As the Right of Abode debate heats up in Hong Kong, the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM) would like to make its stand clear: we believe the principal issue at hand is not the unequal application of the Right of Abode law itself, but the Hong Kong government’s long-running policy of social exclusion vis-à-vis the city’s migrant workers.
Barring the territory’s 200,000-odd foreign domestic workers (FDWs) from this statute’s coverage is just one of the Hong Kong government’s many discriminatory acts against migrant workers. Others have been the New Conditions of Stay, the ban on Nepali migrants and the exclusion of FDWs from the Statutory Minimum Wage. Such cases of institutionalized social exclusion cast doubt on the Legislative Council’s ability to uphold international standards on human rights and labor migration, and also give it the dubious distinction of being one of the most anti-migrant parliaments in East Asia. This, despite governing a constituency that has been heavily dependent on the underpaid ministrations of FDWs for the last three decades.
The Second General Assembly of the International Migrants Alliance, held on July 3-4 2011, was concluded with an even stronger commitment from its member and participating organizations from across the globe to continue building and strengthening an international movement of migrants and refugees against imperialism.
“We are workers, we are not slaves!” “Si, se puede! (Yes, it is possible!)” “Long live international solidarity!” – these slogans and more reverberated throughout the hall of the momentous event that was aptly themed, “Strengthen and Expand our Movement: Migrants, Resist Intensified Imperialist Attacks, Achieve Victories in Our Struggle.”
One hundred thirty-three participants from 23 countries attended the General Assembly. These countries and territories are Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Canada, Denmark, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Macau, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Senegal, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan and the United States of America.
The Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM) welcomes the recent adoption of the Domestic Workers’ Convention through the appropriate International Labour Organization (ILO) Committee. We see this as a promising development towards the much-desired passage of this Convention in the June 15-16 plenary of the ongoing International Labour Convention (ILC) in Geneva, Switzerland.
While this is indeed a milestone of sorts in the long advocacy of domestic workers for international statutes that formally guarantee their rights, it also reveals the obstacles that need to be hurdled in the short term and the hard work ahead that needs to be done in the long term. What the heated debate that preceded the Committee adoption forebodes is that the much sought-after plenary approval will not be a walk in the park, and that EU member representatives will be exerting their utmost to derail the proposed Convention’s passage through plenary. Furthermore, our long experience with international standards tells us that even with the approval of this Convention, governments on both ends of the migration divide will need to accede to it, promulgate pertinent laws that accord to it, and provide the necessary political muscle to implement and enforce such laws.
The Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM) led a picket protest at the South Korean Consulate today, February 25, 2011, condemning its government’s move to revoke Michel Catuira’s visa and have her deported back to the Philippines.
Michel is the current chairperson of the Migrants Trade Union (MTU), one of the leading migrants’ organizations in South Korea. She is probably one of the recent leaders with a valid employment visa as her predecessors have been undocumented migrants. For being a militant and pro-migrant organization, MTU has been an easy target of the South Korean government as many of its leaders in the past have been arrested.
Statement of the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants on International Migrants Day 2010
The Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants expresses its solidarity with migrants and migrant workers in commemorating the International Migrants Day.
As the world and many countries in Asia Pacific region suff er from the brunt of global economic crisis, this year’s commemoration is even more significant for immigrants, migrant workers and refugees to strengthen solidarity and resistance against jobs insecurity, human rights violations, discrimination and all forms of exploitation.
