Rights of Migrant Workers

The treatment of people moving across borders to live and work represents one of the key policy and human rights challenges of our times.

Migrant workers and their families are vulnerable to a wide range of human rights abuses – at the hands of state officials, employers and others.

Human Rights and Migrant Workers – A Training Program for Advocates is a capacity building program brings together representatives from national human rights institutions, NGOs and trade unions in the Asia Pacific region.

A key goal is to encourage participants to work together to develop practical strategies to promote and protect the rights of migrant workers at the national and regional level.

Specifically, the training program:

• provides participants with an understanding of relevant international human rights, including the International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and relevant ILO conventions, and complaints processes
• examines the role and functions of national human rights institutions to protect and promote the rights of migrant workers
• discusses strategies to advance the rights of migrant workers through interaction with governments, the UN system and development agencies
• shares practical skills in advocacy, lobbying and working with the media.

The program is organised by the Diplomacy Training Program, an independent non-governmental organisation.

The APF has been a partner organisation in programs run in 2009 (Dili, Timor Leste) and 2010 (Lombok, Indonesia).

The APF is currently working with the Diplomacy Training Program to develop an Operational Guide for National Human Rights Institutions on the Rights of Migrant Workers.