ASEAN Forum on Labour Migration

an ASEAN Forum on Labour Migration on the 24th and 25th of April to be held at Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Makati Ave., Makati City. This forum is the first ASEAN event as a follow-up to the ASEAN Leaders Declaration on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers.

You may recall that during the 12th ASEAN Summit in Cebu in January 2007 Southeast Asian leaders signed an accord that promotes the rights of millions of vulnerable migrant workers in a region that has been both a source and a destination for migrants.
The declaration ensures millions of migrant workers, who lift their home country's economies through remittances, the promise of good working conditions, a decent wage scale and wide legal protection from all forms of abuse and violence consistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The declaration identified eight commitments by ASEAN states to protect and promote the rights of migrant workers, including humane working conditions and the establishment of human resources development programs and reintegration programs in the migrant workers' countries of origin.

ASEAN also agreed to take on concrete measures to prevent or curb human smuggling and trafficking by introducing stiffer penalties for those involved in the activities.

The April 24-25 , 2008 " ASEAN Forum on Labour Migration and Development" will focus more on the discussion on the current migration trends, member states' perspectives and the pressing issues and concerns related to migration and on how to operationalize the Cebu 2007 declaration. It will look on the lessons, experiences and good practices from the EU and other regions; the priority issues and concerns relative to migrant protection from the point of view of migrant workers and trafficking and the risks of labour migration

The forum is being organized by the ASEAN and hosted by the Department of Labor and Employment.