Newly Elected Chair of CARAM Asia Faces Unfounded Media Accusations

Friday, November 20, 2009

As a regional organisation comprised of some 34 members from 17 countries, Coordination of Action Research on AIDS and Mobility Asia (CARAM Asia) remains astonished by the recent accusations of Gulf News Daily and Akhbar Al-Khaleej and their malicious and unfounded attacks levelled at our newly elected Chair Nabeel Rajab, the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) and by extension CARAM Asia.

The recent allegation of links between CARAM Asia and the Iranian government remain absurd and baseless. Neither BCHR nor CARAM Asia has ever taken a solitary cent from the Iranian government or any of its wider bodies and such facile accusations only seeks to demonstrate the lengths that certain publications will go to smear those committed to increasing the rights of all people. Furthermore, we would like to note that not once has our organisation been contacted by the aforementioned publications, casting light on the credibility of the journalists and the publications themselves.

Further, it is crucial in the interest of transparency that some clear facts be recognised for the documentary record. The BCHR has been an active and passionate member of CARAM Asia since it was approved of membership in 2007 and it was as a result of this recognition that Nabeel Rajab was democratically elected last month as Chair of the organisation by our members. In fact, far from being ‘defunct’ as it was recently labelled by Gulf Daily News (Basma Mohammed, October 28th, 2009), the BCHR has continued to demonstrate its commitment to human rights of all people and continues to operate within an extremely hostile environment.

CARAM Asia is not alone in its support of Mr. Rajab and other prominent human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Frontline and International Federation of Human Rights FIDH have all used our Chair’s reports as well as his commentary on human rights concerns within Bahrain.

CARAM Asia will continue to offer its support to our Chair and collectively we will persist as a network to promote the issue of migrants’ rights at the national, regional and international sphere.

'India should implement policy for Intl migration'

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 2 (PTI) India should implement a policy on international labour as there is a need to regulate recruiting agents and ensure security and safety of migrant workers, particularly the unskilled ones, a labour resource centre affiliated to UGC has said.

"India accounts for the largest number of skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled migrants. There is an urgent need to regulate the recruiting agents to ensure the security of the migrants, particularly the unskilled workers," J Johan, executive director of New Delhi-based Centre for Education and Communication told PTI ahead of a meet of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) which kicked off today at Athens.

Stressing the need for a policy on international migration, Johan said an inter-governmental system should be evolved for the mobility of unskilled workers.

Greek agrees to regularise Bangladeshis

SOURCE: UNB, Dhaka

Most of about 30,000 Bangladeshis living in Greece migrated through illegal ways, but the Greek government now agreed to give a chance for their registration.

Labour, Employment and Expatriates' Welfare Minister Engineer

Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain on Tuesday informed journalists about the development after his visit to Greece where he attended a four-day seminar on ‘Global Forum on Migration and Development’.

The minister said his counterpart of Greece proposed to him to give a

chance for registration of the workers to get legality.

“About 10/15 thousand Bangladeshis would get registration card and continue their professional work without any hazard in this process,” he told the newsmen at his secretariat office.

Mosharraf said he discussed the matter with Bangladeshi workers and they agreed to take the opportunity.

The minister also informed that he had proposed to the Greek government import of trained manpower in shipping, agriculture, garment, tourism and hospitality sectors of that country.

“In reply to my proposal, Greece has agreed to send an expert team to

Bangladesh to scrutinise those sectors’ training facilities,” he said.

Mosharraf said that his government has sent about 4.13 lakh workers to different countries in last ten months and more than one lakh are prepared to go while 3.71 lakh workers went abroad in 2006 during the same time.

Lebanon: Deadly Month for Domestic Workers

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Investigate 8 Deaths and Why So Many of These Workers Die

(Beirut, November 9, 2009) – The Lebanese government should investigate the deaths of eight migrant domestic workers during October, 2009, as well as the reasons for the disproportionately high death rate among this group of workers, Human Rights Watch said today. An estimated 200,000 domestic workers, primarily from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Ethiopia, work in Lebanon.

Four of the deaths are classified by police reports or by the workers’ embassies as suicides, three as possible work accidents, and one as a heart attack. Six of the deaths occurred when migrant domestic workers either fell or jumped from high places. One woman committed suicide by hanging herself from a tree. The dead include four Ethiopians, two Nepalis, and two Malagasies

“The death toll last month is clear evidence that the government isn’t doing enough to fix the difficult working conditions these women face,” said Nadim Houry, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The government needs to explain why so many women who came to Lebanon to work end up leaving the country in coffins.”

In August 2008, Human Rights Watch published a study showing that migrant domestic workers were dying at a rate of more than one a week in Lebanon.

A diplomat at the consulate of the country from which one of the dead women came told Human Rights Watch: “These women are under pressure, with no means to go away. Their passports are seized and they are often locked away in their employer’s house. It is like they are living in a cage. Human beings need to mingle with others; otherwise they lose their will to live.”

An official steering committee created in early 2006 and led by the labor ministry has taken some steps to improve the treatment of migrant domestic workers. In January 2009, the labor ministry introduced a standard employment contract that clarifies certain terms and conditions of employment for domestic workers, such as the maximum number of daily working hours, as well as a new regulation for employment agencies that aims to improve oversight of their operations. However, these workers are still excluded from the country’s labor law, and there are still no enforcement mechanisms for the current rules governing domestic employment.

“As long as Lebanon does not appoint labor inspectors to ensure compliance with the new rules, these rules will exist on paper only,” Houry said.

Human Rights Watch urged the official steering committee that works to improve the status of domestic workers to begin tracking deaths and injuries, to ensure that the police properly investigate them and to develop a concrete strategy to reduce these deaths. This strategy should include combating the practice of forced confinement, providing a labor ministry hotline for the workers, appointing labor inspectors, and improving working conditions and labor law protections.

Human Rights Watch also urged governments of the migrant workers’ countries of origin to increase the services at their embassies and diplomatic missions in Lebanon by providing counseling and shelter for workers in distress.

Details about Deaths of Migrant Domestic Workers in October 2009

On October 8, Sunit Bholan of Nepal, 22, reportedly committed suicide.

On October 16, Kassaye Etsegenet of Ethiopia, 23, died after reportedly jumping from the seventh floor of a building on Charles Helou avenue in Beirut. Etsegenet left a suicide note in which she states that her decision was based on personal reasons, in particular, a fight with another member of her family.

On October 21, Zeditu Kebede Matente of Ethiopia, 26, was found dead in the town of Haris hanging from an olive tree.

On October 23, Saneet Mariam of Ethiopia, 30, died after falling from the balcony of her employer’s house in the town of Mastita.

On October 23, Mina Rokaya, of Nepal, 24, died after being transferred from her employer’s house in Blat to a hospital. The police report says that she died from a heart attack.

On October 28, Tezeta Yalmoya of Ethiopia, 26, died after falling from the third floor of the apartment building where she worked in `Abra, next to Saida. According to reports in local papers, she fell while cleaning the balcony.

Newspapers in Madagascar reported the deaths of two Malagasy women in Lebanon in October. The first worker, identified as Mampionona, reportedly fell from the third floor while cleaning the balcony. She had arrived in Lebanon on September 1. The other, identified as Vololona, died after reportedly jumping from the fourth floor.

For more information, please contact:

In Beirut, Nadim Houry (English, Arabic, French): +961-3-639244 (mobile)

CARAM Asia: GFMD Still Fails as a Viable Platform to Address Migrants’ Concerns

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

As governments from around the world convene for the third annual Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) many in the civil society sector continue to question the credibility of the forum as a valid platform capable of producing beneficial change for migrants. As a regional network, Coordination of Action Research on AIDS and Mobility Asia (CARAM Asia) stands resolute in our criticism of the current structure that continues to operate outside of formal international legislation and promotes market forces above the human and employment rights of the over 250 million migrants around the world.

While we acknowledge that the GFMD currently stands as the largest space for international dialogue on issues related to migration, at its core the forum only seeks to address mobility through the lens of economic development via a state driven, voluntary and non-binding platform. As a result of this, key issues such as forced and irregular migration, right to health, access to justice and the overall social cost related to migration remains largely sidelined in this process. As an extension of this concern, CARAM Asia notes that the GFMD has deliberately sought to alienate the role of migrants’ voices from the discussion process and has demonstrated a clear lack of transparency and accountability where many non-binding agreements are made in closed door meetings outside of the scrutiny of rights based observers.

CARAM Asia will continue to object to the GFMD’s premise that the use of Labour Exporting Policies (LEP) and subsequent generation of remittances can be a tool for sustainable development. Our network is not alone in this view and the findings from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Index has continually demonstrated that despite records levels of generated remittances to developing countries, the quality of education, health and overall standard of living has in the vast majority of cases, decreased.

We at CARAM Asia continue to believe that the GFMD will never become a platform of positive change in the field of migration until it seeks to engage directly with migrants and their communities and halt their continued promotion of failed economic policies. Furthermore, the GFMD must immediately seek to include wider issues related to migration where governments of destination countries are directly encouraged to implement and abide by previous international human, gender and employment rights frameworks to provide migrants the same protections as their own citizenry.

It is with this in mind that CARAM Asia recommends that the participants of the GFMD take the following steps;

-Both sending and receiving countries must immediately sign and ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (1990)

-The GFMD must immediately increase its transparency and accountability of the overall process. This must include the participation of grassroots organisations to address the wider social issues related to migration including addressing gender specific vulnerabilities.

-States that host female migrant workers must adhere to existing rights as laid out in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW, 1979). Through this the GFMD should strongly seek to use its platform to recommend to all participating parties the immediate recognition of domestic work as work with protection in domestic legislation.

