TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
ASEAN Summit aftermath: Any hope for treaty on migrant workers?
For decades, the issue of migrant workers has been close to the heart of many Southeast Asian countries.
Change Size
Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi speaks to Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia during her recent trip to Penang and Johor Bahru, Malaysia, between March 15 and 18, 2017, in this file photo. (Courtesy of the Foreign Ministry/File)
T
he 30th ASEAN Summit on April 29 in Manila failed to reach a consensus on the issue of migrant workers. The finalization of the ASEAN instrument on the protection and promotion of the rights of migrant workers, as mandated by the 2007 Cebu Declaration, has been postponed until the November leaders’ summit.
Migrants’ rights, which are among the contentious issues among ASEAN member countries, have again been left unresolved. The main problem lies in the dichotomy of interests between the sending and receiving countries.
Therefore, is there still hope for the adoption of the protection of migrant workers within the ASEAN framework?
For decades, the issue of migrant workers has been close to the heart of many Southeast Asian countries.
