Talks on migrant worker protection stalled

Negotiations among ASEAN countries on the protection of migrant workers have come to a standstill, four years after the adoption of the declaration on the protection and promotion of migrant worker rights at the 2007 ASEAN Summit.

Migrant Care executive director Anis Hidayah said ASEAN countries did not show any intention of moving forward and accelerating the negotiation to produce a legally binding instrument four years after the declaration was adopted.

“No instrument has been developed since the 2007 ASEAN declaration. The negotiation is stalled because of resistance from countries that receive migrant workers,” Anis told The Jakarta Post.

ASEAN member states that host migrant workers (Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Brunei) and countries that send workers (Indonesia, the Philippines, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam) have not been able to come to a common understanding on migrant worker protection, she said.

She said countries that sent workers should take the initiative to accelerate the process. Only the Philippines has shown sufficient commitment, she said, while Indonesia should recognize the urgent need for a legally binding instrument among ASEAN states, given that many Indonesian migrant workers were on death row in Malaysia.

“Indonesia has not shown strong commitment on the issue. Our national policies on migrant workers are powerless. The country has not even ratified the 1990 UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and the ILO convention on migrant worker adopted in 1975.”

Indonesian workers overseas face many problems and the country’s inability to address these issues has also tainted the country’s reputation on protecting migrant workers.

At the ongoing ASEAN forum in Bali, Indonesia, as the current chair of ASEAN, should be able to prove its leadership by taking the initiative to prioritize migrant worker protection talks so significant progress could be made, Anis said.

Migrant Care reported that 213 Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia were on death row or faced charges that carried the death penalty.

Malaysia’s lower court also sentenced to death 70 other Indonesian workers, who are currently appealing the verdicts.

University of Indonesia international law expert Hikmahanto Juwana said Indonesia should be able to capitalize on its position as current ASEAN chair to defend its national interests, including on the issue of migrant worker protection.

“Indonesia should also join forces with the Philippines and other countries that send workers to have a stronger bargaining position,” he said.

“ASEAN countries should refer to the UN migrant worker convention to accelerate the process. The convention could be a good standard to draft an ASEAN treaty and the most important thing is that the convention protects the interests of countries that send workers.”

Indonesian Foreign Ministry director for ASEAN political and security cooperation, Ade Padmo Sarwono, said ASEAN member states would soon begin talks to draft a legally binding instrument on the issue.
He said that so far, only four countries — Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand — were involved in preparing the draft. “A special committee has also been established to implement the declaration and the committee has conducted a series of meetings and discussions to accelerate the process,” he added.