Joint Statement of Migrant Forum Asia, Migrant Rights International & December 18
for International Migrants’ Day, 18 December 2004

On December 18, 1990 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, and came into force as international law on 1 July 2003. We celebrate on December 18th of each year the hope and the promise that the dignity and rights of international migrant workers and their families will be respected by employers, governments and people all over the world. We acknowledge the crucial role of migrant workers in the building of a just and people-oriented globalized world.

This year Migrant Forum in Asia together with Migrants Rights International highlights five specific urgent issues facing migrant workers and their families: 1) the right to health and safety, 2) the rights of undocumented migrants, 3) the full recognition and valuation of “domestic help” as work, 4) the right of migrants to collective bargaining and new forms of organizing, and 5) the facilitation of reintegration and alternative development in the countries of origin.

1. Right To Health And Safety

The World Health Organization holds that "health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."

Migrant workers especially in Asia are particularly vulnerable to violations of their right to health. Labour migration is fraught with dangers, abuses and oppressions, including dangerous living and working conditions, physical and sexual abuses, harassment by government and police authorities, social discrimination, alienation and loneliness, years of forced separation from their families and loved ones, and barriers to the access of health services. All these impact negatively on migrants’ health and quality of life.

The particular nature of the jobs of migrants makes them specifically vulnerable to many occupational, sexual/reproductive, infectious and psycho-emotional health problems. Government control measures against the spread of infections (e.g. SARS, AIDS) tend to unfairly target or discriminate against migrants, reinforcing stereotypes that migrants spread diseases, and thus a threat to society.

We reiterate the principle that health is a basic human right, which must be ensured for all especially the marginalized and more vulnerable members of society, like migrants, women and children. We urge that health information and services become available in the languages of the migrants; that sick migrants be provided appropriate health care, treatment and services rather than be summarily sent home; that there is coordination between sending and receiving countries on the question of health, especially in cases of repatriating migrant workers. We call for a stop to unjust or discriminatory health policies and practices that predispose migrants to health problems – especially violence against women, unhealthy working and living conditions, mass deportation, mandatory testing (pregnancy, HIV/AIDS), denial of migrants’ family rights, etc. We call for all migrants, regardless of status, to be included in health insurance and basic health care, treatment and support.

2. Rights of Undocumented Migrants

Labouring in irregular situations presents an intolerable burden on the worker as well as on the states and economies. Undocumented migrant workers are among the most vulnerable in terms of abuses and violence, labour rights violations and health problems. Irregular migration is exacerbated by the absence of regular migration channels, unreasonable deployment bans, unregulated operation of labour recruiters/brokers, and complicated, extortionate, corrupt, bureaucratic, migration processes. Abusive and opportunistic policies/practices in host countries – e.g. ‘worker trainee systems’, mass crackdowns, unfair registration/contract renewal procedures, arbitrary terminations, often force migrants to run away or end up in undocumented situations.

Large-scale abuses, including deaths, torture, and the sexual abuse or rape of both migrant men and women, have been reported in the detention camps and in the process of detection. The Malaysian government has promised an unforgiving crackdown from January 2005, for which it is recruiting 560,000 civilian volunteers to do ‘neighbourhood watch’ – raising fears not only of migrants’ rights violations, but also of promoting vigilantism.

‘Seasonal’ crackdowns, and the mass raids, detention and deportation of migrants – after the host countries have benefited from the cheap labour of migrants, especially because they were undocumented – are inhumane, opportunistic and violates all international human rights standards and do not effectively address the situation of irregular migration.

3. Recognition Of Domestic Work

Domestic work in private households is important to many families, societies and the economies of host countries, and of course to the economies of the sending countries. The latest study by the Asian Migrant Centre (October 2004) estimates that foreign domestic workers contribute more than HK$20.5 billion annually (almost 1.5% of the GDP of HK).

