ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – The European Union (EU) in collaboration with the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) launched a new initiative entitled ‘PROTECT’ on Monday, 14 May 2024.
This project aims to strengthen the rights of women migrant workers, children and at-risk groups in Indonesia.
The three-year PROTECT project will promote decent work and reduce the vulnerability of those at risk by guaranteeing employment rights, preventing and addressing violence against women and children, human trafficking and migrant smuggling.
Led by Ida Fauziyah, Indonesian Minister of Manpower, the launch of the PROTECT project was held at Lapangan Banteng, Jakarta. In addition to theatrical performances by female migrant workers and consultative workshops, the launch features exhibitions demonstrating labor migration corridors along the migration cycle from before, during and after migration.
In 2023 alone, more than 270,000 Indonesians will migrate abroad, with more than half (61 percent) being women. They mostly seek employment in the fields of domestic work, care work, agricultural, plantation and manufacturing industries in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia. However, a large number of Indonesian migrant workers, especially in Malaysia, migrate through unofficial channels.
Furthermore, Indonesian migrant workers, especially those working in low-wage jobs, face many challenges, including labor exploitation, discriminatory laws and practices, human trafficking, violence, harassment and limited access to key services.
Women migrant workers also tend to work in the informal sector where they often experience short-term work opportunities and minimal social protection. In addition, children accompanying migrant workers also face a high risk of abuse, exploitation, trafficking and inadequate access to child protection services.
Ida Fauziyah welcomed this new initiative to increase national capacity and mechanisms for policy implementation, service provision and prevention efforts.
“Indonesia is committed to improving labor migration policies and governance to better protect its migrant workers, especially women. We established gender-responsive One-Stop Integrated Services in four districts. “Therefore, through this PROTECT initiative, we can continue to work together to support the Indonesian government’s priorities in protecting migrant workers and their families and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals,” he said.
Denis Chaibi, European Union Ambassador to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam, said people around the world were forced to leave their homes in search of a better life. However, women migrant workers and children face higher risks in transit and in their destination countries.
“Today marks an important step forward in our shared commitment to ensuring the rights of Indonesian women and children during labor migration by promoting sustainable migration policies. “Together with Indonesia and other partner countries in the region, we are working to foster opportunities for dignified work while reducing the vulnerabilities faced by women and children,” he said.
Given the importance of this new project for Indonesia, Simrin Singh, ILO Director for Indonesia and Timor-Leste, said labor migration is a driver of economic and social development in countries of origin and destination, providing benefits to migrant workers, communities and employers.
“Migration policies and governance approaches must be gender responsive, more inclusive and in line with international labor standards if we are to provide protection and access to decent work for migrant workers, which is very important for social justice,” he said.
“To break the cycle of exploitation and violence, protection of victims of human trafficking and smuggled migrants before and during the criminal justice process is crucial. “Under this new project, UNODC will build cooperation with law and justice enforcement in the region, ensuring that victims’ rights continue to be upheld and perpetrators of crimes are brought to justice,” said Erik van der Veen, Head of UNODC Indonesia.
The PROTECT project, which runs until December 2026, is the result of and lessons learned from two previous EU-funded projects: The ‘Safe and Fair: Realizing the rights and opportunities of women migrant workers in the ASEAN region’ project, implemented by the ILO and UN Women, in collaboration with UNODC in 2018 to 2023 and the ‘Protecting Children Affected by Migration in Southeast, South and Central Asia’ Project implemented by UNICEF in 2018 to 2022. (ATN)
Follow Us at Google News and WA Channel