New ILO migration project to improve migrant workers' conditions in South-East Asia

The International Labour Organization (ILO) is launching a new project in South-East Asia to improve the governance of cross-border labour migration.

Press release | BANGKOK | 17 December 2010

BANGKOK (ILO News) – The International Labour Organization (ILO)1 is launching a new project in South-East Asia to improve the governance of cross-border labour migration.

The five-year project, known as TRIANGLE (Tripartite Action to Protect Migrant Workers from Labour Exploitation), will carry out activities in Cambodia, China, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Thailand and Viet Nam. It will provide direct support to more than 20,000 women and men migrant workers, through information services, training and legal assistance. Many more will benefit from the development of stronger policies and better practices in line with standards set by international and regional instruments on the protection of migrant workers’ rights. TRIANGLE is supported by the Australian Government Aid Program (AusAID), with funding of more than US$9.8 million.

The announcement is being made on 18th December, International Migrants Day, which this year also marks the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Protection of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.

The TRIANGLE project also aims to promote greater cooperation between governments, to improve bilateral and multilateral work on the recruitment, employment and social protection of migrant workers. It will also assist employers’, workers’ and civil society organizations to minimize the risks and maximize the benefits of migration.

“The way in which a migrant is recruited in Cambodia has a considerable effect on her or his working conditions in Thailand. Similarly, the working conditions of a migrant in Malaysia will determine the developmental impact they can make back home in Viet Nam,” said Nilim Baruah, the TRIANGLE project’s Chief Technical Advisor.

“It’s of critical importance to ensure social protection and decent working conditions are extended to all workers equally – domestic and foreign,” said Thetis Mangahas, Senior Migration Specialist and Deputy Regional Director of the ILO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. “The TRIANGLE project will go a long way to assisting our constituents and empowering the migrants themselves”.

Of the 44 countries worldwide that have ratified the United Nations Convention on the Protection of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, only seven are in Asia-Pacific. Among the 10 ASEAN member states, only the Philippines has ratified the UN Convention. In addition to this ratification, the Philippines is also the only ASEAN country to ratify the two ILO international standards on migration (Convention 97 on Migration for Employment (1949) and Convention 143 on Migrant Workers (1975)).

For further information please contact:

Mr Nilim Baruah
Chief Technical Advisor – TRIANGLE Project
ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (Bangkok)
Tel: + 66 2 288 1855
Email

Mr Allan Dow
Communications and Advocacy Officer
ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (Bangkok)
Tel: + 66 2 288 2057
Email

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1 The ILO is the UN specialized agency concerned with work and workplace issues.