants to the Forum also developed
recommendations with regard to the provision of information
services on safe migration for decent work (pre-employment,
pre-departure and at destination) by different stakeholders
to safeguard the rights of migrant workers and to curb
the trafficking and smuggling of migrant workers.
The recommendations, among others, called for ASEAN to
ensure that information services are more accessible to
migrants and reflect their specific and diverse needs.
In this regard, ASEAN should pursue the use of varied
delivery channels for pre-employment, pre-departure and
on-site information, including schools and training institutions,
migrant community representatives, the media and public
information campaigns. ASEAN also needs to strengthen
and raise the visibility of labour attachés and
consulate staff in collecting and providing information,
and responding to rights violations against migrant workers.
These should be achieved through close engagement with
the migrant community and employers, and in cooperation
with authorities of the host countries.
The Forum also strongly encouraged the ASEAN Secretariat,
national and regional stakeholders and international organisations
to facilitate the sharing of good practices in the provision
of information and services, promote the development and
use of user-friendly information materials between and
among ASEAN Member States. Increasing migrant workers’
ease of access to and understanding of publicly available
information on laws, guidelines and other information
materials produced by governments of sending and receiving
states was also encouraged.
The Fourth ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour will be held
in Indonesia in the second half of 2011.
Source: www.aseansec.org
