UN to RP: Ensure rights of migrant workers

MANILA, Philippines—As one of the biggest sources of migrant workers in the world, the Philippines should step up initiatives to ensure the protection of the rights of its workers, an arm of the United Nations (UN) said in a report.

The UN Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (“UN MWC”) said that being a “global model” for migration, it expects the Philippine government to employ higher standards of protecting the human rights of its workers.

The Center for Migrant Advocacy Philippines (CMA) released the concluding observations of the UN body on the report of the Philippines’ implementation of the Migrant Worker Convention.

The Philippines submitted its report to the UN body, which considered it during a meeting on April 23 to 24, 2009 in Geneva, Switzerland.

“In its concluding observations, the UN MWC recognized the fact that the Philippines is mainly a sending country and that most country destinations of Filipino migrant workers are not yet signatories to the MWC,” the CMA said in a news release Thursday.

The Committee also noted that the archipelagic geography of the Philippines limits the government in its fight against trafficking and its efforts to protect the human rights of migrant workers, the group said.

The Concluding Observation of the UN MWC also noted that “abuse and exploitation of Filipino migrant workers continue despite the Philippine government’s efforts to protect the rights of Filipino migrant workers abroad.”

”Many cases are underreported, and that most vulnerable are the women migrants. The Committee recommended to the Philippine government to exert more effort in the protection of women’s rights and in the enhancement of women empowerment,” CMA quoted the report as saying.

Expressing concern on the Philippine government’s policy of exporting labor, as contained in Administrative Order 247 and 248 which put premium on the promotion of foreign employment of migrant workers over the protection of their human rights, the UN MWC also “strongly urged the Philippine government to review its labor migration policy in order to give primary importance to the protection of human rights.”

The UN MWC also noted the following observations: (a) failure of the Philippine government to set up a reliable and quality statistical database on migrant workers; (b) insufficient information on the content, conduct, and assessment of the pre-departure orientation seminars;

(c) the limited and conditional trade union rights granted to migrant workers in the Philippines, which is a violation of the MWC; (d) the absence of information on the use and operation of the Legal Assistance Fund for migrant workers; (e) the weak campaign against illegal recruitment; and (f) the restrictions on voting rights of Filipino immigrants and permanent residents abroad.

Ellene Sana, CMA executive director, said she hopes the government would take action on the observations of the UN body. She also welcomed the UN’s recognition of the role of non-government organizations in assisting migrant workers. –Lira Dalangin-Fernandez, INQUIRER.net