Bangladesh will pursue the inclusion of a legal framework on migration at the UN's high-level dialogue on international migration and development, according to expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment ministry officials.
The officials said the high-level dialogue would be held on October 3 and 4. A six-member delegation, led by Expat Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain, left Dhaka on Sunday night to attend the dialogue.
The delegation included Expat Secretary Zafar Ahmed Khan and Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training Director General Begum Shamsun Nahar.
“We would raise our voices to include a legal framework on migration at the dialogue,” Zafar Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune on Sunday.
He said many labour recipient countries had not yet ratified the UN Convention 1990, and as a result the protection of migrant workers’ rights at those countries was not possible.
According to a top official of the expatriates’ welfare ministry, many countries including the US and Russia were not interested in including a legal framework at the UN body as they would have to ensure the rights of migrant workers.
The official ,seeking anonymity, said benefits such as weekly time off for the migrants would also have to be ensured.
