MIGRANT FORUM IN ASIA (MFA) believes that migrants' rights are human rights. Documented or undocumented, irrespective of race, gender, class, age and religious belief, migrant workers' rights are guaranteed by the UN Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Convention on the Protection of Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families and other international conventions.

Migration in the age of information technology has become a matter of trade and commerce. People migrate not out of whim or to afford “better” things in life but as a means of survival. On many occasions, migration carries a woman’s face.

Indeed while the 20th century ushered a kind of development that has transformed the world into one global village, it is not without dreadful consequences. Transborder transfer of capital to less developed countries (LDCs) has not improved the lives of the improvised  majority. Countries mired in foreign debt are then pressured into adopting a policy of exporting millions of workers to stem the tide of massive unemployment and to bail out the local economy from complete bankruptcy. Women too, are joining the workforce, not as a result of policies promoting gender equity but often as a measure to support their families. Migration has become a necessity rather than as a matter of choice.

• Migrant workers generally take up jobs known as 3Ds (Dirty, Demeaning and Dangerous) which nationals of labor-receiving countries shun. 
• In the course of employment, they are often subjected to contract violations, abuse and exploitation.
• Migrant workers also experience subtle and overt acts of discrimination and xenophobia based on the intersection of race, class, gender and religious beliefs. 

The vicious cycle of dehumanization rolls along the path of  migration.  The 20th century calls for a meaningful change which has come to be enshrined in the 1990 UN Convention on “The Protection of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families,” which came into force as international law on the 1st of July 2003.  In advocating for change, the Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA) is committed to a process of social,    political, cultural and economic development that responds to the promotion and protection of the rights of migrant workers and members of their families.

• Conceived in 1990 in a meeting of migrant workers’ advocates in Hong Kong,  MFA  was formally organized in 1994 in a forum held in Taiwan entitled, “Living and Working Together with Migrants in Asia”.
• MFA is a regional network of non-government organizations (NGOs), associations and trade unions of migrant workers, and individual advocates in Asia who are committed to  protect and promote  the rights and welfare of migrant workers.
• It is guided by a vision of an alternative world system based on respect for human rights and dignity, social   justice, and gender equity, particularly for migrant workers.
• MFA acts as a facilitator, a regional communication and coordination point between member-organizations and advocates, forging concerted action to address discriminatory laws and policies, violence against women migrants, unjust living  conditions, unemployment in the homeland and other issues affecting migrant workers.

The Structure

The General Forum (GF), composed of all members, is the highest decision and policy–making body of MFA. It convenes at least once every two years in a General Assembly. The Executive Committee (EC) is composed of the following: two representatives from each sub-region, one each from regional organizations and the Secretariat. Representatives to the EC are elected by their respective sub-regions in a General Assembly and are confirmed by the General Forum.  The EC acts as a central executive body of the organization and oversees the operation of the Secretariat. A Supervisory Group (SG) , composed of representatives of MFA member organization in the country where the Secretariat is located, provides logistical and other assistance to the Secretariat. Different Task Forces (TF) are also created by MFA to handle specific issues, tasks or concerns.

Membership is open to various migrant workers’ organizations, support groups, unions, migrant savings groups, churches, national networks, regional organizations, non-government organizations and other similar institutions based in Asia that address migrant workers’ issues, and adhere to MFA principles and terms of reference. Individual advocates maybe admitted as non-voting members. Migrant-oriented groups based outside of Asia maybe considered as “working partners”. Application for membership is coursed through the Secretariat.

As a network working to address migrants’ issues, we commit ourselves to:

• Continue to fight and address violations of migrants' human rights;
• Intensify education and organizing work among migrants to challenge globalization, and help develop initiatives by migrants.
• Help create alternative sustainable economic models, processes and practices for migrants.
• Broaden and strengthen our alliances and solidarity among networks, organizations and groups working for migrants' issues, cutting across classes, sectors and nationalities.
• Launch coordinated initiatives and actions to build and strengthen popular movements and political momentum to promote a migrant agenda that shall include lobbying, petition, mass actions in the national, regional and/or international arena.
  

The Programs and Activities

ADVOCACY

Region–wide actions at the national and  international levels are vital creating a policy and legislative environment in the sending and receiving countries that is pro–migrant worker. Annually, MFA observes and/or launches campaigns on International Women’s Day (March 8), Labor Day (May 1) and Migrant Workers’ Day (December 18). Presently, it is a member of the Steering Committee  for the global campaign for ratification of the UN Convention for the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.

