The Philippines has the most sophisticated labour-exporting model in the world; 1.8 million temporary workers were deployed in 2014 alone. While Filipino migrant workers contribute significantly to the national economy with the remittances they send home, this reliance on exporting labour raises an... Read more
As a vast region with myriad islands, peninsulas and ancient sea routes, maritime migration is part of Asia’s tradition. But it has become increasingly complex as refugees and irregular migrants move around the region by sea, challenging governments in the Asia-Pacific region to control their... Read more
In an era of unprecedented human mobility, migration from and within the Asia-Pacific region has assumed gendered dimensions, with implications for migration flows, trends and patterns. While gender roles, inequalities and relations affect who migrates, it also has significant implications for... Read more
Despite the political discourse on migration becoming an important issue in the global development agenda, the mental and physical health implications for left-behind children of migrant workers have received less attention. The current evidence base on the health impacts of labour migration, both... Read more
Climate change and environmental degradation are predicted to displace millions of people in the coming years, either directly or indirectly. This will lead to situations wherein the human rights of such populations could be threatened.
During the last seven years, many governments in the Asia-Pacific region have actively engaged in the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) as participants as well as leaders, driving its direction and continuity. The region’s engagement has clearly had an effect, judging on the themes... Read more
By September 2015, the Member States of the United Nations will have negotiated a set of sustainable development goals (SDGs) and subsidiary targets and indicators. These goals will frame a new international development agenda to replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which expire at the... Read more
In 2007, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed on an ambitious goal to fast track the creation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2015 which would transform the ASEAN region into a single market and production base. This transformation would be based on five core... Read more
International migration has occurred throughout history and regions of the world. Human mobility to, from and within Asia, however, has certain distinctive features, and Asia represents arguably the most dynamic region, with significant intra- and extra-regional migration and some countries being... Read more
Migrant health issues have risen on the agenda of policymakers in the Asia-Pacific region in recent years. The challenge now is how to translate the momentum generated at the highest levels of government into visible change on the ground.
Many Asian migrant workers, especially those working under... Read more
Media coverage of armed civil conflict rarely highlights the fact that temporary migrant workers often are among the innocent civilians who suffer, as occurred during the Libyan civil war. That conflict, which began in February 2011, resulted in the displacement and evacuation of migrants on a size... Read more
The Middle East represents one of the most sought-after and competitive labour markets in the world, with an estimated 10 million contract workers in the Gulf states alone – 70 per cent of whom are Asian.