- Migrant workers must be protected by labour rights and Decent Work Standards set out in the ILO conventions

- Whether documented or undocumented, the GFMD must recognise that migrants are entitled to fundamental human rights including the right to health, equal access to justice, the freedom of movement, freedom of association and to freedom from abuse and exploitation including torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

- When analysing the issue of development, the GFMD must place at its core, Human rights and social justice cored for development with comprehensive ¬ - work for balance of social, cultural, political and economic progress and in line with the definition and framework as stated in the UN Declaration on the Right to Development (1986). Alternative development should ¬ place the human person at the center of development and be aimed at improving the quality of life and dignity of all people and their environment.

-Governments should ensure that adequate and informed pre-departure orientation is given to all migrant workers including health and rights awareness.

- The GFMD must seek to immediately move back to work under international framework of the United Nations mandate with due accountability and transparency

- Regulating and monitoring of the labour recruitment industry to ensure labour and human rights of migrant workers and ensure that migrant workers are not charged exorbitant fees.

-States must stop propagandizing the myth that remittances can be used the basis for development and instead initiate policies aiming at addressing a fundamental, lasting political, economic and social reforms needed in developing countries. This must include the need for developing infrastructure for sustainable development by job creation, employment opportunity, universal healthcare, right to decent education and security of life.

CARAM Asia Press Statement: Regional Consultation with United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right To Health October 30th – 31st

Tuesday, November 3, 2009



While many countries throughout the world become reliant on the use of foreign labour, migrant workers continue to lack access to affordable healthcare services in destination countries which in many cases results in unnecessary deaths. In many countries including Malaysia, the commoditisation of foreign labour has led to severe violations in migrants’ human and health rights in places of work as well other areas including detention centres. The recent halting of sending Indonesian foreign domestic workers to Malaysia after the publicised cases of abuse and neglect highlights the fact that many governments continue to overlook the conditions and treatment of migrant workers within their borders.

For the past decade, CARAM Asia’s regional research on migrant workers’ access to quality health information and services reveals that the existing legislation and policy environment in destination countries does not provide necessary mechanisms to ensure migrant workers health rights are recognised, promoted or protected adequately. As a result of the network’s growing profile, CARAM Asia held a Regional Consultation with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, Mr Anand Grover from the 30th-31st of October in Kuala Lumpur. Participants in this process also included representatives from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Delegation of the European Commission (EC) and representatives from other civil society groups including the Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC).

This consultation was able to create a space for members to impress on the UNSR the risks and vulnerabilities facing migrants in both sending and receiving countries. At the same time, this it acted as a platform to better inform our members of the importance of UN Special Procedures and thus creating clearer lines of communication between the two parties. Throughout the two day process, the consultation was an interactive dialogue between both participants and the UNSR on migrant workers’ access to health, information and services.

We identified to Mr Grover the following issues as strategic concerns that need to be addressed urgently;

Health and wellbeing of migrants – the overall migration process places migrants in temporary, dangerous and precarious situation that limits their access to healthcare services.

Discriminatory health practices against migrants – In particular practices such as mandatory HIV and pregnancy testing as requirement for “fitness to work”, exclusion of migrants from Universal Access coverage.

Criminalisation of migrants – Migrants’ lack of legal status impacts negatively on their health and limits access to health services. Being liable to arrest, detention and deportation severely affects their wellbeing.

Unnatural death of migrants in destination countries – The cause of death of numerous migrants is not determined. Without proper investigation many rights violations remain ignored and families are left without proper closure and compensation.

Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights of migrants – Migrants’ sexuality is being controlled by the conditions of their employment. Female migrant workers are subject to forced contraception and face sexual and gender-based violence without recourse.

Health and wellbeing of Foreign Domestic Workers – The nature of domestic work isolates migrants and strains their physical and emotional health. This is further exacerbated by the gender dimension and lack of labour protection of domestic work.

As a result of this process, stronger lines of communication were established. Mr Grover also commended CARAM Asia on its hard work and commitment to this issue and expressed deep concern about the overall treatment of migrant workers within the region. This is especially applicable to the risks and vulnerabilities faced by foreign domestic workers and he fully endorsed the network’s demand for the recognition of domestic work as work as well making sure that all hosting countries provide a weekly paid day off.

CARAM Asia remains committed to working on these issues and is keen to cooperate further with the Special Rapporteur and other existing mechanisms at both the regional and international level. The network looks forward to the inclusion of our recommendations within the Rapporteur’s report to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) early next year.

CARAM Asia Concludes A Successful 3rd General Assembly


KUALA LUMPUR, 27th-28th October 2009: Coordination of Action Research on AIDS and Mobility (CARAM Asia) is proud to announce that it has held a very successful 3rd General Assembly which convened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from the 27th-28th October. This meeting represented an increase in the solidarity and cooperation amongst our members to further address the employment rights and living standards of migrant workers within the Asian region.


The regional network was initially established in 1997 as an approach to address the social issues of migration as direct response to this growing global phenomena. Since its inception the network has evolved to adapt to the emerging issues while staying true to its vision that migrant workers deserve the same human rights and protection mechanisms accomodated to nationals.

Over the last 12 years CARAM Asia has gone from strength to strength and has actively campaigned throughout the region to address the increased violations against migrant workers. This has been demonstrated by growing membership of the network who each seeks to actively to address special interventions for migrant populations at all stages of migration. Furthermore, CARAM Asia’s voice continues to be heard at both the regional and international levels.

The members at the General Assembly debated intensely its priorities, emerging issues and challenges faced over the last two years. As a result of this process,

CARAM Asia has evolved its new programmatic areas for the coming future and these are the following focus of work;
1. Migrants Rights (Promotion and Protection)
2. Migrants, Health & HIV
3. Migration, Globalisation & Development

CARAM Asia Concludes A Successful 3rd General Assembly

Monday, November 2, 2009

Coordination of Action Research on AIDS and Mobility (CARAM Asia) is proud to announce that it has held a very successful 3rd General Assembly which convened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from the 27th-28th October. This meeting represented an increase in the solidarity and cooperation amongst our members to further address the employment rights and living standards of migrant workers within the Asian region.

The regional network was initially established in 1997 as an approach to address the social issues of migration as direct response to this growing global phenomena. Since its inception the network has evolved to adapt to the emerging issues while staying true to its vision that migrant workers deserve the same human rights and protection mechanisms accomodated to nationals.

Over the last 12 years CARAM Asia has gone from strength to strength and has actively campaigned throughout the region to address the increased violations against migrant workers. This has been demonstrated by growing membership of the network who each seeks to actively to address special interventions for migrant populations at all stages of migration. Furthermore, CARAM Asia’s voice continues to be heard at both the regional and international levels.
The members at the General Assembly debated intensely its priorities, emerging issues and challenges faced over the last two years. As a result of this process, CARAM Asia has evolved its new programmatic areas for the coming future and these are the following focus of work;

1. Migrants Rights (Promotion and Protection)
2. Migrants, Health & HIV
3. Migration, Globalisation & Development


Furthermore, CARAM Asia is also proud to announce its seven new Board of Directors, who were elected by the participating members into the role of leadership.
1. Nabeel Rajab (Chairperson, Bahrain Human Rights Centre)
2. Bridget Lew Treasurer, Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics)
3. Brahm Press (Raks Thai Foundation, Thailand)
4. Irene Fernandez (Tenaganita, Malaysia)
5. Zia Awan (Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Aid, Pakistan)
6. Manju Gurung (Pourakhi, Nepal)
7. Carmelita Nuqui (Development Action Women’s Network)

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that was established back in 2002. Despite an order by the authorities in November 2004 to close it, the BCHR is still functioning after gaining a wide internal and external support for its struggle to promote human rights in Bahrain. At its core, the group seeks to encourage and support individuals and groups to be proactive in the protection of their own and others' rights; and to struggle to promote democracy and human rights in accordance with international norms.

Raks Thai Foundation was established in 1997 as a civil society group to strengthen the capacity of the poor and disadvabntaged communities to analyse the root causes and problems and determine suitable solutions and participate in development activities. Since 2003, the organisation has become the first member of CARE from a developing country seeking to analyse and relief and development programs in Thailand.

Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economic (H.O.M.E): Since 2004, HOME has sought to provide direct assistance to migrant workers, victims of human trafficking and forced labour within Singapore. As part of its vision, HOME is committed to the principle that migration of people benefits the global society with a focus of the effects of migration within the context of Singapore.

Tenaganita: This organization was established in 1991 by Irene Fernandez to undertake research, advocacy and action to prevent, solve and address grave abuses that happen to migrants and refugees. At its core, the organization campaigns for the recognition of mmigrant rights and in doing so, Tenaganita continues to promote a culture where human rights are embraced, valued and protected.

Pourakhi: This NGO works to ensure the rights of Nepalese women migrant workers in the entire phase of foreign employment through the processes of information, counseling, advocacy and empowerment. Furthermore it seeks to act as a pressure group for the implementation of existing domestic laws and the ratification and implementation of international instruments concerned with the protection and promotion of the rights of women migrant workers.

Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Aid: LHRLA was formed to meet the ever-growing demands of those who cannot afford the expenses of litigation. Since its inception, the LHRLA has sought to provide direct legal aid in Pakistan by approaching law enforcement agencies, the D.I.G. police, the Home Secretary, the provincial governor and other highly placed officials with reports, petitions and statistics.

