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Speakers at a regional workshop highlighted need for
ratification of international instruments for the protection of migrant
workers in South Asia and the recently developed ILO Multilateral
Framework on Labour Migration.
Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed in his address as the chief guest stated that
given that South Asian states constitute major sending states as well as
countries of origins of clandestine emigration, the need for their active
participation in an international legal regime for migrant workers, and in
unison where necessary is paramount. He further said that initiatives by
non-state actors can be the stimuli behind the desired policy and
legislative interventions to establish a prospective migrant’s right-based
regulatory regime ensuring, among others, an enhanced capacity and
standard mechanism for state-to-state recruitment, stringent conditions
for private sector participation in the recruitment process, a shifting of
the cost of migration from the emigrant to the employer, and detailed
stipulation of the rights of all migrants workers, mechanisms of redress
for violations thereof and the nature of the relief granted.
The a 2-day workshop on International Instruments for the Protection of
Migrant Workers in South Asia with Special Focus on the ILO Multilateral
Framework (MLF) on Labour Migration was organised by the South Asia
Migration Resource Network (SAMReN) and the International Labour
Organization began in city on 29 January
Dr. Piyasiri Wickramasekara of ILO was the keynote speaker at the
workshop. Among others Mr. Mansur Raza Choudhury, Joint Secretary of the
Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare & Overseas Employment of Bangladesh,
Prof. Ravi Srivastava of India, Dr. Anita Manandhar of Nepal, Hossain Bux
Mallah of Pakistan and Jayantha Wanigathunga of Sri Lanka, Professors
Tasneem Siddiqui, C R . Abrar and Sumaiya Khair of Dhaka University
participated in the discussion. The workshop was attended by senior
officials of different ministries and international organizations such as
International Labour Office and International Organization for Migration.
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