Cambodia hosts regional conference on women migrant workers' rights

The two-day regional conference on human rights instruments, international labor standards, and women migrant workers' rights was held here on Tuesday, aiming at ensuring the protection of women migrant workers and to guarantee their access to justice, according a joint media release on Tuesday.

The conference brought together around 120 delegates, including 35 government officials from 12 countries of origin and destination of women migrant workers across Asia, as well as representatives of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), non-governmental organizations, trade unions, recruitment agencies, and women migrant workers themselves, the press release said.

The forum was co-organized by the United Nations Women, Cambodian Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training, Ministry of Women's Affairs, and Ministry of Interior, in collaboration with the International Labor Organization.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Cambodian Minister of Labor and Vocational Training Vong Sauth said the conference would involve a dynamic exchange of good practices, and will develop concrete next steps to strengthen national migration management frameworks to truly empower women migrant workers.

"The conference aims at discussing ways to ensure the protection of women migrant workers and to guarantee their access to justice," he said.

Currently, Cambodia has 124,889 laborers been working legally in Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea and Japan. Those migrant workers have sent home about $200 million a year, according to the Ministry of Labor.

(2012-09-04/globaltimes)