The Asean Committee for Migrant Workers (ACMW) Drafting Committee meets
in Kuala Lumpur on 7 and 8 December 2009, hosted by the Ministry of Human
Resources. The ACMW Drafting Committee comprising Malaysia, Thailand,
Indonesia and Philippines, is in the process of drafting a Framework
Instrument on the protection and promotion of migrant workers rights for
Asean, in line with the principle affirmed by the ten Asean states.
(Source: Aliran, 6 December 2009)
The Asean Committee for Migrant Workers (ACMW) Drafting Committee meets
in Kuala Lumpur on 7 and 8 December 2009, hosted by the Ministry of Human
Resources. The ACMW Drafting Committee comprising Malaysia, Thailand,
Indonesia and Philippines, is in the process of drafting a Framework
Instrument on the protection and promotion of migrant workers rights for
Asean, in line with the principle affirmed by the ten Asean states, under
the Bangkok Declaration on Irregular Migration 1999 and the Asean
Declaration on the protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant
Workers.

Under the Bangkok Declaration, "Regular migration and irregular migration
should not be considered in isolation from each other", and "migration,
particularly irregular migration, should be addressed in a comprehensive
and balanced manner, considering its causes, manifestations and effects,
both positive and negative, in the countries of origin, transit and
destination."

Further, signatory countries committed themselves under The Bangkok
Declaration to formulate "comprehensive, coherent and effective policies
on irregular migration … within the context of a broader regional
framework based on a spirit of partnership and common
understanding."

In accordance with its commitment under the said declaration the
Malaysian Government should extend protection of migrant workers' rights
to all migrant workers (documented and undocumented) regardless of their
legal status in the future Framework Instrument for Protection and
Promotion of Migrant Workers' Rights.

The Government should also give protective coverage to the rights of
migrant workers' families under the same future Framework
Instrument.

The exclusion of both the above provisions from the Framework Instrument
goes against Malaysia's commitments under the UN Convention on
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (Cedaw) and the
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) that all member nations of
Asean have ratified and acceded to.

The CRC General Comment 6, issued by the Committee of the Rights of
Child, states that all children present on the territory of a Government
shall be extended the full protections under the CRC, regardless of
status or origins of the child. The provisions of the Asean Instrument
being developed must fully cover migrant children along with the other
members of their family.

We support the vision of the Asean Declaration because the protection of
women migrant workers and the children of migrant workers is an important
central element of a comprehensive and efficacious regional
Instrument.

Thus we urge the government to join the three other member states in the
ACWM Drafting Committee i.e. Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines in
supporting the inclusion of these clauses. Two of these, Indonesia and
the Philippines, contribute a large portion of migrant labour to
Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Brunei. The governments of origin
countries like Indonesia and the Philippines would want to protect the
rights of their nationals working abroad as is their duty to their own
citizens and is exemplary government conduct.

Aliran seeks to remind the Malaysian Government that it is not in the
national interest and that of the 'rakyat' at home or abroad to
complicate or stall the process of establishing accepted and agreed
international practices that meet  internationally recognised and
approved ILO standards.

We also remind the Government that all Asean partners supported the ILO
Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work adopted
unanimously by the ILO in June 1998. The ILO Declaration stipulates that
the human rights of all migrant workers, regardless of their status,
should be promoted and protected in line with the eight core ILO
Conventions. Accordingly, we submit that the Asean Instrument being
drafted must be in harmony with these Conventions.

We urge the Ministry of Human Resources and the Drafting Team to adopt
the definition of "migrant worker" contained in Article 2 of the UN
Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and
Members of Their Families. This Convention defines a migrant worker as "a
person who is to be engaged, is engaged or has been engaged in a
remunerated activity in a State of which he or she is not a national."
This definition is comprehensive, clear and concise and merits
adoption.

The coverage of migrant workers by the Asean Instrument should not be
determined by the type of work performed by the migrant worker or the
nature of the contract through which she or he is employed. A significant
number of migrant workers in the region are temporary workers, domestic
workers, informal sector workers and self-employed workers. It is
important to ensure that these categories of workers, who are often
overlooked, are included in the coverage of a regional Instrument.

We further note the Asean Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of
the Rights of Migrant Workers makes the following reference on the
importance of international frameworks — "Recalling also the Universal
Declaration on (sic) Human Rights …… as well as other appropriate
international instruments which all Asean Member Countries have acceded
to in order to safeguard the human rights and fundamental freedoms of
individuals."

Aliran strongly urges the Government to support the inclusion in the
Asean Framework Instrument of the principle of "national treatment" as
exemplified in Article 25 of the UN Convention on the Protection of the
Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.

In keeping with the Prime Minister's advocacy of 1Malaysia, we hope that
Malaysia will reciprocate the goodwill, cooperation and unity of its
Asean neighbours in supporting the protection and promotion of migrant
workers' rights and their human rights. Doing this, will only increase
international esteem and respect for our country and our nationals who
are working abroad to whom the same rights will apply under the principle
of reciprocity.

Moreover, Aliran recommends as a reference document for the Asean
Framework Instrument on the Protection and Promotion of Migrant Workers
Rights, the draft Framework Instrument proposed by the Asean Civil
Society Task Force that was presented to Asean member governments at the
Asean Senior Labour Officials Meeting (SLOM) earlier this year in
Vientiane, Laos.

The said document had been drafted in consultation with civil societies
involved in work with migrant workers and advocates of migrant workers'
rights in the region. It thoroughly covers in considerable detail issues
and problems faced by migrant workers in their countries of origin, in
transit and in destination countries within Asean.

In conclusion, we urge the Government to cooperate in the establishment
of a just Asean body that prospers economically and socially through the
protection and promotion of the human rights of its Asean family in the
spirit of mutual respect and goodwill amongst Asean partners and their
peoples.