In return for their contribution to society, however, domestic workers are all too often subjected to abuse and the denial of fundamental rights. Domestic work is not fully recognized or valued as work; if it is recognized, it is usually classified as ‘unskilled’ work. Therefore, it is always poorly remunerated, with little employment benefits, without residency or family reunification options, excluded from social security and services, highly restrictive visa conditions, no social or work mobility, and with minimum real labour or trade union rights, and socially discriminated. Isolation and living-in conditions of work make women and domestic workers “invisible” and more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.

4. Right To Unionize And Collective Bargaining

The fundamental principle of freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining is a reflection of human dignity. The ability of migrant workers to join already existing unions and form their own unions is often haunted by difficulties of language, xenophobia and other prejudices. However, there are several examples of the union movement revitalizing with the active recruitment of migrant workers. Recently, the Korean workers’ movement has worked hard and achieved success at recognizing migrant workers as workers. In Hong Kong, the Indonesian and Filipino domestic workers are organized and unionized. These successes need to be promoted and celebrated.

5. Facilitation of Reintegration, Alternative Investments and Development in the Country of Origin

In 2002, the total workers’ remittances worldwide were around USD80 billion. In many developing countries in Asia migrant remittances surpass official development assistance and/or foreign direct investments as foreign exchange sources, effectively becoming an essential pillar of global and national development finance.

There is a need to embark on a comprehensive, gender-fair and sustainable national programme on migrant workers’ remittances, investments and reintegration. Such national programs must recognize and situate migrants and their families as central stakeholders and must foster sharing of the benefits of migration with the whole community and broader society.

Existing initiatives of migrant workers in enterprise development, investment and savings mobilization must be recognized, supported and good practices must be identified and built upon.

As we celebrate International Migrants Day 2004:

We Advocate

• For the need of a multilateral human rights-based approach to migration.
• For greater protection and the upholding of the human rights and dignity of the rapidly increasing number of women migrant workers.
• For the empowerment of migrant workers to be able to assert their rights through awareness and collective action to break occupational gender stereotypes.
• For the re-thinking of the traditional roles of unions in order to expand as social movements in each country.
• Against the growing trend of the informalization of labour, especially in the context of migration, particularly the practice of the trainee system in South Korea and Japan.
• For the inclusion of education for health and well being in migrants’ pre-departure training, on-site orientation and return and reintegration programs.
• For policies in support of savings mobilization at the local and national levels both in the receiving and sending countries.
• The respecting and upholding of the full dignity of migrant workers, including the right to be with their families, the right to marry and start families, the right to health care and social services for all migrant workers and their families.

We call on the governments

• Of sending countries to provide assistance to irregular migrant workers in receiving countries.
• To recognize and regularize undocumented migrant workers and to abolish the trainee system.
• Trade unions, and employers to ensure that domestic work is fully respected, recognized and valued as professional work; that domestic workers are provided with adequate information and protection at work – including minimum wages, specified working hours and responsibilities at work, health and social security including maternity and other health benefits, right to redress, change employers or have work/social mobility; residency and family reunification.
• To sign MOUs between sending and receiving countries and use instruments of regional bodies such as ASEAN, APEC and SAARC for adoption of compulsory health care schemes for migrant workers.
• To pursue effective measure and impose immediate sanctions on abusive, corrupt and exploitative officials, agencies, recruiters and traffickers. Countries with significant populations of undocumented migrants (e.g. Malaysia, Japan, Korea, Thailand).
• To create institutional channels for savings mobilization e.g. enabling migrants to open bank accounts, accreditation of group savings, community-based savings.
• To recognize collective rights of migrants and facilitate the unionization of migrant workers by framing laws in accordance with ILO Conventions 87 (Freedom of Association and protection to organize), No. 97 (Migration for Employment Convention), No. 98 (Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining) and No. 143 (Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions)). We urge states to remove existing legal and systemic obstacles, including unfair visa restrictions that deny migrants the right of migrant workers to run and manage their own trade unions.
• To fulfill their obligations to the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and various international human rights and labour rights covenants.
• To ratify the 1990 UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.

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Migrant Rights International (MRI)
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Email: migrantwatch@vtx.ch
Web: www.migrantwatch.org

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