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outheast Asian diplomats are confident that ASEAN will come to a consensus on the adoption of a region-wide instrument on migrant worker protection, but experts have argued that a bilateral approach is equally important in overcoming this cross-border conundrum.

ASEAN is currently in talks to introduce a follow-up mechanism to a decade-old declaration on the protection and promotion of the rights of migrant workers, also known as the Cebu Declaration.

Efforts to move this agenda forward have stalled due to differences of opinion between countries that send migrant workers and countries that receive them.

ASEAN sending states favor a legally binding instrument to underpin an effective framework for the protection of migrant worker rights, while receiving countries appear allergic to the possibility of granting protections to foreign migrant workers, especially undocumented ones.

But current group chair the Philippines, who also initiated the move during its previous leadership of ASEAN in 2007, aims for the instrument to be signed at the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting at the end of the month.

Acknowledging the deadlock, Jose AM Tavares, the Foreign Ministry’s director general for ASEAN affairs, said the bloc would agree to dial back the legally-binding nature of the instrument so as to reach consensus.

“It is in Indonesia’s interest that all migrant workers receive protection regardless of their legal status,” Jose told The Jakarta Post recently.

“But other countries, while approving the instrument, feel [the legal aspect] is hard to accept on the grounds it may encourage more undocumented workers.”

Jose nevertheless insisted that finalizing this instrument was a step forward in the right direction.

Indonesia and the Philippines count among the largest senders of migrant workers in the region. Malaysia, on the other hand, is among the largest receivers, along with Singapore and Brunei.

Last month, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi visited Malaysia to take note of the issues faced by Indonesian migrant workers in the neighboring country, reaffirming the government’s commitment to their protection.

Meanwhile, experts have raised concerns that a regional solution may not be enough to overcome the differences in opinion.

Adriana Elisabeth, an ASEAN expert from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), is convinced that bilateral consultations are a more effective way of promoting workers’ rights over a regional solution.

“I think [this rift between sending and receiving countries] will continue to be a problem as long as bilateral agreements are not improved,” Adriana told the Post on Monday.

“Otherwise this instrument will be nothing more than a formality.”

If, for instance, Indonesia ever decided to restrict its migrant workers from seeking employment in Malaysia due to a lack of protection, she said both countries would suffer the consequences.

According to government data, there are 1.25 million Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia alone, with many more undocumented.

Separately, Wirya Adiwena, a researcher at The Habibie Center, also argued that bilateral agreements would be more effective in ensuring compliance, despite the merits of a regional solution.

“We need to acknowledge that in ASEAN there are countries who are still catching up in terms of economic development and that efforts put in [by] such countries need to take account of this fact,” Wirya told the Post on Monday.