Brunei to host Asean Forum on Migrant Labour
Datin Paduka Hjh Intan speaking at the meeting. Photo: Borneo Bulletin
Nov 6: As part of the regional and global community, Brunei Darussalam can play a key role in the advancement of human rights as highlighted in a speech by Datin Paduka Hjh Intan binti Hj Mohd Kassim, the President of Brunei Council on Social Welfare (Majlis Kesejahteraan Masyarakat – MKM) at a Preparatory Consultation Meeting designated for the upcoming 6th Asean Forum on Migrant Labour (AFML).
The meeting, attended by various stakeholders from the NGOs and government agencies that deal with migrant workers in Brunei Darussalam, took place at the Youth Centre yesterday. This was the first such meeting to be held in this country, though several Asean members have already acted as hosts.
It was organised by the Brunei Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and the conveners were MKM and Task Force on Asean Migrant Workers (TFAMW) from Singapore.
The Asean forum thus, she added, is a crucial platform for reviews, discussions and exchanges of best practices and ideas between governments, workers’ and employers’ organisations, and civil society stakeholders on key issues constantly faced by migrant workers in this region.
She said the forum will provide an opportunity for the sharing of stakeholder activities to implement the recommendations from past forums in Hanoi 2010, Bali 2011 and Siem Reap 2012.
A section of the participants at the meeting. Photo Borneo Bulletin
The participants will have the added advantage of the invaluable experience of developing the draft Asean Instrument on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers, she added.
Touching on the history of human rights in Asean, she said the Asean Charter, adopted in 2007, became the milestone of human rights in this region and kick started the establishments of several institutions that deal with human rights issues that include the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), Asean Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) and the Asean Committee on Migrant Workers (ACMW).
The 6th Asean Forum on Migrant Labour will take place on Nov 26 and 27, 2013, hosted by the Government of Brunei Darussalam as the current chair of Asean and the ACMW for 2013.
On a similar context, various national stakeholder preparatory meetings for the 6th Asean Forum will be held at several Asean member countries to analyse the progress and implementation of previous forums’ recommendations at the national level, as well as discussions on the 6th AFML’s proposed theme and to prepare recommendations for the upcoming forum.
The Task Force on Asean Migrant Workers (TFAMW) in cooperation with TFAMW CSO National Working Groups, Focal Points and CSO partners will organise the national preparatory workshops in Asean member countries. The Sending Countries National Preparatory Meetings for the 6th AFML is supported by the International Labour Organisation (ILO)-Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Asean project.
source: Borneo Bulletin
