Accession with low compliance: Sri Lanka’s experience with the 1990 International Convention on Migrant Workers

ABSTRACT

The article reviews Sri Lanka’s compliance with the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICRMW) acceded in 1996. The article highlights the common issue of routine accession/ratification of international Conventions by origin countries without full appreciation of their corresponding obligations. It highlights the large gap between accession and compliance with the Convention even after two decades. While Sri Lanka has taken a series of steps to improve migration governance and protection of migrant workers, there are several significant gaps in compliance with the ICRMW as reflected in the failure to bring national migration legislation in line with ICRMW provisions, continued abuse and exploitation of both female and male migrant workers in major destination countries, persistent recruitment malpractices, and lack of credible policies to deal immigrant workers. Some examples from Bangladesh and the Philippines – the other two major countries in Asia to ratify the ICRMW – have been cited to provide comparative insights where relevant. The article highlights several policy areas for action, especially by the government.

KEYWORDS:

• Sri Lanka
• International Convention on Migrant Workers
• ratification and compliance with international migrant worker conventions
• protection of migrant workers
• migration laws and legislation
• Bangladesh; Philippines

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Annex

Table A1. Main features of Sri Lanka’s labour migration

Notes

1. Various amendments to the 1948 Act can be found at this link: http://www.immigration.gov.lk/web/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=321&Itemid=216&lang=en.

2. The hanging of Flor Contemplacion, a Filipino female domestic worker in Singapore in March 1995 created outrage in the Philippines and resulted in resignations of two Secretaries (Departments of Labour and Employment and Foreign Affairs). The ICRMW was ratified on 5 July 1995. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1995-04-18/news/9504180291_1_singaporean-employer-flor-contemplacion-filipino-maid.

3. Bangladesh signed the ICRMW on 7 October 1998 and ratified it on 24 August 2011 – almost 13 years later.

4. Overseas Employment and Migrants Act 2013 of Bangladesh refers in its subtitle to “making provisions in conformity with the International Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers and the Members of Their Families.

5. The fee is distributed as follows: 70% to the recruitment agencies, 10% to the Workers’ Welfare Fund and 20% to the SLBFE for its operational expenses.

6. The remarks here are based on the 2012 version since there is no access to a more recent draft.

7. Both Bangladesh and the Philippines did not make any declarations or reservations when ratifying the ICRMW.

8. Immigrants and Emigrants Act No. 20 of 1948 has been amended at several occasions by the Amendment Acts no 16 of 1955, no 68 of 1961, no 16 of 1993, no 42 of 1998, and no 31 of 2006 respectively. All these amendments dealt with provisions to restrict illicit emigrants from Sri Lanka as well as illicit immigrants remaining in Sri Lanka. http://www.immigration.gov.lk/web/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=132&Itemid=59&lang=en .

9. Information supplied by ILO Office for Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Colombo.

10. Bracketed words added by the author.

11. Information provided by the ILO Office for Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

12. http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=2015/10/08/local/voting-rights-sri-lankan-migrant-workers .

13. Interview with (former) Senior Asst. Secretary (Foreign Relations), Ministry of Labour and Trade Union Relations.

Additional information

Funding

This work represents my own work, and I have not received funding from any source for preparation of this article.

Notes on contributors

Piyasiri Wickramasekara

Piyasiri Wickramasekara is a vice-president of Global Migration Policy Associates in Geneva (GMPA), an international NGO of migration experts from different regions. He had a long career with the International Labour Organization (ILO) as a senior specialist on employment, development and international migration. He has many publications in his areas of expertise: global and Asian labour migration, migration and development, migration governance, role of diasporas, temporary and circular migration schemes, rights of migrant workers, and bilateral labour agreements. He was affiliated with the School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney, Australia, as an Honorary Associate during 2014-2018. He obtained his BA in Economics from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, and his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Cambridge, UK.