Hera Diani, Jakarta – National Commission on Violence Against Women Chairwoman Tati Krisnawaty looked a tad irritated when most of the questions posed in a press conference Friday focused on the death of an Indonesian migrant worker in Lebanon.
While the death of Siti Maemunah, 24, was tragic, Tati felt it was garnering attention only because it occurred in the international spotlight focused on Israel's attacks on Lebanon.
"Death and violence are faced daily by more than 2.7 million Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Saudi Arabia, but they have received little exposure. It becomes such a futile death," she told the conference, which closed a three-day regional meeting on the rights of migrant workers.
The death of Siti, Tati added, should become a wake-up call to protect Indonesian migrant workers, particularly those like Siti who are undocumented.
The commission and activists from neighboring countries urged the Indonesian government to take the lead in protecting migrant workers in Southeast Asia, since it has the highest number of such workers.
Nisha Varia, a senior researcher at New York-based Human Rights Watch, said that among 12 countries monitored by her organization, Indonesia stood out in the number of abuse cases involving migrant workers. Still, she said, the government paid little attention.
"Indonesia must take strong and immediate steps to improve the recruitment process because there are exploitations and abuses in every stage of the immigration and recruitment process," she said.
The government, she added, should provide better legal protections, improve its memorandums of understanding with destination countries like Malaysia and cooperate more with other countries in establishing regional standards.
There will be a high-level dialog about migrant workers at the United Nations in December, Varia said, adding that Indonesia should stand up at the forum to demand an emphasis on human rights in all policies concerning migrants.
Human rights activist Irene Fernandez of Malaysia said it seemed Indonesia wanted good relations with her country, even if its own people paid a price as a result.
"There have been five or six crackdowns in Malaysia against undocumented migrant workers, but the Indonesian government's response has been unsatisfying. Of course, employers love to have undocumented workers," said Fernandez, a co-founder of the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development.
Malaysian activists criticized the crackdowns as violent, she said. "Malaysia should change its framework and review the immigration act. There is no framework for the protection of human rights and it cannot be tolerated. Indonesia has to make sure it works, and it isn't just a statement," Fernandez said.
The meeting also urged Indonesia to ratify the 1990 International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.
Homayoun Alizadeh, who represents Southeast Asia and Timor Leste at the UN High Commission on Human Rights, said ratification was the first step toward protecting migrant workers. "The Philippines and Timor Leste have ratified it; I hope Indonesia will be the third country to follow suit," he said. No destination country in the world has ratified the convention.
Fernandez said if the countries of origin took the lead, destination countries would consider ratifying the convention. "We will continue to push Malaysia. But Indonesia is responsible for protecting its citizens, while Malaysia is accountable to the international community," she said.