Migrant Workers’ Rights
Ratification of UN convention on cards
The government would soon ratify the UN convention on migrant workers to ensure rights of the expatriate Bangladeshis, said Law Minister Shafique Ahmed yesterday.
“The law ministry has already given its opinion about the convention. Its ratification is now awaiting the cabinet nod,” he told a discussion on the UN convention on the protection of the rights of all migrant workers and members of their families.
Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) in association with Migrants Forum in Asia and Sussex University of UK organised the programme ahead of the International Migrants Day on December 18.
The minister said ratifying the convention will help protect the migrants’ rights through better regulatory framework in the overseas recruitment process.
So far, 44 countries ratified the convention, which was adopted by the UN in 1990 and came to effect in 2003. Bangladesh signed it in 1998.
Brushing aside the notion that ratifying the convention would create obstacles in labour recruitment abroad, Shafique said there is actually no fear of such nature.
“We shall enact necessary laws so that the recruiting agencies do not charge too much money from the outgoing workers and harass them,” he said.
Abdelhamid El Jamri, chairperson of the UN committee on the convention on migrant workers, said it is a major tool to protect rights of the migrants.
The phenomena of migration, trafficking and human trade have increased manifold now, he said, adding that the relevance of the convention has also increased.
Once a country ratifies the convention, it reports to the UN annually. This gives a comprehensive scenario of migration prompting the global body to take appropriate policies to address the problems in this regard, he noted.
Ratifying the UN tool, Bangladesh can benefit a lot, specially by making laws and practicing good migration habits and increasing regional cooperation, Jamri said.
Expatriates’ Welfare Secretary Dr Zafar Ahmed Khan said the government would enact necessary laws after ratification of the UN convention to bring discipline in the overseas recruitment process.
RMMRU Coordinator Dr CR Abrar said the government will be more responsible to ensure migrants’ welfare with the ratification of the convention.
RMMRU Chair Dr Tasneem Siddiqui said earlier there has been a lot of hindrance, specially from the recruiting agencies and bureaucracy, in ratifying the convention.
There was a notion that the convention would hamper international labour recruitment, which is not true, she said, adding that this would rather create an atmosphere where recruiting agencies can do better business under a legal framework.
Warbe Development Foundation Chairman Syed Saiful Haque, IMA Research Foundation Coordinator Anisur Rahman Khan, female migrants’ association BOMSA Coordinator Sumayia Islam also spoke.
