8th ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour National Tripartite Preparatory Meetings

The ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour is an open platform for the review, discussion and exchange of best practices and ideas between governments, workers’ and employers’ organizations, and civil society stakeholders on key issues facing migrant workers in South East Asia. Each year the forum develops recommendations to advance the implementation of the principles of the Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers (Cebu Declaration).

Background

The 8th ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour will be held on 26 – 27 October 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and will be hosted by the Government of Malaysia as the current chair of the ASEAN and the ACMW. The 8th AFML will carry the overall theme: ‘Empowering the ASEAN Community through Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers’. The meeting will have two thematic sessions:

  • Theme 1: Occupational safety and health to foster a safe and healthy working environment;

  • Theme 2: Labour inspection to ensure workplaces provide minimum employment rights.

The ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour is an open platform for the review, discussion and exchange of best practices and ideas between governments, workers’ and employers’ organizations, and civil society stakeholders on key issues facing migrant workers in South East Asia. Each year the forum develops recommendations to advance the implementation of the principles of the Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers (Cebu Declaration).

The Forum provides an opportunity to share stakeholder activities to implement the recommendations from past forums in Hanoi 2010, Bali 2011, Siem Reap 2012, Bandar Seri Begawan 2013 and Nay Pyi Taw 2014, as well as the experience of developing the ASEAN Instrument on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers.

National Tripartite Preparatory Meetings for the 8th ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour will be held in several ASEAN Member States to take stock on progress to date and implementation of previous forums’ recommendations at the national level, to discuss the 8th AFML’s proposed theme, and to prepare recommendations for the 8th ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour.

Objectives

The 8th ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour will take stock of the implementation of past AFML Recommendations. The two afore-mentioned sub-themes will be discussed during this meeting.
The national preparatory meetings are organized with the objective to:
  • Take stock and share information on the progress to date and implementation of 7th AFML Recommendations and past Recommendations by national level tripartite stakeholders.
  • Discuss the 8th AFML’s theme and its sub-themes as well as prepare and adopt Recommendations endorsed by national tripartite partners on these themes.
  • Develop a report on the national tripartite preparatory meeting for sharing at the 8th AFML.