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Senior government officials from Southeast Asian countries pledge to use international treaty to assist women migrant workers

PRESS RELEASE

United Nations, Bangkok, 7 November 2006 – Senior government officials from eight Southeast Asian countries pledged to use the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) to better protect women migrant workers in the region.

Participants issued a joint statement concluding the forum on 6-7 November entitled “High Level Government Meeting of Countries of Origin and Employment on Using CEDAW to Address Women Migrant Workers’ Concerns”, organized by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), which aims to enhance governments’ understanding of the use of CEDAW to address the concerns of women migrants.

Participating countries include Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, all of which have signed and ratified CEDAW.

According to the joint statement, participants pledged to include the concerns of women migrant workers throughout migration process and planned protection measures in their national reports to the CEDAW Committee. They also agreed to identify specific forms of discrimination against women migrant workers, collect data on women migrant workers particularly those working in the informal sector such as domestic work and pursue implementation of CEDAW Committee’s Concluding Comments through increased cooperation among relevant government agencies.

 “The CEDAW Convention with all its 16 substantive Articles and the CEDAW Committee’s general recommendations can be used to address women migrants’ concerns. Data collection, reporting by governments and NGOs, and implementing the CEDAW Committee’s comments on women migrants are central to the effective use of CEDAW,” says Dr. Jean D’Cunha, Regional Program Director, UNIFEM East and Southeast Asia Regional Office, adding that CEDAW is the only international legal instrument designed to promote and protect women against virtually any situation of discrimination.

Participants also pledged to strengthen national inter-ministerial committees and involve all relevant ministries to facilitate women migrant workers, promote the involvement of non-governmental organizations and trade unions in the preparation of national reports to the CEDAW Committee. In addition, they also agreed to use CEDAW as a framework for dialogue and for forging common understanding among countries of origin and employment.

During the meeting, participants also shared good practice and measures to protect women migrant workers that have been implemented in their countries. For example, Brunei Darussalam organized orientation programs for new employers to brief them on law and regulations and the penalties for breaching those laws. The Brunei government also provided a briefing session for foreign domestic workers on their rights and obligation and provided a Labor Hotline Number in case of any abuses and complaints during the contract signing process. Moreover, Singapore has a legislation under which employers could be prosecuted for failure to provide a safe working environment for women migrant workers

CEDAW was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979 and today 184 States Parties have ratified the Convention. CEDAW ranks second only to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in terms of the number of ratifications.

UNIFEM is the United Nations Development Fund for Women. It provides financial and technical assistance to innovative programmes and strategies that promote women’s human rights, political participation and economic security. Within the UN system, UNIFEM promotes gender equality and links women’s issues and concerns to national, regional, and global agendas by fostering collaboration and providing technical expertise on gender mainstreaming and women’s empowerment strategies. For further information, please visit www.unifem.org or www.unifem-eseasia.org

 

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Bangkok Post  Monday November 06, 2006 DOWNWARD MOBILITY