Jakarta (VNA) – The ASEAN Safe Migration Campaign was launched inJakarta, Indonesia on December 12 to call on regional countries as well as theinternational community to pay attention to the interests of migrant workers whohave grown rapidly in recent years.

Southeast Asian nations are now home to over 9 million migrant workers,including 7 million coming from ASEAN countries, and the figure is increasingrapidly. It requires joint efforts by the nations to ensure the rights andlegitimate interests of these labourers.

Ensuring the basic rights and interests of migrant workers is also one of thefocuses of ASEAN’s work by 2025.

Speaking at the launch ceremony, Kung Phoak, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEANfor the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, said ASEAN’s population is 625million, including over 300 million at the working age, with about 6 percent ofthem being migrant workers. 

It poses challenges to the grouping in puttingforth measures to ensure the rights and legitimate interests of these people,he noted.

EU Ambassador to ASEAN Francisco Fontan affirmed that migrant labour is aconcern of Southeast Asia, Europe and the entire world. Labourers want to workoverseas to improve their income but many of them face a lot of difficulties,including labour abuse and exploitation.

According to him, Vietnam can learn from experience of neighbouringcountries like Singapore and Thailand in sending workers abroad as well astaking measures to manage and ensure the basic rights of foreign workers in thecountry.

In the framework of the 31st ASEAN Summit in Manila, the Philippineson November 14, 2017, leaders of ASEAN countries signed the ASEAN Consensus onthe Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers, which aims toensure migrant workers enjoy basic rights and interests, social sponsorship andhumanitarian treatment.

This reflects ASEAN’s efforts to build a community that looks towards thepeople and takes them as its centre.-VNA