Development Action Women’s Network: The Development Action for Women Network (DAWN) is a non-government development organisation created in 1996 to assist Filipino women migrants in Japan and their Japanese-Filipino children (JFC) in the promotion and protection of their human rights and welfare. Through its work, DAWN hopes to create a society where women and men share equal opportunities for a just and humane living, creating empowered and self-reliant families in communities where each one cares for one another in the spirit of peace based on justice; and where migration is an option that is respected and protected.

ITS MURDER, Another life is LOST

Saturday, October 31, 2009

TENAGANITA PRESS STATEMENT

29th October,2009

ITS MURDER
Another life is LOST:
The situation is serious
The right to life is threatened.
Violence and abuse in various forms are escalating.

Tenaganita is aghast with the statement by the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein that the death case of Mautik Hani – being the first of it’s kind in the country (NST – 28/10/09).

Mautik Hani ,a domestic workers from Surabaya died on 26th October 2009 . She was so brutally and severely abused by the employers that her body could only succumb death. According to reports, she was kept locked in the toilet for days until a new domestic worker who felt a stench coming from the bathroom found her. Hani’s backbone and right wrist were broken, her body was bruised, her face swollen, and a wound on her right leg so severe, her bone was visible .

It is not the first of it’s kind in the country. As Malaysians, do we remember or have we forgotten Nirmala Bonat ‘s case in 2004, who was severely abused. This year alone, on 24th May , another Indonesian domestic workers died in Petaling Jaya after sustaining severe injuries to her head and body as reported by Jakarta Post . In June 2009, Siti Hajar was tortured by her employer that included starving, beating and scalding with boiling water and following to that, the Indonesian Government put a ban on Indonesian domestic workers. Before that, in March , another case of abuse, of Indonesia domestic worker named Siami in Segamat, Johor who had worked 5 months for her employer. She was scalded with hot water, struck with a rotan, punched and kicked by her employer.

Tenaganita has received more than 400 calls, handled 273 cases with over 2184 human rights violations committed by the employers and the recruiting agencies during the last 3 years. The cases are increasing because during the last 1 month, Tenaganita received more than 10 cases of domestic workers who were physically abused, raped, not paid wages, no off days and passports confiscated by the employers. Children as young as 14 years old are domestic workers working 16 to 22 hours a day. The Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur stated that each year they handle and shelter at least 1000 cases of domestic workers. The other embassies like Philippines, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and India also have handled many cases of abuse of domestic workers from their own respective countries.

Are these not enough statistics for us and for the government to move into swift preventive actions? The forms of abuse, torture and exploitation are incredible but real. Its long overdue and we must stop being in a state of denial or more precious lives will be lost.

Out of the 273 cases, what shocks us is that not one case of abuse and violence has gone to court. Police investigations are sluggish, court systems inaccessible, and processes drag on endlessly. Often, the victims drop the cases out of weariness, and go home as they no longer can continue their life of trauma and indefinite waiting. The possibilities of justice is distance and inaccessible.

From the cases mentioned it becomes clear that the authorities and enforcement agencies including the judiciary, punish the victim, the onus of proof of being legal is on the victim when the controls are with the employer or the agent. We then protect rapists, abusers and irresponsible employers. We condone violence. We nurture trafficking in persons and create an environment for slavery like practices. We see the numbers grow, we watch the statistics swell, and we close our eyes as the perpetrators walk away without any guilt.

The Home Minister, instead of reducing the death of an innocent human being, a worker whom we Malaysians demanded for to meet our needs to an insignificant issue, should pull up his socks and conduct open and serious investigations to violence and abuse faced by domestic workers and why the roads to justice are shut down.

In fact, it is clear that the above form of intense rights violations bring about a bonded labor with intense servitude and debt bondage that constitutes trafficking in persons.The situation and the trafficking of women and children in domestic work will continue if we do not work for change.

There are deep concerns over the system of placement and conditions of work for domestic workers. For many years, Tenaganita has stated over and over again that it is only when rights of workers are protected through laws; when domestic workers are recognized as workers, will employers, agents and Malaysians as a whole can ensure respect and dignity for domestic workers. The statutes and the legal process cannot and must not exclude domestic workers.

This form of persistent and intentional discrimination of women from the more marginalized groups, speaks volumes of how we respect persons and ensure their dignity. We have ratified CEDAW ( The Convention In The Elimination Of All forms of Discrimination Against Women) and have not lived up to our commitment and accountability.

We welcome the Human Resources Minister, Datuk Dr. S. Subramaniam’s announcement that domestic workers in Malaysia will be given one paid day off a week and be allowed to keep their passports during their stay in the country. This move will definitely help in reducing the current forms of abuse.

But globally, the experience shows that only when rights are protected and guaranteed in the statutes of the country, has violence and exploitation been drastically reduced.

Malaysia has also passed the Anti trafficking in Persons Act and labor trafficking is part of its definition. We have been placed in tier 3 for the second time by the US government. The report clearly stated the vulnerable conditions of domestic workers that bring about servitude and slavery like practices.

We definitely want to change that scenario and we hope the Home Minister takes cognizance of it. We must change our laws, redefine domestic work as work and not as servant in the employment act. We need clear standardized contract for all domestic workers, attached to the employment act for effective enforcement. The one day off must be implemented without delay.

The source countries have equal responsibilities to protect the rights of their nationals especially migrant workers. They must ensure that the domestic workers do not enter into debt bondage and rights are guaranteed before they leave through the bilateral agreements and when in employment.

We do not want to see another death of an innocent domestic worker in Malaysia.

Domestic Workers is a human being. She is a woman who needs care, warmth, love and respect, so she can live a life of dignity. She is here because we need her. It is only fair and just that she is treated with dignity and respect, not only by every individual employer but by the government of the day as well.

Irene Fernandez

Director

IOM and UNIFEM Train Bangladeshi Labour Attachés

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Posted on Tuesday, 20-10-2009
Bangladesh - IOM and UNIFEM today launched a three-day training workshop in Dhaka on current migration management and remittance issues for Bangladeshi labour attachés.

The training, the second of its kind, follows a similar programme offered last year by IOM and will be attended by 14 labour attachés stationed at 12 Bangladeshi missions abroad.

Facilitators and speakers will include labour migration experts from IOM HQ and IOM Dhaka, local legal and gender experts, representatives from key government agencies and Bangladesh's association of recruiting agencies.

The programme is designed to enhance government capacity in migration management, improve protection of migrant workers, and optimize the benefits of managed labour migration, including the development of new labour markets.

Topics under discussion will include global migration trends against the backdrop of the financial crisis, emerging local challenges in migration management, the protection of migrant workers, their rights and mechanisms of inter-state cooperation.

"Labour attaches are responsible for providing support and services to Bangladeshi workers abroad. This is a forum where they can share their experiences and come up with practical solutions that really meet the needs of the migrants," says IOM Regional Representative for South Asia Rabab Fatima.

Overseas Employment and Expatriate Welfare Minister Engineer Khondoker Mosharraf Hossain attended today's opening session. At the event he launched ten newly updated country-specific booklets produced by IOM Bangladesh under an ongoing DFID-funded project entitled "Remittance and Payments Partnership Project", which are used in pre-departure briefings of outgoing migrant workers.

For more information please contact:

Asif Munier
E-mail: amunier@iom.int

or

Marufa Akter
IOM Dhaka
Tel: +880.2.988.9765
E-mail: makter@iom.int

Nepal: Years of Terror, Then Broken Promises

(Kathmandu) - Investigate and Prosecute Killings and Torture From Decade of War Era
October 16, 2009

The Nepal government has failed to conduct credible investigations and to prosecute those responsible for thousands of extrajudicial killings, torture, and enforced disappearances three years after the end of the country's decade-long armed conflict, Human Rights Watch and Advocacy Forum said in a joint report released today.

The 47-page report, "Still Waiting for Justice: No End to Impunity in Nepal," calls for the government to investigate and prosecute those responsible for crimes committed during Nepal's armed conflict. A lack of political will and consensus, prevailing political instability, and a lack of progress in the peace process has meant the government has not delivered on its promises to prosecute these crimes, as set out in the 2006 peace agreement, Human Rights Watch and Advocacy Forum said.

"The politicians, police, prosecutors, and army are letting the people of Nepal down once again," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The government has had plenty of time to set the wheels in motion to prosecute the perpetrators, but all it has done is make empty promises."

The report is a follow-up to a 2008 report, "Waiting for Justice: Unpunished Crimes from Nepal's Armed Conflict," providing updates to the 62 cases of killings, disappearances, and torture between 2002 and 2006 that were documented in the first report. Most of the abuses in the report were carried out by security forces, but a couple involve Maoist rebels.

The families of those killed and disappeared have filed detailed complaints with the police seeking criminal investigations, but so far the Nepali justice system has failed miserably to respond to those complaints, Human Rights Watch and Advocacy Forum said.

In 10 of the 62 cases, the police have still refused to register the criminal complaints, sometimes in the face of a court order to do so. In 24 cases where the complaints were registered, there is no sign that investigations are being conducted. In approximately 13 cases police appear to have tried to pursue investigations by writing to relevant agencies to seek their cooperation to interview the alleged perpetrators. The army, Armed Force Police, and Maoists have refused to cooperate.

To date, not a single perpetrator has been brought to justice for grave human rights violations before a civilian court. Political parties have put pressure on the police not to investigate certain cases in order to protect their members. Police, prosecutors, and courts have devised multiple strategies to obstruct and delay justice, while institutions long opposed to accountability - most notably the Nepal Army - have dug in their heels and steadfastly refused to cooperate with ongoing police investigations.

"For too long, families of victims have had to fight for truth and justice, despite these repeated delays and obstacles," said Mandira Sharma, executive director of Advocacy Forum. "It's been a year since our last report, but police still refuse to follow court orders to file complaints."

