Migration, Gender and

ASEAN Regional
Integration
Presentation to the Asian Development Bank

Andrew Billo
School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore

Monday, February 21, 2011

The views expressed in this paper are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the
Asian Development Bank (ADB), or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee
the accuracy of the data included in this paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. The
countries listed in this paper do not imply any view on ADB's part as to sovereignty or independent status or necessarily
conform to ADB's terminology.
Overview of migration flows
 Internal vs. International
 Rural to urban
 Rural to rural
 Intra-regional vs. Inter-regional
 Regular vs. Irregular
 Male vs. Female
 Migrants vs. mobile populations
Key Figures
 30% of the 191 million global migrants from Asia (UNDESA
2009)- other estimates put the total number of migrants
globally at over 200 million (IOM 2009)

 13.5 million labour migrants from the ASEAN region, 5 million

stay within ASEAN (ASEAN 2010)

 23% of Asia‟s population below the poverty line (UNESCAP

2008)

 “Feminization” of migration in the region, especially with

the economic downturn

 Indonesia and the Philippines are the only ASEAN states where
the majority of migrants are women
Net migration rate by country
Net Migration/per 1000 population (estimated) for
2000-2005

Sending Cambodia (.2), Indonesia (-.9), Laos (-4.1), Myanmar (-

4.2), Philippines (-2.2), Viet Nam (-.5)

Receiving Brunei (2.64), Malaysia (1.2), Singapore (6.7)

Both Thailand (4.4)

Source: World Population Prospectus, 2008, UN Population Division

Migration within ASEAN and further
abroad: Why?
Pull factors:
 Rapid and uneven economic growth
 International Media
 Improved transportation
Push factors:
 Limited economic opportunity in sending countries
 Political unrest
 Forced displacement/loss of livelihood opportunities:
conflict, climate change and other human induced
factors
 Dominant Gender Patterns of
Migration from and within ASEAN
 Female:
 Marriage Migrants
 Household Domestic Workers (HDWs)
 Factory workers
 Entertainers

 Male:
 Construction
 Shipping
 Fishing
 Industrial manufacturing
 Agriculture
Dominant Issues and Concerns, from a
gender perspective

 Exclusion of HDWs from coverage under

labour laws
 “It is not practical to regulate specific aspects of domestic
work, i.e. hours of work, work on a rest day, and on public
holidays.” MoM Singapore

 Trafficking in men
 Commercial brokering
 Asymmetric power relationship with
employers and migrant labour
Misinformation, false expectations
Dominant Issues and Concerns, from a
gender perspective (Cont.)

 Family/sending community considerations

 Irregularities between domestic and international laws

 Health challenges, particularly from a gender

perspective
 Penalisation for pregnancy
 Insurance

 Criminalisation/Prosecution issues
 Length of time of court cases; limited Embassy resources;
Lack of gender awareness in law enforcement
Specific regional issues needing to be
addressed

 Embeddedness of exploitation within the region

 Distrust between states: “primary impediment”

 Lack of intra-ministerial co-ordination

 Lack of inter-ministerial/inter-governmental co-

ordination

 Excessive focus on law enforcement aspects of

regulating migration

 Corruption: weak enforcement of existing laws

Overview of regional agreements
 COMMIT: Co-ordinated Mekong Ministerial Initiative
Against Trafficking
 Bali Process
 Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD),
Regional Preparatory Meeting (annual)
 ASEAN Plan of Action for Co-operation on Immigration
Matters (2000), ASEAN Declaration against TIP,
Particularly Women and Children (2004), ASEAN
Framework Agreement on Visa Exemption (2006),
 ASEAN Declaration on the Promotion of the Rights of
Migrant Workers and the ASEAN Committee on the
Implementation of the ASEAN Declaration…(2007)
ASEAN Declaration on the Promotion of the
Rights of Migrant Workers (2007):

 Explicitly excludes “undocumented

workers”
 “In accordance with national laws,
regulations, and policies”
 A “Good Practice” agreement (ILO 2007),
but lack of enforcement and commitment
to upholding the parameters of the
declaration
Problems of bilateral and unilateral
policy implementation

 Philippines minimum wage law for domestic workers

results in sub-contracting, irregular status of maids
working abroad

 Competition between states to open new labour

markets leads to a relaxing of labour standards

 In general, such arrangements do not foster extensive

co-operation, and lead to a search for a “less expensive,
more docile, less „rights conscious‟ worker” (IOM 2008)
Actionable steps toward improvement
 ASEAN Committee:
 Co-operation must include a concerted willingness to enforce
existing laws, and enforcement must include gender
considerations
 Develop strategies to regulate migration agencies as a first-step

 Civil society, particularly gender-specific groups, have a

critical role to play in determining effective outcomes

 Continued role of soft law (guidelines), as a realistic

alternative to binding agreements, coupled with state
responsibility

 Regional arbitration mechanism for hearing migrant

claims
Actionable Steps (Cont.)
 Consideration must be given to overall societal welfare,
not just economic impacts created by new migration --
Involve the private sector in providing affordable social
insurance as a protection measure

 Take national integration models, where they exist, and

adopt them at a regional level

 Expand notions of “citizenship” beyond nationality to

include migrants

 Focus on improving labour standards in the domestic

worker sector

 Shift from state control, to state responsibility

 Questions, Comments?
Andrew Billo | asbillo@gmail.com | +65.98646645

Mobility in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam