This roundtable is a T20 Japan associated event.
Time of event
09:00–18:00
Background
In 2015, over 40% of all migrants globally originated from Asia. Indeed, migration from, to, and within Asia has predominated internationally for decades. This trend has been driven by temporary labor movements to Gulf countries and OECD member countries, as well as intra-ASEAN and East Asia migration.
With the increasing movement of people across borders, the international community has become increasingly involved in the process to ensure humane and beneficial migration through sound regulatory measures. Imperative frameworks of reference include the Sustainable Development Goals and the first-ever Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, adopted at the Intergovernmental Conference on 10-11 December 2018 in Marrakech, Morocco. Other international commitments include the 2017 ASEAN Consensus on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers, adopted by ASEAN leaders, and the Group of Twenty (G20) Leaders’ Declaration that calls for continued dialogue on labor migration issues.
While there are well-functioning migration corridors and many good migration practices in Asia, not all labor migration here at present is safe, orderly, regular, or fair. In addition, irregular migration often occurs alongside regular migration with the help of unregulated private Labor Market Intermediaries such as recruitment agency and informal labor brokers, putting migrant workers in vulnerable positions. Moreover, migration corridors and sectors of employment are gender imbalanced. The growing pace of domestic-worker migration within the region, coupled with rapidly aging populations in some East and Southeast Asian countries, especially requires greater gender-responsive labor migration policy.
Against this backdrop, the 9th ADBI-OECD-ILO roundtable on labor migration in Asia will address the following topics to develop innovative approaches to labor migration issues as well as to contribute to the design of well-functioning migration governance structures:
- Labor migration trends and policies in Asia
- New approaches to labor migration management in Japan
- The G20 agenda: aging population, the future of work and the role of labor migration in Asia
- Labor mobility, skills development and recognition
- Sectoral focus: domestic workers
Objectives
- To foster regional cooperation towards innovative approaches for the effective management of labor migration in Asia and the Pacific
- To promote discussion among government officials and experts, and share policy insights and country experiences related to labor migration
- To build the capacity of officials to design and implement innovative approaches to labor migration
Participants
- Government officials from agencies responsible for labor and/or migration policies. Around 25-30 government officials from 15 ADB Developing Member Countries (TBD) as well as 7-10 officials from OECD countries and around 10 officials from relevant Japanese organizations are expected to attend the roundtable.
- ADBI, OECD, and ILO staff and experts from global think tanks, academia, and Non-Governmental Organizations
Output
- Database and statistics on labor migration trends and labor market migration policies and regulations
- Policy briefs and Labor Migration Report based on Roundtable proceedings and recommendations
- Presentation materials and other documents which will be uploaded on ADB, ADBI, ILO and OECD websites
How to register
By invitation only.
Partners
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and International Labour Organization (ILO)
Presentation materials
See presentation materials from this event on ADB Knowledge Events.