The government has also failed to reform laws that impede effective criminal investigations into past violations, and there has been little progress in setting up the transitional justice mechanisms promised in the peace agreement, such as a commission of inquiry into disappearances and a truth and reconciliation commission.

In the report, Human Rights Watch and Advocacy Forum call on the government of Nepal to:

* Vigorously investigate and prosecute all persons responsible for abuses, including members of the security forces, in all 62 cases highlighted in this report, as well as other cases of human rights violations;
* Set up a special unit of senior police investigators, under the oversight of the Attorney General's Office to investigate cases against the Nepal Army and create an independent oversight body for the Nepal Police;
* Establish a truth and reconciliation commission and a commission of inquiry into disappearances in line with international standards that would preclude granting amnesty for serious human rights abuses.

The report also calls on influential international actors to promote reform of security forces, including the establishment of effective oversight and accountability mechanisms for the security forces and vetting procedures.

"The government should support the police to carry out these investigations and restore people's trust in the rule of law and state institutions," Adams said. "Donors should support security reform. If the political will is there nationally and internationally, then we can achieve justice."

Selected accounts from the report

"There is no justice in Nepal, no rule of law and no government but I want to see a Nepal where even the senior-most government officials cannot escape justice. The security officials must be punished; they are not employed to kill citizens. All those responsible for human rights violations must be brought to justice."

- Dhoj Dhami, uncle of Jaya Lal Dhami, killed by security forces in Kanchanpur District in February 2005

"When I filed a First Information Report with the police, I had hoped that my family would get justice; the accused would be punished and my family would receive compensation for the living and education of my children. Although it has been years since I started struggling for justice, nothing has happened yet. I have visited the police station many times but there has been no progress in investigation. I don't have much hope because I think the government is reluctant to provide justice."

- Bhumi Sara Thapa, mother of Dal Bahadur Thapa and Parbati Thapa, who were killed by security forces in Bardiya District in September 2002

"I once met Prachanda, [the chairman of Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)]. He promised that he would uncover the truth about my husband and then inform me, but I have received no information yet although I have tried to meet him again several times."

- Purnimaya Lama, wife of Arjun Lama, abducted by Maoists in April 2005

"Even after the Supreme Court's order of February 3, 2009, the District Police Office, Dhanusha has not registered the FIR according to law. Although I have visited the DPO at least on three different occasions and met the deputy superintendent and the superintendent of police there, there has not been any progress in the investigation of the case. I don't think the police are willing to work in accordance with the law."

-Jay Kishor Labh, father of Sanjeev Kumar Karna, who disappeared after being arrested by the police in October 2003

"There are many cases of human rights violations filed before the police. As the people implicated are often high-ranking officials, it is difficult to investigate the cases because of their influential positions."

-Sub-inspector of police in Pokhara, Kaski District, wishing to remain anonymous

Migrant workers face abuse in SKorea: Amnesty

By AP - SEOUL — Many migrant workers in South Korea are abused, trafficked for sexual exploitation or denied wages despite the introduction of rules for their protection, Amnesty International said Wednesday.

South Korea became one of the first Asian countries to recognise the rights of migrant workers when it implemented the Employment Permit System (EPS) in August 2004.

"Now, five years into the EPS work scheme, migrant workers in South Korea continue to be at risk of human rights abuses and many of the exploitative practices.... still persist," the rights group said in a report.

Norma Kang Muico, Amnesty's East Asia researcher, said the EPS was a good starting point.

"What is lacking is the implementation," she told a news conference. "There is not enough monitoring on workplaces... when abuses do take place, nothing is done to rectify them."

Migrant workers still incur large debts to pay exorbitant fees to brokers but find on arrival that jobs are different from what was promised back home, the report said.

They are barred from changing jobs without their employer's permission.

Amnesty said migrants often have to operate heavy machinery or work with dangerous chemicals with little or no training or protective equipment, and suffer a disproportionate number of industrial accidents.

"Interviews that we had with migrant workers (showed) that they all had some form of industrial accident" ranging from minor to quite severe, Muico said.

Women migrant workers are particularly at risk, the report said. "Many are sexually assaulted or harassed by the management or their co-workers."

At some entertainment venues including establishments in US military camp towns, women with entertainment visas were expected and at times forced to have sex with customers.

In one case, a 39-year-old Philippine woman identified only as JA was told by her promoter in the Philippines that she would be working as a singer.

"All I did was talk to customers -- American soldiers -- and get them to buy me drinks. I was forced to fill a drinks quota. That was my job. Upstairs, there were rooms with beds where customers could have sex with the bar girls," she was quoted as saying.

"The club owner tried to force me to have sex with the customers by threatening to send me back to the Philippines but I refused and told him that I would rather go back home," JA was quoted as saying.

The report said South Korea had about 680,000 low-skilled migrant workers in September 2008, mostly employed in manufacturing, construction, agriculture and other industries.

Most were Vietnamese, Filipinos, Thais or ethnic Koreans from China.

Of the total an estimated 220,000 were irregular workers and authorities had launched a "massive and sometimes violent" crackdown to try to halve this number by 2012.

Amnesty urged the government to carry out rigorous inspections to ensure migrants' rights are observed, to protect female migrant workers and to stamp out sexual exploitation and harassment.

It called on the government to allow irregulars to remain while seeking compensation for abuses by employers, and to ensure that immigration authorities obey the law when cracking down on illegals.

Stop the Repatriation of the Sri Lankan Refugees Now!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Urgent Appeal: 20 October 2009: Stop the Repatriation of the Sri Lankan Refugees Now!

SUARAM has received disturbing information that personnel from the Sri Lankan Embassy were at Pekan Nenas Immigration Detention Centre in Johor today. Four representatives from the Sri Lankan Embassy, including the Deputy High Commissioner, arrived at the detention centre at around 11.30am and they were forcing a group of Sri Lankan refugees to sign agreements for repatriation. The refugees refused to sign the agreements and the embassy personnel assaulted them by beating and kicking them to force them to sign the agreement.

The group being tortured by the Sri Lankan embassy personnel is part of a larger group of 108 Sri Lankan UNHCR recognised refugees detained at Pekan Nenas Immigration Detention Centre. Out of the 108 people, there are 10 women and 10 children. One of the women is in her 8th month of pregnancy.

One of the Sri Lankan women has been on a hunger strike since 13 October to protest her detention as a UNHCR cardholder. Today, another 9 women and 5 men will join her in the hunger strike.

The 108 refugees are part of 122 Sri Lankans who were arrested on 8 September 2009 at a hotel in Johor. The 108 refugees were sent to Pekan Nenas Immigration Detention Centre while the remaining 14 asylum seekers who did not have UNHCR cards were sent to Simpang Renggam Detention Centre. SUARAM has been told that the 122 Sri Lankans were initially living in Kuala Lumpur. They were approached by agents who promised them jobs in Johor Bahru in exchange for a fee.

In addition, SUARAM was informed that the Immigration Department denied SUHAKAM access into SUARAM. SUHAKAM was there to investigate into a complaint regarding the detention of 207 Sri Lankan asylum seekers and UNHCR recognised refugees.

SUARAM highly condemns the Sri Lankan Embassy for assaulting the refugees and forcing them to sign agreements for repatriation.

We also condemn the Malaysian Government for being an accomplice in the human rights violation by allowing the Sri Lankan Embassy to have access to UNHCR recognised refugees in the detention centre.

We demand that the Malaysian Government fully respects the international customary law of non-refoulement, which prohibits the return of people to places where they may face persecution or threats to their life or freedoms.

We demand that the 108 Sri Lankan refugees and all other UNHCR recognised refugees are released into UNHCR’s official care immediately. We also call upon the Malaysian Government to ensure that that all law enforcement agencies (in particular RELA, Police and Immigration) respect UNHCR documents and refrain from arresting holders of these documents.

Finally, we call upon the Immigration Department to allow SUHAKAM and UNHCR free and full access to immigration detention centres.


Released by,


Temme Lee

Coordinator


Urgent action needed:

Please write protest letters to the government and the police to express your strongest condemnation of the mistreatment of refugees. Please also demand the Malaysian Government to stop the repatriation of Sri Lankan refugees.


Please call and send your protest letters to:

Pekan Nanas Immigration Detention Depot

Pekan Nanas,

81500 Pontian, Johor

Tel : +607-6993577

Faks : +607-6993588



Dato' Abdul Rahman bin Othman

Director-General of Immigration Department,

Director-General’s Office,
Immigration Department of Malaysia Headquarters,

Level 7 (Podium),
No 15, Persiaran Perdana, Presint 2,
62550 Putrajaya,

Malaysia
Tel: +603-88801005

Fax: +603-88801201

E-Mail: kpi@imi.gov.my

Dato' Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak
Prime Minister of Malaysia,
Prime Minister's Office,
Main Block, Perdana Putra Building ,
Federal Government Administrative Centre,
62502 Putrajaya , MALAYSIA
Tel : 603-8888 8000
Fax : 603-8888 3444
E-Mail: ppm@pmo.gov.my

SAMPLE LETTER

[Letterhead of your organisation]

Dato' Abdul Rahman bin Othman

Director-General of Immigration Department,

Director-General’s Office,
Immigration Department of Malaysia Headquarters,

Level 7 (Podium),
No 15, Persiaran Perdana, Presint 2,
62550 Putrajaya,

Malaysia
Tel: +603-88801005

Fax: +603-88801201

E-Mail: kpi@imi.gov.my

Dear Sir,

RE: Stop the Repatriation of the Sri Lankan Refugees Now

We are writing to you to express our outrage and our strongest condemnation over your government's treatment of Sri Lankan refugees in Malaysia.

