{"id":1784,"date":"2016-08-10T09:35:21","date_gmt":"2016-08-10T09:35:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mfasia.org\/beta\/?page_id=1784"},"modified":"2026-10-09T15:42:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T07:42:15","slug":"policy-briefs","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mfasia.org\/migrantforumasia\/resources\/policy-briefs\/","title":{"rendered":"Policy Briefs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Policy Briefs<\/span> <\/span><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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Policy Briefs<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Cultivating the Right to Development: Migrant Agency, Structural Inclusions, and Transnational Peacebuilding<\/span> <\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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This document contains the consolidated reflections and Inputs from the Migrant Workers\u2019 Consultation with Surya Deva, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development. The consultation was convened by Migrant Forum in Asia.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Persistent Challenges in Social Protection<\/span> <\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Migrant workers continue to face major barriers in accessing compensation for workplace injury and death, even where legal protections formally exist. While many labour systems recognise employer liability for work-related injury and death, effective access to compensation remains highly uneven in practice.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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MFA 30th Policy Brief Series No. 5<\/span> <\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Migrant workers are a vital engine of economic growth in many countries, yet they consistently remain among the most vulnerable segments of the labour force. Without robust safeguards, these workers face wage theft, hazardous working conditions, and the risk of being excluded from social protection systems.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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MFA 30th Policy Brief Series No. 4<\/span> <\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Wage theft remains a persistent issue due to structural factors embedded in modern socio-economic systems, resurfacing with particular intensity during periods of crisis, as seen most recently during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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MFA 30th Policy Brief Series No. 3<\/span> <\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The global narrative surrounding regular migration pathways presents them as the humane alternative to irregular migration – a solution that promises order, safety, and mutual benefit. However, from the perspective of civil society organizations and migrant rights advocates, particularly in the Global South, this narrative obscures a much harsher reality.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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MFA 30th Policy Brief Series No. 2<\/span> <\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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South Korea\u2019s Seasonal Worker Program (SWP), enforced by the Ministry of Justice since its full implementation in 2017, was conceived as a strategic response to acute labor shortages in rural areas, particularly in the agriculture and fisheries sectors.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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MFA 30th Policy Brief Series No. 1<\/span> <\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A growing crisis is unfolding as criminal organizations systematically exploit migrant workers, coercing them into illicit activities such as cyber fraud, online gambling, and cryptocurrency scams. The issue is a global problem.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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COVID-19, Long-Term Care, and Migration in Asia<\/span> <\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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COVID-19, Long-Term Care, and Migration in Asia Countries throughout Asia are experiencing rapidly aging populations and increasing life expectancy, leading to a large and growing demand for long-term care (LTC) services. Despite the shift to providing care within communities and at home, governments are struggling to provide enough LTC to meet demand. A large part of the constraint is the lack of available workers. While many countries in the region have migration schemes to bring in LTC workers, they are insufficient. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic has had an outsized impact on older people throughout the region, and has […]<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Policy Brief No. 5 | Japan’s Specialized Skilled Worker Visa Scheme<\/span> <\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Policy Brief No. 5 Japan’s Specialized Skilled Worker Visa Scheme Last September 2021, a consultation between Migrant Forum in Asia and Solidarity Network with Migrants Japan was held to brief MFA members on the new visa scheme of Japan. The Specified Skilled Worker Visa scheme, put into effect in April 2019, is reflective of the country’s shift to more open immigration policies. Part of the discussion was its parallelism to the existing Technical Intern Training Program, along with the realities and gaps between the two. Read more in the policy brief on Japan’s Specialized Skilled Worker Visa Scheme here: Japan’s Specialized […]<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Policy Brief No. 3 and 4, 2021 | South Asia Studies on Wage Theft<\/span> <\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Policy Brief No. 3 and 4, 2021 South Asia Studies on Wage Theft Last 18 July, MFA, together with the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) Bangladesh, The International Institute of Migration and Development (IIMAD) India, and the South Asia Regional Trade Union Council (SARTUC) Nepal, held the “South Asian Perspectives on Wage Theft and Access to Justice: A Virtual Launch of Wage Theft studies in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal” as part of the month-long celebration of the one-year anniversary of the Justice for Wage Theft campaign. We are pleased to share with you the two policy briefs developed by […]<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Policy Brief No. 2, 2021 | Inclusion of Vulnerable Migrant Groups in COVID-19 Vaccination Strategies in Bahrain<\/span> <\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Policy Brief No. 2, 2021 Inclusion of Vulnerable Migrant Groups in COVID-19 Vaccination Strategies in Bahrain The COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread changes in the area of labour migration \u2013 with the impact upon migrant workers\u2019 jobs and lives as well as those of their families. While the initial focus of countries of destination (COD) were to control the spread of the virus, migrant workers were seen as being disproportionately affected. In a larger sense, the sudden economic downturn and ensuing changes in the labour market led to large-scale layoffs and various other labour issues while at the most basic level, migrant […]<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Policy Brief No. 1, 2021 | Inclusion of Vulnerable Migrant Groups in COVID-19 Vaccination Strategies in the UAE<\/span> <\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Policy Brief No. 1, 2021 Inclusion of Vulnerable Migrant Groups in COVID-19 Vaccination Strategies in the UAE The COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread changes in the area of labour migration \u2013 with the impact upon migrant workers\u2019 jobs and lives as well as those of their families. While the initial focus of countries of destination (COD) were to control the spread of the virus, migrant workers were seen as being disproportionately affected. In a larger sense, the sudden economic downturn and ensuing changes in the labour market led to large-scale layoffs and various other labour issues while at the most basic level, […]<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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GCM Policy Brief Series No. 13 | Immigration Detention: Are Alternatives to Detention Alternatives at All?