Protecting the rights of migrant workers and their families: Malaysia’s obligation
Protecting the rights of migrant workers and their
families:
Malaysia
Malaysia
The Asean Committee for Migrant Workers (ACMW) Drafting Committee meets in
Under the Bangkok Declaration, “Regular migration and irregular migration
should not be considered in isolation from each other”, and “migration,
particularly irregular migration, should be addressed in a comprehensive and
balanced manner, considering its causes, manifestations and effects, both
positive and negative, in the countries of origin, transit and destination.”
Further, signatory countries committed themselves under The Bangkok Declaration
to formulate “comprehensive, coherent and effective policies on irregular
migration … within the context of a broader regional framework based on a
spirit of partnership and common understanding.”
In accordance with its commitment under the said declaration the Malaysian
Government should extend protection of migrant workers’ rights to all migrant
workers (documented and undocumented) regardless of their legal status in the
future Framework Instrument for Protection and Promotion of Migrant Workers’
Rights.
The Government should also give protective coverage to the rights of migrant
workers\' families under the same future Framework Instrument.
The exclusion of both the above provisions from the Framework Instrument goes
against
The CRC General Comment 6, issued by the Committee of the Rights of Child,
states that all children present on the territory of a Government shall be
extended the full protections under the CRC, regardless of status or origins of
the child. The provisions of the Asean Instrument being developed must fully
cover migrant children along with the other members of their family.
We support the vision of the Asean Declaration because the protection of women
migrant workers and the children of migrant workers is an important central
element of a comprehensive and efficacious regional Instrument.
Thus we urge the government to join the three other member states in the ACWM
Drafting Committee i.e.
Aliran seeks to remind the Malaysian Government that it is not in the national
interest and that of the ‘rakyat’ at home or abroad to complicate or stall the
process of establishing accepted and agreed international practices that
meet internationally recognised and approved ILO standards.
We also remind the Government that all Asean partners supported the ILO
Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work adopted unanimously by
the ILO in June 1998. The ILO Declaration stipulates that the human rights of
all migrant workers, regardless of their status, should be promoted and
protected in line with the eight core ILO Conventions. Accordingly, we submit
that the Asean Instrument being drafted must be in harmony with these
Conventions.
We urge the Ministry of Human Resources and the Drafting Team to adopt the
definition of “migrant worker” contained in Article 2 of the UN Convention on
the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their
Families. This Convention defines a migrant worker as “a person who is to be
engaged, is engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of
which he or she is not a national.” This definition is comprehensive, clear and
concise and merits adoption.
The coverage of migrant workers by the Asean Instrument should not be
determined by the type of work performed by the migrant worker or the nature of
the contract through which she or he is employed. A significant number of
migrant workers in the region are temporary workers, domestic workers, informal
sector workers and self-employed workers. It is important to ensure that these
categories of workers, who are often overlooked, are included in the coverage
of a regional Instrument.
We further note the Asean Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the
Rights of Migrant Workers makes the following reference on the importance of
international frameworks -- “Recalling also the Universal Declaration on (sic)
Human Rights …… as well as other appropriate international instruments which
all Asean Member Countries have acceded to in order to safeguard the human
rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals.\"
Aliran strongly urges the Government to support the inclusion in the Asean
Framework Instrument of the principle of “national treatment” as exemplified in
Article 25 of the UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant
Workers and Members of Their Families.
In keeping with the Prime Minister’s advocacy of 1Malaysia, we hope that
Moreover, Aliran recommends as a reference document for the Asean Framework
Instrument on the Protection and Promotion of Migrant Workers Rights, the draft
Framework Instrument proposed by the Asean Civil Society Task Force that was
presented to Asean member governments at the Asean Senior Labour Officials
Meeting (SLOM) earlier this year in Vientiane, Laos.
The said document had been drafted in consultation with civil societies
involved in work with migrant workers and advocates of migrant workers\' rights
in the region. It thoroughly covers in considerable detail issues and problems
faced by migrant workers in their countries of origin, in transit and in
destination countries within Asean.
In conclusion, we urge the Government to cooperate in the establishment of a
just Asean body that prospers economically and socially through the protection
and promotion of the human rights of its Asean family in the spirit of mutual
respect and goodwill amongst Asean partners and their peoples.
Aliran Executive Committee
6 December 2009
and
the
Source: 6 December
2009, ALIRAN, Protecting the rights of migrant workers and their
families: