The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Nepal is set to host an international conference on cooperation between the national human rights institutions (NHRIs) for the protection and promotion of the rights of migrant workers in the Asia Pacific region. The two-day conference, scheduled to begin from November 26 in Kathmandu, is expected to see around 50 participants from various nations.

In the backdrop of the approaching conference, the NHRC on Wednesday organised a programme to exchange human rights issues currently engulfing migrant workers. During the programme, various stakeholders suggested the NHRC to raise the discussed issues at the conference. Speaking at the programme, NHRC members said that NHRIs could play an effective role through cross-country cooperation and use their network to communicate migrant workers’ issues between neighbouring and human resource-rich countries and transit and labour destinations.

The NHRC members said that international human rights and migration experts representing various governmental and non-governmental organisations will be invited as keynote speakers. “This is an initiative to safeguard the rights of migrants through common efforts,” said Gauri Pradhan, commissioner and spokesperson of the NHRC. Pradhan claimed that both Nepal and destination countries had so far given little attention to the rights of around 3 million Nepali migrant workers.

At a time when very few countries have ratified the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families 1990, stakeholders see the conference as an opportunity to draw attention towards the plight of migrant workers.

Published on: 8 November 2012 | The Kathmandu Post