Southeast Asia is among the world’s top producers and exporters of fish and seafood products, with a significant reliance on migrant workers in fishing processing. While fishing is a lucrative industry for the region, migrant workers are vulnerable to being deceived and coerced to work on board vessels where the work is hazardous, and often accompanied by a range of labour and human rights abuses.
Non-existent or weak standards including in recruitment, labour and safety for migrant workers in the industry, has led to their increased vulnerability to forced labour and human trafficking.
ASEAN commitment to the rights of migrant fishers
At the 42nd ASEAN Leaders Summit in May 2023, ASEAN Member States adopted the ASEAN Declaration on the Placement and Protection of Migrant Fishers. This is a landmark Declaration recognising that the fisheries industry is particularly prone to exploitation and abuse, a hard-to-reach sector and a hazardous occupation which has many work-related risks. Through this Declaration, ASEAN aims to promote the human rights and fundamental freedoms of migrant fishers. The Declaration also acknowledges that migrant protection is a multi-faceted issue requiring a range of ASEAN bodies and coordinated national issues in response.
NGOs as advocates and policy changemakers
The Indonesian Migrant Workers Union (SBMI) and the Indonesia Ocean Justice Initiative (IOJI) were among the governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations, and civil society organizations participating in recent discussions to develop the new ASEAN Declaration with the support of ASEAN-ACT, the EU-funded Ship to Shore Rights South East Asia project implemented by the ILO in collaboration with the IOM, and the US-Department of Labor (DOL) funded Addressing Labor Exploitation in Fishing in ASEAN Project (ALFA Project).
Prior to the official release of the ASEAN Declarations, ASEAN-ACT met with SBMI and IOJI in this episode of Conversations with Chem.
We discussed the importance of the Declaration and how it can improve existing regional mechanisms to protect migrant fishers from the danger of trafficking and other crimes.
NGOs have been important advocates to address labour exploitation in the fisheries sector. They provide a range of critical services and referrals to trafficked fishers, which means they also have valuable knowledge and experience to inform policy and practice reform in the counter trafficking sector. In this episode, SBMI and IOJI provide further insight in their role as frontliners, advocates and policy change makers.
The experiences of trafficked fishers
ASEAN-ACT partnered with La Trobe University, with support from University of Auckland, to better understand criminal justice responses to trafficking in the fisheries industry. The research aims to contribute to better protection of trafficked fishers in the justice process and ultimately better justice outcomes.
The research team conducted legal reviews of four human trafficking in fisheries cases conducted in Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The analysis critically evaluated the gaps in legislation, policy and implementation in the investigations and judicial proceedings. Some of these gaps impacted the rights and protection of victims, such as the right to compensation. Recommendations have been developed as a key output of this research to strengthen the capacity of justice sector agencies and NGOs in relation to improved justice outcomes, including enhancing victim protection.
The information from the research has been summarised in country-specific fact sheets.
For more information, contact info@aseanact.org