We are appalled by your government and the Immigration Department’s latest action to allow the Sri Lankan Embassy to access Sri Lankan refugees that are detained at your detention centres. This is an outright violation of the right to seek asylum as enshrined under Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This is also an outright violation of the international customary law of non-refoulement, which prohibits the return of people to places where they may face persecution or threats to their life or freedoms

We demand that the 108 Sri Lankan refugees detained at Pekan Nanas Immigration Detention Centre are released immediately into the custody of UNHCR. We demand that UNHCR is given immediate and free access to register the remaining 14 asylum seekers detained at Simpang Renggam.

We demand that the Malaysian Government take measures protect the rights of refugees and asylum seekers who are currently in Malaysia and fully respect the principle of non-refoulement, as recommended by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), two UN Conventions of which Malaysia is party to.

We strongly urge you, once again, to stop bringing shame to Malaysia and to ratify 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol.

Yours sincerely,

[Name]

Indonesia bans maids recruitment to Kuwait

Monday, October 19, 2009

Published Date: October 15, 2009
By Ben Garcia, Staff writer
http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=NzAyNzQ0NjU3

UWAIT: The Indonesian Labor Ministry has temporarily suspended deployment of Indonesian housemaids to Kuwait. The decision was implemented in Jakarta by the Indonesian Ministry of Labor at least until the issues of some 600 runaway housemaids are resolved.

We are sad to issue this decision, but it is for the greater benefit of our workers," said Indonesian Ambassador to Kuwait and Bahrain, Faisal Ismail, as he spoke with the Kuwait Times yesterday about the new development. "The Ministry of Labor in Jakarta implemented the order in mid-September. We currently have around 600 runaway housemaids at our embassy. They have issues that need to be resolved, and although the government of Kuwait has been very helpful, until their concerns are resolved we have to temporarily suspend deployment," said ambassador Ismail. "We shall enforce the order and we'll do our best to help our compatriots resolve their cases in Kuwait.

Ismail said more improvements when it comes to their worker's welfare in Kuwait were needed in order to scrap the new suspension order. "If Kuwait shows more improvements in how they can protect our workers and resolve our domestic laborers' issues, then we shall deploy workers once more. It has something to do with the improvement in treatment and conditions with regards to our workers. Yes, the issues here are many, but they are helping us. Meanwhile, the moratorium will continue until a new order comes
from our Ministry of Labor," he reiterated.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Ismail mentioned the complete termination of their previous cooperation with the Kuwait Union for Domestic Labor Offices (KUDLO) since their problems could not be settled by KUDLO alone. Months ago, KUDLO was accused by several local recruitment agencies of monopolizing the Indonesian domestic labor market. They promised that issues of Indonesian housemaids could be settled under their scheme, but they failed. KUDLO represents about 13 recruitment agencies against more than 400 other
agencies not associated or connected with KUDLO.

We already cut the cooperation agreement with KUDLO with regards to exclusive recruitment of our workers. As you know, there have been numerous oppositions to that scheme, and besides, they cannot resolve housemaid's cases alone," he said. There are around 80,000 Indonesians in Kuwait, of which 60,000 are engaged in domestic labor.

Govt demanded to ratify UN convention

Written and published by The Jakarta Post, Fri, 10/16/2009 2:36 PM and can be found at http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/10/16/govt-demanded-ratify-un-convention.html

The National Commission for Women has urged the government to ratify the 1990 UN Convention on female migrant worker protection to look after millions of Indonesian female migrant workers.

The organization's commissioner, Sri Wiyanti Eddyono, said recently the government signed the UN convention but was yet to approve it - even though the country had migrant workers in numerous countries since the 1980s.

Sri said the government issued a law on the protection of workers abroad. She said it regulated most labor-supplying companies, and prevented labor smuggling and illegal migrants.

According to Sri, if the UN convention was ratified it could be a legal base for female migrant workers to settle disputes with employers, and demand their wage, work hours and leave rights were met.

The chairman of the National Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers, Jumhur Hidayat, admitted the government was yet to commit to protecting migrant workers, which the Constitution should guarantee.

"The convention has not seriously been considered by the government," he said. Jumhur also said he expected the next minister to propose the convention be ratified.

It was claimed the government had declined to ratify the UN convention since countries employing Indonesian workers had not yet authorized it.

Sri said Indonesia should not supply workers to countries that refused to ratify the convention.

He also said female Indonesian migrant workers consistently filed physical and sexual assault complaints they experienced in their workplaces abroad."Some employers also take their employees' passports. This means they cannot leave the country, even though they have been abused and exploited," she said.

Jumhur also said many female migrant workers who suffered from mistreatment were domestic workers. He added a great number of female migrant workers from Indonesia had suffered from abuse while some had died as a consequence. He said most domestic workers were regulated by the domestic workers law - not the labor law.

Indonesia has signed a bilateral agreement with Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and South Korea to prevent abuse in the workplace.

However, labor abuse is rife in countries that have not deployed regulation to protect employees' rights in the workplace.

MYANMAR: Burmese migrants struggle in Malaysia



PENANG, 14 October 2009 (IRIN) - In the tourist city of Penang in northern Malaysia, the Buddhist temple has become the locus of social and economic support for migrants from Myanmar.

"l was a contractor at home, but left Burma [Myanmar] 19 years ago, arriving in Malaysia after crossing from Thailand," said Aung Tin, a foreman on the construction site of a new pagoda.

Penang is one of Malaysia's main economic and industrial centres, and the Burmese Buddhist temple provides social and religious support for the Burmese community.

At the construction site, all 14 staff supervised by Aung Tin - who would only talk to IRIN using a pseudonym - are Burmese migrants.

"I left as soon as I could after the 1990 elections," said Aung Tin. "The economic situation in the country was bad for years before then, and I had not been able to generate enough work. When I saw that the army was going to keep things the same, it became clear that I could not make a living,"

In 1990, Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won the last election held in Myanmar, but the military rulers overturned the result, and have run the country since.

Aung Tin left behind a wife and two sons, whom he has not seen since. His boys are now grown up, and like their father, want to leave their home country.

When Cyclone Nargis devastated Myanmar in 2008, his family's home was one of more than three million destroyed. "All my money was sent home to help repair my house," he said.

Employment magnet

Myanmar is one of the most impoverished countries in the region, and ranks 138 out of 182 countries surveyed in the UN Development Programme's (UNDP) 2009 Human Development Report.

Limited employment prospects encourage many to look for opportunities in neighbouring countries. Thailand is the main destination for Burmese workers, but Malaysia is also favoured, along with Bangladesh and India, according to a 2008 UN report on migration in East and Southeast Asia.

Accurate figures of how many Burmese are leaving Myanmar are difficult to obtain because much of the movement is irregular, say civil society groups.

Malaysia is heavily dependent on foreign labour for its construction and plantation industries, and is a magnet for migrant workers in the region. According to government statistics, there were 92,020 registered Burmese workers in 2006, comprising 5 percent of the total registered workers.

Rights groups, however, say there are also thousands of unregistered Burmese in the country; the Kuala Lumpur-based Burma Workers' Rights Protection Committee estimates there are about 500,000 registered and unregistered migrants from Myanmar in Malaysia.

And as of May 2009, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said it had registered 50,000 people of concern from Myanmar, including refugees and asylum-seekers.

Under threat

Aung Tin's story is similar to those of many migrant workers in Malaysia. He had a work permit originally but has veered back and forth between legal and illegal status since.

Many Burmese find work at construction sites, factories and food outlets, according to Malaysian rights groups. If they were recruited or brought in to work at factories, they are often provided with accommodation. But while some employers provide proper living facilities, others force their workers to live in overcrowded and cramped conditions.

Rights groups say many Burmese migrants as well as refugees do not carry legal documents, and face arrest, detention and deportation by the Malaysian authorities.

Deportees, both migrant workers and refugees, are then vulnerable to human traffickers at the Malaysia-Thailand border, who demand huge sums of money to help them get back into Malaysia, they say.

"Another problem that the Burmese face is extortion from the police," said Temme Lee, refugee coordinator for Malaysian rights group Suaram.

"Due to their lack of proper documentation, Burmese are often stopped by police. The police threaten to arrest them and demand money from them," she told IRIN.

Despite his perilous and often haphazard situation, Aung Tin is one of the better-off migrants. He earns 50 Malaysian ringgit (US$14.80) per day as foreman at the construction project.

"The monks look after us here, and try to give us work," he said.

CARAM Asia Reaffirms its membership of the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network

Thursday, October 15, 2009

As a network committed to advocating for the rights of mobile populations, last year CARAM Asia was invited to attend the first Asia Pacific Consultation on Refugee Rights arranged by Forum Asia in order to increase the capacity and advocacy tools of local refugee groups. Following this consultation, participants agreed to form a loose regional network was formed known as the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN) to share information concerning ongoing issues.

Last week, CARAM Asia attended the second annual meeting of APRRN members which was held in Bangkok. This year’s meeting sought to build on the existing relationships formed last year, while simultaneously strengthening both the solidarity and communication within the membership. It is extremely positive to note that over the past year, the membership has increased by at least a 25%.

It is a testament to the members and the hard work of the steering committee, that the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) increased their own participation in this event. The UNHCR, led by the South East Asia Regional Coordinator Raymond Hall, agreed with the civil society delegation that there was a need to increase the lines of advocacy and communication of the two parties in order to best advocate for refugee rights in the area. Further means of lobbying states to adopt the 1951 Refugee Convention was also discussed as well as other issues that related to the mutual beneficial capacity of the two parties.