<\/span> <\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Immigration Detention: Are Alternatives to Detention Alternatives at All? GCM Policy Brief Series No. 13\/ Feb 2021 Immigration detention is a widespread administrative procedure that results in the deprivation of migrants\u2019 liberty. Frequently, individuals are incarcerated in confined facilities in conditions often resembling those of criminal prisons, if not in prisons themselves. Immigration detention can be exercised for a variety of reasons, usually left to the discretion of public authorities and border police. These include: whilst awaiting the execution of removal orders; to establish someone\u2019s identity upon arrival; to prevent absconding whilst an immigration or asylum claim is being processed; when […]<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Policy Brief No.4 | Migration and Inclusive Democracy: Impact of COVID-19 in Asia<\/span> <\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Policy Brief No.4 Migration and Inclusive Democracy: Impact of COVID-19 in Asia   BACKGROUND On 23rd April 2020, the UN Secretary General HE Antonio Guterres referred to the pandemic, in a video message, as causing \u2018economic crisis, social crisis, human crisis and human rights crisis\u2019. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about significant changes in migration governance and has reoriented state and society focus upon immigrant and emigrant populations. Issues that prevailed in labour migration governance regarding the access and opportunity of services and pathways to redressal for migrant workers have taken immediate precedence among all stakeholders. However, civil society and migrant […]<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Policy Brief No.3 | The New Social Contract: CSO Reflections<\/span> <\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Policy Brief No.3 The New Social Contract: CSO Reflections BACKGROUND The coronavirus pandemic has exposed the flaws and gaps present in development governance of every government around the world. The flaws and gaps have been further exacerbated for migrant workers and irregular migrants in several countries of destination, now struggling to extend basic services for all in attempts to control the spread of the virus. Currently, multiple stakeholders are looking at improving existing social contracts in their fields as the incapacity of state bodies to handle the crisis has laid bare several forms of inefficiencies. A social contract can be understood […]<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Policy Brief | GCM Objective 5 Which way forward on GCM Implementation in the era of COVID-19?<\/span> <\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Which way forward on GCM Implementation in the era of COVID-19? Objective 5 and International Cooperation are the keys. Building on weekly discussions with stakeholders in the context of the \u201cGlobal Review of the Implementation of the Global Compact for Migration\u201d webinar series,[1] we propose an implementation strategy that takes Objective 5, \u201cEnhance availability and flexibility of pathways for regular migration\u201d as its keystone.   Taking Stock and Looking Forward\u00a0 This is a critical moment for the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM). The two-year anniversary of the adoption of the GCM is fast approaching, and the first […]<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Policy Brief No.2 Transitional Justice for Migrant Workers: Responsibilities of Business<\/span> <\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Transitional Justice for Migrant Workers: Responsibilities of Business BACKGROUND Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of migrant workers have been repatriated back to their home countries with months of unpaid wages and benefits due. The issue of wage theft is endemic for migrant workers which has been further exacerbated by the current crisis. To aggravate the situation, migrant workers being repatriated have not been given any opportunity to lodge claims against the abuse, decimating their right to access justice. Wage theft is a violation of labour rights. Each year millions of dollars are lost in potential remittances due to […]<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Policy Brief No. 1 Justice for Migrant Workers: Creating an Effective Solution to Address Wage Theft<\/span> <\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Justice for migrant workers: creating an effective solution to address wage theft This brief has been developed with the aim of providing an overview of the problem of wage theft and highlight the urgent need to address it, putting an end to its perpetration and stopping condoning the impunity of those who exercise it. Among others, the document raises the attention to the need of creating an international justice mechanism, that enables the rapid processing of migrant workers\u2019 wage theft claims and ensures they are returned the money they are owed as soon as possible. Whilst the problem of wage theft […]<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Policy Document No. 3: Between Peril and a Pandemic: Accountable Actions and Recognizing Responsibility<\/span> <\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The current pandemic has caused wide-reaching changes in the economies and society of both countries of origin and destination. As governments slowly come to terms with lockdown measures through adaptive and dynamic policymaking, they are looking not only at the near future to address the immediate public health emergency and provide relief to the affected populations; they also look towards strategic directions in the long term wherein the \u201cnew normal\u201d is increasingly characterized by economic crises, global pandemics, adverse climate change impacts, social upheavals or other large-scale disruptions. In all this, the issues of migrant labour become critical, both for the […]<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Policy Brief: Providing Shelter for Distressed Migrant Workers: A Rights-Based Approach<\/span> <\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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This policy paper will focus only on shelters in receiving countries given there are different complex issues for those located in sending countries related to long-term reintegration. However it is important to note that wherever possible the development of a transnational relationship\u00a0between shelters (and\/or migrant rights CSOs) in sending and receiving countries can prove beneficial to migrant workers given the inter-relational nature of their problems. To access the files related to this report, click the links below: Policy Brief No. 9: Providing Shelter for Distressed Migrant Workers: A Rights-Based Approach MWPS Shelter Consolidated Data Year 2015 Full Report: Written Contribution of […]<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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   GET INVOLVED    <\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n