7 June 2012 -The Philippine Government through Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban B. Conejos, Jr. pressed for the protection of, and assistance to migrants, irrespective of their migration status.
In his presentation as a panelist at the first meeting of the Open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group on Smuggling of Migrants from May 30 to June 01 in Vienna, Austria, Undersecretary Conejos shared the Philippines’ policy and best practices in implementing its protective mantle for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
This protective mantle, with its victim-centered human rights approach, is the country’s primary response to protect overseas Filipinos from human trafficking, smuggling of migrants and illegal recruitment.
Undersecretary Conejos explained the three general operating principles under this protective mantle.
First, “the life cycle approach “protection and support of migrants that includes measures, from pre-deployment, on site protection, to return and reintegration.
Second, that protection begins at home through the frontloading of protective measures before the Filipino worker leaves home.
Third, that international cooperation is required to make migration work. On this note, Undersecretary Conejos cited the 70 bilateral labor agreements the Philippines has forged with its partner destination countries.
In addition, the Philippines is an active participant in the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime (the Bali Process) and the Colombo Process– the Regional Consultative Process on Overseas Employment and Contractual Labour for Countries of Origins in Asia.
As the shepherd for the issue on trafficking in persons within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Philippines is taking the lead in the establishment of an ASEAN Convention on Trafficking in Persons.
The open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group on Smuggling of Migrants was established by the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime through resolution 5/3, entitled “Implementation of the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime”, to advise and assist the Conference in the implementation of its mandate with regard to the Smuggling of Migrants Protocol. END
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