CARAM Asia used the opportunity to highlight the cross cutting issues facing both refugees and migrants including the right to health issues. Moreover the network was able to place a regional perspective on the treatment of mobile populations as well as to expand on our existing contacts within the field. Over the four days, wider issues were raised including the treatment in detention centres as well as the increased vulnerability faced by women and girls. As a member of this network CARAM Asia has continued its participation in both the Right to Health Working Group (RTHWG) as well as being a member of the geographical South East Asia team.

CARAM Asia will continue to work as a proud member of this new network in order to advocate for the rights of mobile populations especially those that relate to health and gender.

2nd Asia Pacific Consultation on Refugee Rights A Success

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

By Kitty McKinsey, In Bangkok, Thailand - UNHCR News Stories

BANGKOK, Thailand, October 12 2009 (UNHCR) – With more refugees on the move but few Asian countries giving them a warm welcome, representatives of civil society and non-governmental organizations from 19 Asian and Pacific countries have met in Thailand to strategize on how to press for greater refugee rights.

The second meeting of the UNHCR-backed Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN), which wrapped up last Saturday, brought together more than 100 individuals representing advocacy groups from a broad region where protection of refugees often depends on political discretion rather than written laws.

"Much of Asia is a vacuum in terms of asylum law and institutions," Raymond Hall, UNHCR's regional representative and regional coordinator for Southeast Asia, told the opening session. "Our strategy should be to encourage governments to change this and to take a greater degree of ownership over refugee protection.

"With large-scale irregular migration and increasing numbers of people seeking asylum, the day may come when governments close down the fragile protection space that does exist," he warned.

Groups within the APRRN campaign for an end to detention of refugees – a major problem in many Asian countries – and try to improve refugees' access to basic services, such as health care. They also fight to ensure refugees' access to legal aid, and look out for the rights of girls and women.

Eileen Pittaway, director of the Centre for Refugee Research in Australia, advised refugee advocates to be cautious in how they represent refugees: "We can assist them in making their voices heard, not speak for them."

Tom Vargas, UNHCR's Bangkok-based senior regional protection officer, said he was pleased with the growth of the network since its establishment a year ago in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. "We are very enthusiastic about working with them," he stressed. "They can add new impetus to advocacy for asylum-seekers at the national and regional level."

Vargas said the big change "is that NGOs have usually focused on the rights of their own nationals, but now they are fighting more for the rights of non-nationals, for refugees."

In a dialogue with UNHCR, representatives of the NGOs and civil society groups expressed concern that many refugees in Asia have trouble getting identity cards and are subject to arbitrary arrest and detention.

"We are functioning in a region," Hall agreed, "where asylum-seekers and refugees have little legal protection, and where an asylum-seeker is almost by definition an illegal immigrant in the eyes of the law."

OFW welfare group vs compulsory insurance

By Veronica Uy, (INQUIRER.net) 10/13/2009
Found at http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20091013-229848/OFW-welfare-group-vs-compulsory-insurance

MANILA, Philippines — The Center for Migrant Advocacy, which looks after the welfare of and policy issues concerning overseas Filipino workers, on Tuesday opposed the proposed law requiring compulsory insurance coverage for OFWs.

Members of the bicameral conference committee to amend Republic Act 8042 or the Migrant Workers Rights could not agree on this either.

CMA executive director Ellene Sana said that while the intention to cover all OFWs is good, it is bound to follow the fate of the $25 membership fee for Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

The fee is supposed to be paid by the employer, but is usually paid by the OFWs themselves.

Sana said the government—not private insurance companies, recruiters, or OFWs—should provide OFW protection.

She said the present voluntary insurance coverage should stay. The proposal “opens up another multi-million dollar insurance business at $75 per OFW. Madaming kikita ditto (Many will earn from this),” she said.

The proposed bill being discussed in the bicameral conference committee provides that in addition to performance bond by recruiter, each worker shall be covered by compulsory insurance policy at no cost to worker; $15,000 survivor’s benefit for accidental death; $10,000 for natural death; $7,500 for permanent total disability; repatriation cost in case of job termination or death; $100 a month in subsistence allowance benefit for six months for migrant worker involved in a case or litigation for protection of his or her rights in receiving country.

The bill also provides that claims resulting from employer’s liability to worker shall have an insurance coverage amounting to three months for every year of service.

In case of workers recruited through government-to-government mechanisms, the Philippine Overseas Employment
Administration shall provide a guarantee fund for monetary claims out of breach of contract.

Rehires and direct hires may get insurance coverage from employers or pay these themselves.

Hundreds protest plans to deport migrant workers, kids

By Dana Weiler-Pollak (Haaretz)found at http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1120969.html

Hundreds of people turned out yesterday in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to protest the cabinet's decision to deport 1,200 children of foreign workers and their parents next summer.

Yesterday morning social welfare organizations held a vigil in front of the Knesset as the legislators inside discussed the deportations. Another vigil was held at the same time across from the Interior Ministry building in Tel Aviv.

In the afternoon, several hundred demonstrators, marched along Ben Zion Boulevard in the center of Tel Aviv. Protesters called on cabinet ministers to "do what is moral, true and right" and grant the children legal status.

"As long as deportation is on the agenda, no matter the date, we'll keep on working," said Rotem Ilan of the Israeli Children organization, which organized the protests. "Those kids can't be living on hold, in permanent anxiety. Until the day arrives on which those 1,200 children, who are 100-percent Israelis, get a legal status, we won't stop."

Deeply engaged in the struggle is Noa Maiman, whose father is business tycoon Yossi Maiman. "Our connection to this is personal: It began when my grandmother, who is 95 and a Holocaust survivor, made us promise that we would take care of her "granddaughter" Pirita - her Peruvian caretaker's little girl," Maiman said.

"My grandmother is terrified about it and we all feared for our friends when the Oz deportation unit took to the streets," Maiman said, referring to the Oz task force created by the National Immigration Authority to locate and detain foreigners working in Israel without valid work permits.

"As the August deportation deadline drew near we prepared about 75 hiding places for children," Maiman continued. "I felt personally responsible. My grandmother was saved from the Holocaust by a Polish woman who hid her for two and a half years. I'm not making a comparison here, but there's this ongoing womanly grace happening here, and perhaps my grandmother is also trying, in her way, to pay the world back in kindness."

MKs and ministers yesterday also voiced their opposition to the plan. Education Minister Gideon Saar (Likud), said that "the interim decision of the prime minister must be extended until the of the year, and in the meantime a general policy must be fleshed out to avoid such situations in the future."

Saar's predecessor, MK Yuli Tamir (Labor), invited the leaders of the protesting organizations to the Knesset, and requested time for the issue at the session. "The cabinet's decision to leave those children just hanging in mid-air appears to me to be cruel and unseemly," she said. MK Haim Oron (Meretz) said the "brutal and shameful decision to deport children" shows that Interior Minister Eli Yishai of Shas and his colleagues "have forgotten what it is to be Jewish."

The Minister of Sports and Culture, Limor Livnat (Likud), said that if the decision to deport the children goes forward, she would formally protest it in the cabinet. "It's inconceivable that those kids, who know no other country but Israel, will spend their days terrified, horrified and hiding from immigration police," she said.

Channels for internal/international migrants must remain open for South Asians

Tuesday, October 13, 2009


http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2009/10/12/channels-internalinternational-migrants-must-remain-open-south-asians


By Manjari Peiris
Colombo, 13 October, (Asiantribune.com):


The UNDP Resident Representative in Sri Lanka, Neil Buhne, stressed the need to mainstream migration into the development strategy of any country, especially those countries where migration plays a large part in the economy, such as Sri Lanka, at the launching ceremony of 2009 Human Development Report (HDR) in Colombo, on 12th October 2009.

Buhne added that addressing mobility issues would accelerate progress of human development at individual, community, national and global levels. He further outlined the core package of policy reform described in the Report. “The reforms stress rights for migrants, ensure benefits for migrants and destination communities alike, making it easier for people to move.”

The Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare, S. Sirisena, while delivering the keynote address at the Report launch, provided an overview of the development of labour migration in Sri Lanka. “The Government of Sri Lanka is taking forward the National Labour Migration Policy and has placed a particular emphasis on increasing the migration of skilled workers and reducing the outflow of skilled workers, including women workers who are employed as housemaids.”

According to the HDR launched, migration within and across borders brings many benefits to South Asia, yet opportunities are often lost due to barriers and constraints to movement.

The Report shows that migration can have a significant impact on reducing poverty in a country. This identification is especially true for internal migration, since it is much easier for people from poor families to move within borders than across them. Internal migration far exceeds the number of people who have moved across country borders. There are problems as well; rapid urban growth often associated with internal migration can pose major challenges.

A review of urbanization experiences in South Asia commissioned for the Report finds that a number of governments continue to pursue policies aimed at slowing down internal migration.

Instead of viewing internal migration as a problem, the Report encourages South Asian countries to view it as a possible solution to development needs that can be managed. Many countries including Sri Lanka are linking migration policies to their strategies for reducing poverty.

Many migrant workers especially in Asia rely on commercial agents to organize job offers and make other arrangements such as housing. Overcoming Barriers in the Report, believes that the high fees which middlemen demand can be a problem, especially for low-skilled workers. The Report urges South Asian countries to consider ways to reduce these costs and combat corruption to ensure greater gains from movement.

The gains of migrants are often shared with their families and communities at home. In many instances, it is in the form of cash remittances. Remittances are very significant for several nations in the region, most notably in Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka where they constitute about 16%, 10% and 8% of the GDP, respectively. In 2007, US$ 2527 million in remittances were sent to Sri Lanka. The average remittances per person were US$ 131 compared with the average for South Asia of US$ 33. The families of migrants may benefit in other ways too.

