As the current chair of ASEAN, Indonesia hosted the 42nd ASEAN Summit, 9–11 May 2023, in Labuan Bajo (Indonesia). Among the outcome documents, on 10 May 2023 the ASEAN Member States adopted the ASEAN Declaration on The Placement and Protection of Migrant Fishers. Among interesting non-binding provisions are:
FURTHER RECOGNISING the shared responsibility of ASEAN Member States to protect and fulfill the rights of migrant fishers in the entire migration cycle and to prevent and combat forced labour, child labour and trafficking in persons in fishing vessels considering the proximity and connecting borders of ASEAN Member States;
[…]
4. IMPROVE the entire migration process of migrant fishers through improvement in ethical and fair recruitment and placement; pre-employment, pre-departure and post-arrival orientations; and access to employment contract or proper documentation in the language they understand;
[…]
6. ENCOURAGE ASEAN Member States to initiate or conclude bilateral agreements among each other and with countries outside the region to facilitate safe and regular migration of migrant fishers especially in recruitment and placement processes, safe repatriation and reintegration, and access to justice and remedies;
7. EXPLORE cooperation among ASEAN Member States on data collection and sharing on, but not limited to, case management, recruitment and repatriation of migrant fishers in and outside of ASEAN, and sharing of best practices and lessons learned in the migration process of migrant fishers;
ASEAN Declaration on The Placement and Protection of Migrant Fishers (2023)
For further information see the other statements adopted at the 42nd ASEAN Summit here.
De Maribus 