5th ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour

The 5th ASEAN Forum was held from 9 to 10 October 2012 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The theme of the 5th AFML was the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers: Towards Effective Recruitment Practices and Regulations.

The ASEAN Committee on the Implementation of the ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers (ACMW) convened the 5th ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour (AFML) in Siem Reap, Cambodia from 9 to10 October 2012, as part of ASEAN’s commitment to protect and promote the rights of migrant workers. Under the theme “Towards Effective Recruitment Practices and Regulations” representatives of the governments, employers’ and workers’ organisations, and civil society organisations of ASEAN Member States, the ASEAN Secretariat, International Labour Organization (ILO), International Organization for Migration (IOM), UN Women, and the Task Force on ASEAN Migrant Workers (TFAMW) discussed challenges and good practices around the protection of migrant workers in the ASEAN region.

The 5th AFML provided a platform for information sharing on actions taken by ASEAN Member States, tripartite partners and civil society organisations to implement the recommendations from the 3rd and 4th ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour in 2010 and 2011, and an exchange of views on challenges identified in the ASEAN Declaration of the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers around effective recruitment practices and regulations. Participants discussed different forms of recruitment offered to migrant workers, and presentations highlighted challenges and good practices in the region in the effective regulation of recruitment. Addressing recruitment malpractices and developing complaints and dispute resolution mechanisms were also discussed, and principles and strategies for improving recruitment services and regulation in the region were identified. The 5th AFML concluded with the adoption of its Recommendations covering (1) the promotion of universal rights and fundamental principles and rights at work; (2) the promotion of transparency, accountability and affordability; (3) the promotion of information sharing and awareness of the public; (4) the promotion of effective monitoring and complaints mechanisms; and (5) the promotion of meaningful involvement of multi-stakeholders.

The 5th ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour was convened as an implementation of the ASEAN Labour Ministers’ Work Programme 2010-2015 and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Blueprint (Action Line C.2.ii) which called for a regular ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour as a platform for broad-based discussions on migrant labour issues under the auspices of the ASEAN Committee on the Implementation of the ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers (ACMW) which reports to the ASEAN Senior Labour Officials Meeting (SLOM).