JAKARTA,
Indonesia - The increasing number of Indonesians migrating overseas
to seek employment in the informal sector calls for better policies
and regulations to promote safe and fair migration, which in turn
would contribute to poverty reduction, gender equality and the
overall national development.
“Around 83% of the 400,000 Indonesian migrant workers are
women. Most are domestic workers. They suffer multiple discriminations
as women, as migrants and as domestic workers. They can give optimal
contributions to families and both sending and receiving countries
only if they work in a humane working condition and are protected,”
UNFPA Representative Dr. Zahidul Huque told participants of a
seminar, entitled “Migration and trafficking in Indonesia.”
The Thursday seminar, jointly organized by UNFPA and the Indonesian
Demographers Association (IPADI), is held to mark the worldwide
launch of UNFPA’s State of World Population 2006 Report.
The estimated remittance (the money that the migrant workers send
to their family in their hometown) amounts to a whopping US$2.4
billion annually and it’s a significant contributor to the
State Revenue. Other sources predict that the actual figure is
likely to be higher since it does not reflect the unrecorded remittance
of most illegal migrants, whose number far exceed the legal ones.
On the high prevalence of undocumented migrants, Director of Center
for Population and Policy, Gajah Mada University, Sukamdi said
that it’s an indication that the government has not yet
properly handle migration issues in the country. “In fact,
the undocumented migrants have to pay higher cost, compared to
the legal migrants,” he explained, while adding that the
legal recruitment and departure procedure should be made less
complicated and less expensive.
Findings of various studies reveal that Indonesian migrants suffer
from different types of abuse or violence from recruitment, placement
in destination countries and when they leave for their hometown.
International migrants are especially vulnerable to trafficking
and forced labor. Trafficking, which according to the police is
a lucrative illicit business, occurs when fraud, deception, debt
bondage due to very high recruitment fee, coercion and abduction
are involved.
Dr. Huque stressed that safe migration and prevention of trafficking
require collaboration among and strong commitment of the governments
in sending and receiving countries to uphold law and order.
Back in their hometown, migrant women act as an agent of change
as they introduce new ideas about women and women’s role
to the family and the community. As they have become self reliant
and economically empowered, these women lift their families out
of poverty, allowing the latter to enjoy education and health
care, said the United Nations Resident Coordinator Mr. Bo Asplund
in his speech.
Since migration is closely linked to opportunities in sending
countries, there is a need to promote national development in
various sectors and tackle poverty and other pressing population
issues. The United Nations has been supporting the Government
of Indonesia through various development programmes. The assistance
is designed to ensure sustainability by promoting equal opportunities
for both men and women to contribute optimally to the development
process. Equality in all aspects, Dr. Huque pointed out, is key
as it is the discriminative treatments in health care, education
and economic empowerment that drive people especially women and
girls to migrate overseas.
For further information, please contact:
Maria Endah Hulupi (Communications officer)
0815 1157 6660
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