Consultation on “Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration” on 09th October, 2017 at CIRDAP Auditorium, Dhaka

Lawmakers, migrant rights activists and recruiting agents on Monday called upon the labour recipient countries and the international community for taking measures to ensure ‘protections and rights’ of migrant workers.

They also called for ensuring the migrant workers leading dignified life as human beings as they were contributing to development activities..

They made their urges at the multisectoral national consultation on Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, organized by Parliamentarians Caucus on Migration and Development, at the CIRDAP auditorium in the city.

Chairman of the Parliamentarians Caucus on Migration and Development Md Israfil Alam presided over the consultation which was addressed by lawmaker Hosene Ara Lutfa Dalia and top representatives from government, non-government and international organizations.

Speaking as chief guest, foreign secretary Shahidul Haque said that the migration has become a highly political issue in the globe and rights of migrants were being violated in the ways of migration and at the workplace in the countries of destinations.

‘As migrants are human being, so their rights should be protected,’ he said.

Shahidul Haque said that punitive measures against right violators should be taken in the global compact to be adopted by the UN for safe, orderly and regular migration.

Lawmaker Israfil Alam said that Bangladesh government along with the civil society members has raised the migrants’ issues in the United Nations seeking help of the international community to ensure the migrant workers at the destination countries.

‘As our migrants are suffering many problems abroad, so we have to raise the voices first,’ he said.

WARBE Development Foundation chairman Syed Saiful Haque who presented the draft recommendations for safe, orderly and regular migration said that the migrant workers should be sent abroad to work abroad under the bilateral agreements not on the basis of memorandum of understandings to ensure protection of their rights at destination countries.

He said that polices to be formulated in light of the global compact should have to be implemented properly with strict monitoring in Bangladesh to protect rights of migrants at home.

Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Program chairman Shakirul Islam said that Bangladesh government should take diplomatic measures to convince the European countries not to send back the undocumented Bangladeshi migrants.

He called the global leaders not consider migrants as security threat as they were contributing to the economic development with their labours and skills.

Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) joint secretary general Shameem Ahmed Chowdhury Noman said that Bangladesh has become the largest labour outsourcing country in the world.

‘The trend will continue in the next 10 years. So it is the time for Bangladesh to turn the huge population into skilled manpower with providing communicative proficiency to lead in the global labour market,’ he said.

Sarwar Binte Islam of Manusher Jonno Foundation said Bangladesh as sending country should take necessary policy to use the opportunities of manpower dividend.

Binoy Krishna Mallick. Executive Director of Rights Jessore said that the skilled workers should be sent abroad to reduce problems of migrants in the countries of origins and destinations.

He also called for taking measures to ensure migrants leading dignified life.

Films4Peace Foundation chairman Pervez Siddiqui, team leader of British Council PROKAS programme Catherine Cecil, National programme officer at International Labour Organizations Ruhnuma Salam Khan and executive committee member of Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit SN Azad also spoke at the meeting.