THE global economic crisis has had a dramatic impact on the lives of migrants in Southeast Asia, creating a growing problem that must be addressed, UN and ASEAN officials said at a conference on Migration and HIV in Southeast Asia held in Bangkok on February 12 and 13.

A joint UN and ASEAN statement released on February 17 added that the effect of the economic downturn was not limited to job losses for foreign workers. It was also resulting in an increase in protectionist government policies aimed at clamping down on illegal migration, making foreign workers particularly vulnerable to exploitative work and unfair labour conditions, and limiting their ability to access health and legal services.

”The financial crisis and multi-billion-dollar economic stimulus packages being put forward must not forget the faces and voices of migrants and mobile populations who are among the most vulnerable,” Ms Gwi-Yeop Son, the UN resident coordinator in Thailand and convenor of the UN Joint Initiative on Migrants and HIV, said in a welcoming address at the Bangkok conference.

The meeting – titled the High Level Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue on HIV Prevention, Treatment, Care and Support for Migrants in the ASEAN Region – was held to discuss how increasingly difficult conditions make foreign migrants particularly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS transmission, and how strategic intervention could ensure access to HIV services throughout the migration cycle.

In attendance were government officials from the ministries of foreign affairs, health and labour from the 10 ASEAN member states, as well as representatives from civil society organisations (CSOs), UN agencies and the ASEAN Secretariat.

The joint statement said that global economic growth is expected to fall sharply this year, from an average of 4 percent a year between 2003 and 2007 to less than 1 percent in 2009. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) predicts that the global numbers of people facing unemployment will rise from 2007 levels by an additional 18 to 50 million in 2009.

Thailand has announced that 1 million jobs are likely to be lost in the next 12 months.

There is increasing concern among NGOs and CSOs working on migrant issues that the economic downturn has already triggered harsher govern-ment policies against migrants. Thailand has announced that 500,000 foreign work visas would not be renewed for 2010 and that no new work permits would be issued. It has also threatened to deport illegal migrants.

”This is an area of concern for IOM, particularly if the migrants are used as scapegoats for rising unemployment caused by the recession,” said Mr Soda. “Any increase in xenophobia and the marginalisation of migrant communities in Thailand would be worrying.”

The ILO is also concerned about the increasing criminalisation of migrants.
“[Conditions for migrants] will worsen as legal avenues to admissions are being closed or tightened in receiving countries like Thailand, and those without legal papers are being sent back,” Manolo Abella, an ILO expert on labour migration, told The Myanmar Times via email.

”The ILO stands firmly for due process and humane treatment, and against mass deportations, even as it urges member states to take measures against clandestine migration,” he said.

“The ILO has been encouraging the Thai government … to go ahead with earlier plans to regularise the status of these workers who have been doing work that Thais do not want.”

“Crackdowns make it appear as though the government is taking strong action, but are not an effective way to deal with the root causes of the issues in Myanmar,” he said.

With migrants often working in extremely harsh labour market conditions, they are more likely than most people find themselves in situations where the transmission of the HIV/AIDS virus is prevalent.

“While migration per se is not a risk factor to HIV infection, the conditions upon which people move make them vulnerable to HIV,” said Marta Vellejo, the communications officer for the United Nations Development Program in Bangkok, “especially when they find themselves in situations where they are more easily exploited or victimised – far away from their families, communities and social support systems … which may push them to engage in risky behaviour that can result in HIV infection.”

Adding to the problem is the difficulty in spreading awareness about HIV/AIDS to a mobile population, as well as the limited access that illegal migrants have to health services.

ILO communications officer Allan Dow highlighted how the feminisation of poverty affects women in their vulnerability not only to sexual exploitation but also to exploitative employment.

“Many more women may be forced to leave home – often leaving children behind – in a desperate search for work,” he said.

“[Women] are also vulnerable to trafficking for labour exploitation. And those who have already moved and are (or were) working in Thailand and other countries [without legal documents] could face further pressure to take on slave-like working conditions just to keep a job,” he said. Organisations like IOM and ILO have called for recognition of the value of migrants even in the midst of the economic downturn, as well as for a commitment to fair treatment.
“What is important is that migrants are treated fairly and humanely during these difficult times, because the host governments have benefited greatly in the past from their hard work and low-cost labour,” said Mr Soda.