VP NOLI CITES ROLE OF NGO COMMUNITY IN GLOBAL EFFORT TO PROTECT MIGRANTS
October 31, 2008

VICE President and Presidential Adviser on OFWs Noli 'Kabayan' De Castro cited the important role of non-government organizations in the international effort to protect migrants.

Delivering the closing message during the last day of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) recently (October 30), De Castro said the need for a strong non-government component in dealing with migration is as relevant as the collaboration at international level.

"In order to create an environment that will protect and empower migrants for development, the level of networking should not only be between countries and governments, or even among government agencies of different countries, but also between institutions of the state and civil society," De Castro said.

De Castro said policy makers worldwide should be able to engage non-government actors in all stages of the migration life-cycle.

He said all governments should work with NGOs to address the many challenges of migration and development and in setting up support programs for migrants and their families such as skills upgrading, and livelihood assistance.

During his speech, De Castro expressed his support to the recommendations of the NGO community as presented earlier in the plenary.

De Castro joined the NGO community in calling for governments to seriously undertake measures that will protect, support, and empower migrant workers abroad.

He also reiterated the Philippine government's commitment to the Manila call to action in the recently concluded international conference on gender, migration and development.

In particular, De Castro said the government intends to continue working towards the implementation of the gender-sensitive information dissemination and pre-departure programs for migrants, complete socio-economic and psychological reintegration of women migrants, legal protection for domestic workers, sex-disaggregated data on remittances, and stronger implementation of anti-trafficking laws.

"We urge other countries to do the same," he said.

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