Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno LP Marsudi pushed for the protection of migrant workers at the regional level at a meeting of foreign ministers of the ASEAN member states.

At the meeting held in Kinabalu on January 28, Marsudi stressed on the importance of ensuring protection for migrant workers, especially in the ASEAN region, following the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).

"For Indonesia, the protection of migrant workers at the regional level would be effective if the ASEAN enforces a legal framework for the same," she said here on Wednesday.

According to the minister, Indonesias proposal was in line with the ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers, as well as the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration.

She also affirmed that Indonesia believed that the legal framework for migrant workers was important to meet the goals of the AEC.

"This instrument is also important for the protection of the rights and the dignity of more than six million migrant workers in the ASEAN region," she pointed out.

Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had affirmed that Indonesia will provide better protection to its migrant workers in the next five years.

According to Marsudi, Indonesia will only cooperate if the destination country of the migrant worker has national regulations that manage the protection of foreign laborers.

"The delivery of migrant workers can also be conducted if Indonesia has bilateral agreements with destination countries that promote the protection of Indonesian migrant workers," she noted.

In addition, she also mentioned that the protection of Indonesian migrant workers will be improved at the regional level, and would include the establishment of legal instruments of the ASEAN on the protection of and non-discrimination against migrant workers.
(Uu.A063/INE/KR-BSR/S012)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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