NETWORKING

MFA recognizes that migration is a cross-sectoral issue which links up with various groups at the regional and international levels working on issues of education, environment, gender, human rights, labour, trade and development.

• Asia-South Pacific Bureau on Adult Education (ASPBAE) – MFA is a member of ASPBAE and sits in the Positive Learning Working Group on HIV/AIDS of ASPBAE. The main goal of the PWLG is to capacitate ASPBAE member organization in terms of conducting adult education on HIV/AIDS.

• Diplomacy Training Program (DTP) – MFA, in partnership with DTP - an independent, non-governmental organization providing human rights education, annually holds a training program on Migrant Workers Convention and ILO Conventions which is being participated in by civil society advocates coming from Asia and the Pacific region. Previous training programs were held in Indonesia (2004), Bangladesh (2005) and Malaysia (2006).

• Jubilee South-Asia Pacific Movement on Debt and Development (JS-APMDD) – MFA, as a member of JS-APMDD, recognizes that the intensifying neoliberal globalization agenda has varying effects on labour migration. MFA continued to strengthen its links with other organizations to further its critical analysis of migration vis-av-vis trade and development.

• Migrants Rights International (MRI) – MFA is the regional partner of MRI for ratification campaign and monitoring migrants’ rights violation in Asia. MFA sits in the Steering Committee of MRI, a non-governmental organization and federation of migrants and migrants rights organizations, trade unions, faith-based groups within the various global regions promoting the human rights of migrants. MFA, together with MRI, organized a Global Community Dialogue on Migration and Development in September 2006 in New York, USA, parallel to the UN High Level Dialogue on Migration and Development.

• Southeast Asia Committee on Advocacy (SEACA) – MFA Regional Coordinator William Gois sits in the SEACA Board of Directors. MFA, as a member of SEACA, continues to actively participate in the various activities and programs of SEACA.

• Solidarity for Asian People’s Advocacy (SAPA) – MFA sits in the Regional Steering Committee of SAPA, an open platform for consultation, cooperation and coordination between Asian social movements and civil society organizations including NGOs, people organizations and trade unions who are engaged in action, advocacy and lobbying at the level of intergovernmental processes and organizations. Within SAPA are different working groups dealing with thematic issues – ASEAN, UN Human Rights Mechanisms and Migration and Labour. MFA actively participates in all the working groups and is the convener of the WG on migration and labour.

• Task Force on ASEAN Migrant Workers – MFA sits in the task force on ASEAN migrant workers, which aims to facilitate the drafting of a multilateral framework on the rights of migrant workers in the ASEAN region. The ASEAN Vientiane Action Programme to promote human rights specifically mentions the need to elaborate an ASEAN instrument on the protection and promotion of the rights of migrant workers.

• Transnational Institute for Grassroots Research and Action (TIGRA) – MFA sits in the Organizing Committee (OC) of TIGRA, a project that promotes financial justice through the economic power of immigrants. The OC is responsible for providing guidance to the corporate campaign on Western Union (which commands a lion share of immigrant remittances through its 300,000 agents worldwide) and the development of a community reinvestment fund as well as formulating the strategy for the development of the Global Association of Community Sustainers (La Liga de Sostenedores de la Comunidad Mundial).

• MFA sits in the UN Regional Task Force on Mobility and HIV/AIDS Vulnerability Reduction. The task force, composed of UN agencies and government organizations, has recognized the need to include civil society organizations who works mainly on the ground. MFA has been identified by the UNRTF as one of the leading civil society networks that has expertise in dealing with issues on migration and health.

PUBLICATION

The MFA co–produces the Asian Migrant Yearbook (AMY) with the Asian Migrant Centre (AMC). The AMY is a compendium of migration facts, issues and analyses of the events collected from MFA members and other migration concerned organizations. A newsletter is also being published by MFA featuring news, updates and information about recent developments on migration issues, activities engaged in by the network and partners in continuing advocacy for the cause of all migrant workers and members of their families.

INFORMATION EXCHANGE AND DISSEMINATION

The MFA is moderator of the MFA-network mailing list that serves as venue for information exchange and to solicit quick response to migrant issues. Access to information is open via MFA’s website: www.mfasia.org.