Bangkok--Aug 29--UNISBKK
Representatives from twelve Asian countries and fifteen international agencies and NGOs today called for improved regional cooperation and the mainstreaming of international migration in national policy development in the Asia-Pacific region.
At the end of a 3-day seminar in Bangkok on the social implications of
international migration, jointly organized by UNESCAP, IOM, UNFPA and the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) in Bangkok, over 50 Asian senior officials and parliamentarians recommended the creation of a new regional framework to facilitate regular dialogue on international labour migration and development in the region.
UNESCAP Executive Secretary Kim Hak-Su told participants that the
management of migration was particularly complex because of the significant flows of irregular migration in much of the region. "Governments often face the difficult task of balancing the desire to control irregular migration with respect for the rights of migrants and recognition of the economic and social forces that compel much of the movement."
The seminar, chaired by Cambodian Minister of Women's Affairs Dr. Ing
Kantha Phavi, called on all governments in the region to sign up to existing regional agreements to counter human trafficking, and concluded that international migration should be explicitly incorporated into national economic and social policy-making, if coherent policies were to emerge.
IOM Regional Representative for Southeast Asia Irena Vojackova-Sollorano,
who spoke at the seminar, welcomed the recommendations as "an important step towards recognizing the central role played by migration in the economic and social development of the region."
Participants agreed that new research and improved data collection was
urgently needed to assess the relationship between migration and development, the costs and benefits of migration, migration-related health issues, the situation of families of migrants and the implications of irregular migration and human trafficking in the region.
Other issues discussed at the seminar included transparent recruitment
processes, insurance and consular protection for migrant workers, the enforcement of labour standards, the contribution of remittances to economic development, the impact of brain drain on the region, the vulnerability of migrants to communicable diseases, and the impact of international migration on families left at home.
For further information, please contact:
Mr. David Lazarus, Chief, UN Information Services Bangkok
Tel: +(66-2) 288-1861-66; Fax: +(66-2) 288-1052
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr. Chris Lom, IOM Bangkok
Tel. +66.19275215; E-mail: [email protected] End.