Hossain Sohel: The European Union (EU), International Labour Organization (ILO) and UN Women organized a national Consultative Dialogue and discussed with key stakeholders women migrant workers’ rights and opportunities in Nay Pi Taw, Myanmar yesterday, reports UNB.
The consultation introduced the new ILO and UN Women “Safe and Fair” Programme to key partners and identify activities which could be undertaken in Myanmar building on the on-going efforts by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population and the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Settlement to promote safe and fair migration practices, including to promote the labour rights and end violence against migrant women.
Government authorities, embassies, labour organizations, overseas employment agencies, community-based organizations, INGOs and UN agencies elaborated a shared roadmap that will inspire the work in Myanmar over the next five years, said a joint statement.
The meeting ensured that the project aligns with country and ASEAN level priorities, and international legal frameworks on migration, anti- trafficking, ending violence against women, and promoting women’s rights.
This national Consultative Dialogue is part of a series of ten national consultations being held in each ASEAN country.
Women migrant workers are contributing to the development and economies of both the country they work in and Myanmar, including sending significant amounts of money home and bringing back skills and contacts.
The Myanmar 2014 Population Census through backward projection methods, estimated that a total of 4.25 million persons (nearly 20 per cent of the Myanmar labour force) were living abroad.
According to the World Bank’s Migration and Remittances Factbook 2016, Myanmar migrants remitted USD3.5 billion to Myanmar in 2015, nearly five per cent of the country’s gross domestic product.