We The Migrants

Context: Labour migration is a central phenomenon in South Asia, essentially in search of a living. Countries in South and South-East Asia should come together in support of migrants.

Commonalities in the migration profile of South Asian Countries

• Inadequate support from the state and social security systems to facilitate informed and rights-based migration.

• Absence of effective protective legislation and regulatory systems.
• Gulf countries are the most prominent migrant destinations for most South Asian countries, where they have to compete for jobs by 
• Mutually under-cutting wages and accepting deplorable working and living conditions. 
• Internal migration is a common striking feature for all South Asian countries. Reasons being - 
• Deepening employment-crisis in rural labour markets is the driving force of internal migration.
• Landlessness, debt-bondages and farmer suicides.
• Socio-political tensions, climate change and resource-depletion, have compounded the agrarian crisis.
• Intensified poverty and widening inequalities.
• Familial/Societal norms governing women’s migration: Deep-rooted patriarchal values-based society restricts the movement of women. 
• The governance frameworks of migration are also influenced by gendered notions. 
• Restrictive practices imposed on women’s migration limits their international migration.
• Undocumented women migrants often fall prey to trafficking and sexual abuse.

Way Forward

• Ensure social security: Migrant receiving countries in the South Asian region must ensure their fair conditions at work.
• Strengthen protective frameworks, including labour laws, and sign relevant international labour conventions and guidelines on migration.
• Establishing Peace: Ensuring dignity to intra-regional migrants also requires considerable efforts in terms of establishing peace within the region 
• Resolve long-standing disputes around legality and citizenship of cross-border migrants within South Asia.

• South Asian countries must collectively negotiate with major migrant-receivers by reviving larger solidarities in the line of SAARC.