These ‘social remittances’, as they are called, include reductions in fertility, higher school enrolment rates and the empowerment of women.

The latest Human Development Index (IHDI) is released as part of the 2009 Human Development Report which is an indicator of people’s well-being, combining measures of life expectancy, literacy, school enrolment and GDP per capita. The HDI of this year for Sri Lanka is 0.759 and it is ranked in the 102nd place out of 182 countries. Between 1980 and 2007 Sri Lanka’s HDI rose by 0.58% annually from 0.649 to 0.759 today. Sri Lanka is in 59th and 66th place respectively in terms of life expectancy at birth and adult literacy rate.

The event concluded with a panel discussion by experts on migration representing the Government, academia and the UN system. The panelists were Dr. Saman Kelegama of the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka, Dr. Fredrick Abeyratne of the UNDP, K.O.D.D. Fernando of the Bureau of Foreign Employment, Shantha Kulasekera of Migration Management, Gerald Lodwick of the National Workers Congress, Shyama Salgado of the Youth Employment and Gender Focal Point and Professor Indralal de Silva, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Colombo University.

A range of issues including migrant rights, national policies dealing with migration and contribution of migration towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals were discussed.

- Asian Tribune -

Migrant Workers Pay High Price to Work Abroad

Monday, October 12, 2009

Published by The Jakarta Post Monday, (October 12th, 2009)

Indonesian migrant workers have to pay agencies a year's salary to find employment in Taiwan, and about six months' salary to move to Malaysia or Singapore, states the 2009 Human Development Report launched on Monday.

Asian migrants moving to the Gulf often pay 25 to 30 percent of what they expect to earn over two to three years in recruitment and other type of fees, the report's lead author, Jeni Klugman, said.

She added that under the agreements struck between the governments of Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, recruitment fees were equivalent to four or five months' salary, processing time averaged about four months, and 15 per cent of wages were withheld pending the migrant's return home.

"In contrast, smugglers reportedly charge the equivalent of one month's salary. Given these differences, it is not surprising that only 26 percent of migrant workers in Thailand were registered in 2006."

The report, commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), showed that both internal and international migration involved extensive official documentation, which could inhibit mobility or lead to illegal migration.

While there are large numbers of licensed recruitment agencies, 1,500 in the Philippines and close to 2,000 in India, many ignore the legal caps set on fees charged for their services.

"The difference between wages at home and expected wages abroad is perhaps the most important determinant of the price of recruitment agency services," the report said.

"People with less skills and who are poorer are more likely to move. But with the current economic downturn, there has been a decrease in demand for migrant workers," the report says, adding that unequal opportunities were a major driver of economic migration.

Indonesia has an emigration rate of 0.9 percent. The major continent of destination for migrants from Indonesia is Asia with 77.5 percent emigrants living there.

The US is host to nearly 40 million international migrants - more than any other country. However, as a share of total population, Qatar has the most migrants - with more than 4 in every 5 person being a migrant. Indonesia has 135,600 representing 0.1 percent of the total population.

Remittances are unequally distributed. Of the total US$370 billion remitted in 2007, more than half went to countries in the medium-human-development category, against less than 1 percent to low-development countries. In 2007, Indonesia received $6,174 million in remittances, with an average remittance of $27 per person, compared to $108 for the OECD.

IOM Calls for Greater Efforts to Combat Health Inequalities for Migrants

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Posted on Friday, 25-09-2009

Portugal - IOM is calling for more concerted efforts in the fight against health inequalities faced by migrants at a two-day European-wide consultation that concludes 25 September in Lisbon.

With migrants more vulnerable to poor health and with reduced access to health care in comparison to host populations in Europe despite investments made by governments in their health and social systems, national and European institutions alike will need to pay more specific attention to migrants' health requirements.

Not leaving migrants to fall between the cracks and ensuring they have equitable access to health and social services is important for overall public health safety. As a result, IOM advocates for a multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral approach to avoid social exclusion and improve the health of all people including migrants.

The consultation - "Better Health for All" - which marks the second anniversary of a European conference on the same issue held under the Portuguese EU Presidency in 2007, has been organized by IOM and is hosted by the Office of the Portuguese High Commissioner for Health. It brings together more than 100 representatives from key organizations working on health issues in Europe, relevant ministries from EU and EU accession countries and neighbouring states with keynote speakers from the European Commission (EC), the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the Council of Europe and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The EU-Level Consultation is the culmination of an IOM-managed and EC co-funded project "Assisting Migrants and Communities" during which the Portuguese High Commissariat for Health and IOM have fostered cooperation and dialogue among multi-disciplinary actors. Beyond the Portuguese government, IOM has partnered in this initiative with leading European universities as well as the Spanish, Italian and Maltese governments to develop background papers on priority issues in migrant health as the basis for the consultation discussions.

Opened by IOM's Deputy Director-General, Laura Thompson, the consultation is expected to develop recommendations for translation into national and EU-level migration health policy and practice, as well as to identify areas where more data and research would be needed.

For further information on the EU-Level Consultation on Migration Health - "Better Health for All", please visit www.migrant-health-europe.org or contact:

Roumyana Benedict
E-mail: rpetrovabenedict@iom.int

or

Maria-Jose Peiro
IOM Brussels
E-mail: mpeiro@iom.int

UAE deports 1,500 HIV sufferers

The UAE deported more than 1,500 people with HIV, hepatitis B and C and tuberculosis in 2008, a new report said on Thursday and criticised many countries around the world for failure to protect sick migrants.

Those criticised included the United States, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and South Africa and the report urged governments to commit to the goal of universal access to HIV treatment for all who need it by 2010.

"With 192 million people - or 3 percent of the world's population - living outside their place of birth, ensuring migrants' and deportees' access to HIV treatment is absolutely essential to meeting this goal,” said Titise Kode, who works for African HIV Policy Network, which formed part of the multi-agency group that authored the study.

Saudi Arabia, which has mandatory HIV testing, also came under fire with the report claiming people were detained "for up to a year without access to medication" and HIV-positive migrants were deported.

The report offered no comparative figures for those deported because of HIV or other diseases around the globe or on a year-on-year basis.

"Migrants living with HIV are often explicitly excluded from treatment," said Katherine Todrys, researcher with the Health and Human Rights Division at Human Rights Watch. "If they are detained, they are often denied access to antiretroviral drugs, and then if deported they can’t get care."

The report said national deportation procedures were often insufficient to protect those with HIV from being forced to return to countries where there was a risk of being tortured or subjected to "cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment".

This happens despite long established international human rights and refugee law prohibiting such deportations, the report added.

The report also criticised the United States for poor access to treatment it offered to people in detention centres, as well as the "harsh conditions" and "lack of access to medical treatment for some HIV-positive individuals who are deported".

The multi-agency report was prepared by Human Rights Watch, Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe, the European AIDS Treatment Group and the African HIV Policy Network.

The group called on governments to ensure access to treatment for those awaiting deportation. It also urged the re-examination of deporting those with HIV to countries where treatment and social support structures were inadequate.

"Migrants face enormous risks when they cross borders," said David Hans-Ulrich Haerry, of the European AIDS Treatment Group.

"But they shouldn't face a death sentence for living with HIV when we have effective treatment available and governments worldwide have pledged to provide universal access to antiretroviral medicine and have committed themselves to international treaties that guarantee migrants protection."

Source: http://business.maktoob.com/20090000376082/UAE_deports_1_500_HIV_sufferers/Article.htm

Human Rights Groups Call for Protection of HIV-Positive Migrants

By Selah Hennessy (London) 24 September 2009

Human-rights groups have released a new report calling for governments to rethink deportation rules for people living with HIV and AIDS. In some countries migrants who suffer from HIV are automatically deported and in many countries across the globe no treatment is given to HIV-positive people in detention centers. A Human Rights Watch spokeswoman said the present policies amount to a death sentence for many migrants living with the virus.

Human-rights groups say governments and donors must make sure HIV-positive migrants have access to life-saving anti-retroviral therapy when detained and, if deported, that they have continued access to treatment.

Rebecca Schleifer from Human Rights Watch, a London-based group that worked on the report, spoke to VOA by phone. She says the treatment of HIV-positive migrants is a question of international law. "International law provides that states have the right to control their borders and decide who to admit or deport. But they need to make these decisions in compliance with international law, including international human-rights law and international refugee law, for example," she said.

She says many people suffering from HIV are being deported to countries where good HIV care is not ensured and this is, in effect, a death sentence. "In some cases people face deportation to countries where they face a possibility of inhumane treatment and in some cases torture should they be deported to that country. In some cases that is because the medical care is so inadequate that they will face death and there is no social support and in some cases there is also discrimination against people living with HIV," she said.

What is more, she says, there is no infrastructure to ensure that migrants suffering from HIV will receive continuous care. When treatment is not continuous, patients can easily build up an immunity to the drugs.

But Schleifer says the news is not all bad. She says some new cross-border migrant programs are emerging that focus on the need for continuous HIV treatment. "There have been hundreds of thousands of Zimbabwean refugees coming into South Africa over the past several years, many of whom have among other things serious health problems and some of whom have HIV. There have been discussions regionally among NGOs -and I am not sure how far this has gotten with particularly governments - about the importance of having a regional structure to address continuity of care for people who cross borders," she said.

The 27-page report was prepared by Human Rights Watch, Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe, the European AIDS Treatment Group, and the African HIV Policy network.

Researchers in Thailand say they have found a new vaccine which cuts the risk of HIV infection by a third. The breakthrough marks the first step towards protecting the world against the deadly virus.

