Last updated 06:02am (Mla time) 08/02/2007
By Volt Contreras
MANILA, Philippines -- What has been hailed as a landmark declaration promoting the welfare of migrant workers in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has hit a bump on the road.
Malaysia, host to large numbers of so-called “illegal migrants” from neighboring countries, has deferred signing a follow-through document that would have elevated the declaration to a more “legally binding” arrangement, sources told the Philippine Daily Inquirer at the sidelines of the ASEAN ministerial talks in Manila.
The sources said this was the reason the scheduled signing ceremony for the document --originally set on Monday as a highlight of the 40th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) -- was postponed.
Instead, Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo, as chair of the AMM at the Philippine International Convention Center, merely announced later in the day that the document was “adopted” by the 10 ASEAN states.
There is an easily missed yet crucial difference between having a document signed by the member countries and just having it “adopted” by the body, explained one official, who declined to be identified for lack of authority to speak on the matter.
“When left unsigned, the binding effect of the document is watered down,” the official noted.
The document was officially called the Statement on the Establishment of the ASEAN Committee on the Declaration of the Protection and Promotion of the Migrant Workers.
The signing-that-never-was at the AMM was supposed to mark a forward movement since ASEAN heads of state signed the Declaration during the leaders’ summit also hosted by the Philippines in Cebu last January.
Strong consensus
In a media release on Monday, the Department of Foreign Affairs said: “There is a strong consensus within ASEAN behind the establishment of this very important committee. The desire remains strong among members of the ASEAN to protect and promote the rights of migrant workers.”
“The creation of this committee will give life to the ASEAN Declaration (signed in Cebu),” it added.
The department hailed the “adoption” of the statement as “another victory for the rights and welfare of migrant workers.” It explained that “it was not necessary to sign the agreement as the mother document was already signed in Cebu.”
The issue of migrant workers was among the “priorities” set for discussion by the Philippines as chair of ASEAN, the official noted. But with Singapore taking over the rotating chairmanship after the meetings in Manila, “new priorities” may be set for the 10-nation bloc.
The official said “a lot of the (AMM) participants were surprised by Malaysia’s decision, including Indonesia. Most people expected that the document will be signed.”
180-degree turn
That every member country will sign “was already agreed upon at the working committee level, but at the plenary level the Malaysian (delegation) did a 180-degree turn, saying they did not have the mandate to sign and that there are other departments in Malaysia that are responsible for the issue.”
Malaysia has been reluctant to be bound by “legal instruments” dealing with the rights of migrant workers mainly because most of them are considered to have entered that country for “seasonal, temporary” employment, the official noted.
Around half of the estimated 240,000 Filipinos in Malaysia are reported to be undocumented, many of them in the state of Sabah, for years a refuge for Filipinos fleeing a Moro insurrection in the southern Philippines.
Kuala Lumpur in recent years also has resorted to expulsions of “economic refugees” -- mainly from Indonesia and Burma (Myanmar) -- seeking jobs in the booming Malaysian economy.
The Inquirer requested for an interview with officials of the Malaysian delegation but was yet to get a positive feedback as of Wednesday night.
The source said the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam -- being labor-exporting countries -- were particularly pushing for the signing of the statement.
Obligations
The Cebu Declaration mainly called for stronger protection and improved conditions for migrant workers in the region, and assigned “obligations” on both the “sending” and “receiving” states.
The so-called “receiving” or employing states are expected to ensure workers’ access to information, education and social welfare services, as well as ample representation in the host country’s justice system.
“Sending” states, on the other hand, are expected to supply workers who are not only properly trained but who will pose no legal problems to the receiving country. Tougher measures against human trafficking and illegal recruitment are also expected from the “sending” states.
In Cebu, the language of the declaration initially proved contentious over whether the obligations of receiving states should also be extended to the workers’ family members living with them.
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