Migrant Workers Rights : Protection A High priority
Press has reported that a three-day regional dialogue yesterday recommended that South Asia should have a mechanism to monitor the state of labor migrants both in sending and receiving countries to protect their rights, as migrant workers are subjected to exploitation and abuses. South Asian speakers said the countries can involve all stakeholders, including international organisations, NGOs, independent women's organisations, media agencies, migrant associations and civil society organisations, in the process.The region should also adopt a regional legal instrument on migration based on international human rights laws to uphold migrants' rights, they added.International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) jointly organized the dialogue on 'Implementation of international instruments on protecting rights of migrant workers' on August 18-20 at a city hotel. Government representatives from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka as well as from international organisations, NGOs, civil society groups and private sector took part in the dialogue.Acknowledging that South Asia is a major labor sending region and their workers overseas face similar challenges, the speakers said the region should have a common strategy to address the challenges of labor migration and develop an institutional framework at official level to facilitate the process.“Speakers said there could be shared solutions to these challenges. Therefore, there is a need for cooperation and collaboration in the field of labor migration among these countries,” said IOM regional representative in Dhaka at the closing session. The speakers further noted that women migrant workers are particularly vulnerable and they face exploitation of specific forms that emerge from discrimination based on their sex, gender and the nature of their work, which require a special attention. The dialogue suggested that South Asian countries should set up institutions for capacity building of overseas jobseekers, enabling them to be competitive in accessing the global labor market and exchange information and expertise on global labor market. We agree with the main recommendations of the dialogue that there should be a mechanism to check the situation of the migrant workers in the receiving as well as sending countries. It has to be institutionalized to have long term effect. It is also not appropriate to send unskilled women as housemaids, whatever be the colorful name given as governess and such other titles.In fact this increases sex crimes and prostitution. It is a different matter for educated professional women who can fgo as teachers and doctors. Bangladesh is facing serious problem now with its migrant workers in the Middle East and Malaysia.The trouble in Kuwait and Malaysia require very thorough study to determine the problems both at sending and receiving countries and then holding discussion with the concerned countries. We should correct our policies where needed and to request the host countries to do thir duties where thereare problems at their end. .