Governments have committed themselves to the goal of universal access to HIV treatment by 2010.

SOURCE: http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-09-24-voa52.cfm

2nd clinical trial for China's HIV/AIDS vaccine

BEIJING, Sept. 27 -- China has conducted its second phase of clinical trials of a vaccine for HIV/AIDS. This is the first time experts are assessing the safety and efficiency of the vaccine in high-risk groups.

More than 230 volunteers took part in this second phase in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Scientists are expected to decide, based on results, whether to go ahead with a third phase of trials.

If a third phase is carried out, it will evaluate the vaccine's effectiveness on a large number of people.

China started research on a vaccine for the AIDS virus in 1996.

(Source: CCTV.com)

Coming out positive: Three Filipinos Living with HIV Making a Difference in ICAAP9

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

By Ana Santos, Contributor (Sunday, September 13, 2009)
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/sept/13/yehey/weekend/20090913week1.html

On the surface, Edna, a housewife; Jerico, a former OFW; and Jocelyn, a former waitress in Angeles City, may not seem like they have anything in common.

However different they may seem, there is one distinct point where their lives intertwine-Edna, Jerico and Jocelyn are all living with HIV.

At the recently concluded International AIDS Conference (ICAAP9) in Bali, Indonesia, the 2nd largest AIDS Conference in the world, these three Filipinos came out to share their stories of living with HIV.

Together, the three gave not only a face to the epidemic, but a voice to the everyday realities of living with it.

Edna, housewife and mother Edna, is a 38-year-old housewife.

When she met her husband, Romy, he was a seafarer whose journeys to other lands fascinated her. They married after a few years of dating and Romy continued his job as a seafarer, deployed to various parts of the world for long periods at a time.

Edna says that, at first, it was difficult to have Romy away so much, but after they started having children, it became easier to bear. She busied herself with taking care of the children and being both mother and father to them while Romy was at sea.

While they weren't rich, Edna says that they lived a pretty decent life on Romy's salary.

But in 2004, this all changed.

In that year, Romy met an accident while he was onboard the ship. When he was trying to fix a hydraulic jack, one of the pipes came loose and hit him. Romy was left with a huge wound in his upper abdomen. He was declared unfit to work and sent home when his ship docked in Amsterdam.

Back in the Philippines, Romy was operated on and his blood was tested.

A few weeks later, an epidemiologist told him his blood tested positive for HIV.

The implication of such news was a lot for Edna to bear. Romy thinks that he may have gotten infected during an encounter in Brazil where he had unprotected sex.

But the infidelity soon became the easier burden to bear.

Romy could no longer return to work so Edna had to assume the role of sole breadwinner of the family. In 2007, Edna also tested positive for HIV.

At first, I didn't want to be tested. Romy is the only man I've ever had contact with so I figured that if he was positive, I was positive, too.

According to a UNAIDS study entitled, HIV Transmission in Intimate Partner Relationships in Asia, there are an estimated 1.7 million women in Asia who are living with HIV. The study estimates that 90 percent of these women were infected by their longtime boyfriends or husbands.

However, being a seafarer may have also increased Romy's vulnerability to the virus.

A recent study showed that seafarers are three times more susceptible to the HIV, as compared to the general population.

Being far away from home compounded by the loneliness of being at sea makes seafarers seek offshore recreation through unprotected sexual encounters. Some may maintain a casual relationship with a commercial sex worker in different ports who may in turn be having simultaneous relationships with other male clients. The incidence of multiple concurrent partnerships adds to the seafarers vulnerability to HIV.

Edna's testimony at a forum held by the International Organization on Migration (IOM) was the preface for the launching of a new IOM program whose specific objective is to reduce HIV incidence in the maritime sector.

The program called, Global Partnership on HIV and Mobile Workers in the Maritime Sector is the first global multisectoral partnership that involves employers of seafarers, trade union organizations and international labor groups.

The Philippines, which deploys around 350,000 seafarers and supplies 20 percent of all seafarers globally, has been chosen to be the pilot country for this program.

Other members of this global partnership include: International Committee on Seafarers Welfare, International Labour Organization, International Maritime Health Association, International Shipping Federation and Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

Jerico, former OFW

Jerico was just about to live out his dream of working in a foreign country and celebrate his 30th birthday when he found out that he was HIV positive.

It was 2005 and Jerico had just moved to Dubai. He had gotten a job working in a food establishment and a HIV test was a prerequisite for an employment visa.

Even though I had a number of casual unprotected encounters with other men, I wasn't nervous about taking the test. I didn't think HIV was something that would happen to me. When they told me that I was positive, I thought it was the end of the world, recalls Jerico.

Being in a foreign country made matters worse for Jerico. Not only was he away from family and friends, he also had to contend with the HIV policy on migrant workers in a foreign country.

I was put in a quarantine area isolated from the rest of the hospital and then I was deported, he says.

While his dream of working abroad may have come to an end, Jerico found another way to make a difference. As an Area Coordinator of Pinoy Plus, a support group of people living with HIV/AIDS, he conducts pre-departure orientation seminars to OFWs.

Jerico is also a staunch advocate of policies that will protect the rights of migrant workers who are HIV positive. Drawing from his own experience, he has been invited to international conferences to give his personal testimony. Before ICAAP9, Jerico was in Switzerland speaking at a World Health Organization (WHO) forum about his experience.

Sharing my story has helped a lot in my healing. I used to think that I was dying and that there was no hope. I hope that I can be seen as proof that there is life after a positive diagnosis.

At ICAAP9, the Coordination of Action Research on AIDS and Mobility (CARAM Asia), a regional Malaysia-based NGO that investigates migration and health issues, called for the removal of mandatory HIV testing for migrant workers as a condition for entry, stay, or employment in their destination country.

According to CARAM's Asian Report on Mandatory Testing, standard practices such as securing explicit consent, provision of pre-test and post-test counseling, protection of confidentiality are often ignored due to various factors related to large-scale testing of migrants. Furthermore, CARAM called for a stop to the deportation of migrant workers who are HIV+ or have other treatable health conditions.

Jocelyn, former commercial sex worker

Jocelyn had just moved to Angeles City and was only 15 when a friend asked her is she wanted a job as a waitress.

I was very excited because I hadn't finished primary school and there was this opportunity to earn money and help my mother, she recalls.

Jocelyn paid a friend P100 for the use of her birth certificate that to show that she was 18 years old and started working as a waitress serving drinks to American servicemen.

After about a year, a friend introduced Jocelyn to a medicine that she insisted would make her feel good and forget all her problems. Jocelyn took it, not realizing that it was ecstasy.

Before taking ecstasy, Jocelyn says that she never went out with the customers. But once I started taking this medicine, I did not feel shy. I had no fear and felt that I was a strong woman who could take her of herself.

One month after taking ecstasy, Jocelyn lost her virginity.

She continued going out with customers after that. Jocelyn says that she started to earn a lot more money and for the first time in their life, she was eating three meals a day.

As part of the bars policy, Jocelyn underwent a smear test to check against STIs every week and an HIV anti-body test every six months.

In 1991, she got pregnant with her first son. She was only 17 years old. It was also the year when Mount Pinatubo erupted and all the American Air Force men moved out of Angeles City-including the father of Jocelyn's child.

Jocelyn decided to stop working to look after her son, but the difficulty of making ends meet as a single parent made her decide to go back to the bar in January 1994.

In March of that same year, she took an HIV anti body test even though she had had no partner for over a year. A couple of days later, she shared one night with a serviceman and became pregnant.

Jocelyn was told that she was HIV positive when she was pregnant with her second child.

I was terrified that my child would also be positive, but no one could give me any information. At the time, people had so many misconceptions about HIV. They wanted to burn people who had it, Jocelyn confesses.

Jocelyn says that she experienced discrimination and was treated as an outcast even by her own family when she told them that she had HIV. My brother wouldn't eat at the same table with me. He was afraid that he would get infected if he shared my glass or utensils.

She attributes the lack of understanding and information about HIV as the incendiary factor that nurses and provokes this discrimination.

My brother eventually made peace with me after he saw a woman living with HIV on TV.

In 2004, Jocelyn began working as a peer educator in a social hygiene clinic in Angeles City. Everyday she conducts seminars on STIs and HIV prevention for the new women from the provinces who come to Angeles City to work in the bars. The seminars are requirement for a work certificate.

On certain days, Jocelyn also provides counseling for women diagnosed with HIV.

Jocelyn is also part of Sister Plus, small group of HIV positive women in Angeles. Last year, they received funding and started a livelihood program. Every woman who is a member is entitled to receive P50,000; P20,000 for burial expenses that is really funny and P30,000 to start a small business, she explains.

Jocelyn used the money to put up a small sari-sari store in her house.

After much inner turmoil and guilt for possibly passing on the infection to her second son, in 2005, Jocelyn finally had him tested. She was relieved to find out that he was negative.

Now my life is some much better than before. It was a hard life, but I am happy because I feel like I have broken through a wall, says Jocelyn. I have no regrets.

Jocelyn's story, as told here, is featured in a book entitled Diamonds a compilation of 10 stories of women living with HIV in the Southeast Asia Region. The story of a 12-year-old girl from India is also included in the book.

Diamonds is published by the women's working groups of APN+ (Asia Pacific Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS) in collaboration with UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women).

The book also has a DVD version with the same title.

A book launch and a DVD screening were done for the first time at ICAAP9.

During the launch, writer/editor Susan Paxton said, Ten years ago, very few people would come out and say that they were HIV+. Most of the time, the ones who would speak about it were men. Diamonds is monumental because now, we not only have live testimonials with faces, but testimonials from these very brave women living with HIV.