Our new report on Malaysia’s human trafficking routes is the first to use collective data from CSOs
CSOs collaborate to produce a first-of-a-kind study on Malaysia’s migration routes, the IOM launches its latest World Migration Report, and Public Eye claims that Swiss-owned trading companies should take more responsibility for human rights violations on their global plantations.
We are pleased to share a new report that captures the movements of migrant workers coming to Malaysia, based on data contributions from International Domestic Workers Federation, Persatuan Sahabat Wanita Selangor, Migrant CARE Malaysia, Human Trafficking Watch, Penang Diocese Migrant Ministry, North South Initiative and Seahut.
The mapping of relevant routes across organizations has never before been done in Malaysia, and we want to congratulate the CSOs named above for coming together and contributing to this collective knowledge-sharing initiative.
Migrants from Asia make their way to many destinations within Malaysia. In total, the CSOs submitted routes with 16 Malaysian cities as final destinations. Of those referenced, 13 are located on Peninsula Malaysia (Semenanjung Malaysia), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, and three are located on East Malaysia (Malaysia Timur), also known as Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan.
Batam City, on Batam Island in Indonesia, is a main transport hub between Indonesia and Malaysia. Within the data set, Batam was referred to as a transit point 14 times, and the CSOs indicated that these are very common routes. Migrants travel to Batam from various cities in Indonesia to then make their way to final destinations on the Malaysian Peninsula. Details included in the data submissions mentioned that migrants fly from Jakarta to Batam, or arrive via ferries from other locations. From Batam, they either fly straight to Kuala Lumpur, or enter Malaysia via Johor Port (Pasir Gudang).
Other identified routes relate to cases of Cambodian migrants in Malaysia. According to CSO information, migrants do not go through immigration lanes but wait on a bus while agents get their passports stamped. They enter using a tourist visa and are promised a work permit once they arrive. However, once in Malaysia, the migrants are sent to work in factories, and those referenced in the study had not been given work permits at the time that the CSO handled their cases. While entering legally, they are now undocumented and do not leave the factory premises.
The report also highlights cases of exploited Nepali and Bangladeshi workers under Malaysia’s rehiring scheme, in which employers engaged in four sectors – construction, manufacturing, plantations and agriculture – can apply to hire workers from among the undocumented, as per a quota fixed by the Department of Labour. The submission mentioned that workers were exploited after being hired under the scheme, and in other cases were then detained and arrested by Malaysian immigration authorities, accused of abusing their employment passes.
This is the first time that the participating organizations have contributed to a structured data collection exercise concerning the human trafficking and risky migration routes that relate to Malaysia, and this report represents the first shared dataset of its kind.
We are pleased that we were able to facilitate this collaborative effort, and want to thank the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Winrock International’s USAID Asia CTIP program for their support.
Here’s a round-up of other noteworthy news and initiatives:
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) last week launched its flagship World Migration Report 2022, which reveals a dramatic increase in internal displacement due to the disasters, conflict and violence that have resulted from the knock-on effects of COVID-19 travel restrictions.
A new research article titled Venezuelan Migration and Human Trafficking: Analysis of the Colombian case based on international relationships and instruments seeks to explain Venezuelan migration to Colombia and the existence of the risk of human trafficking [available in Spanish only].
Last week, the Dutch government announced that it will develop a national due diligence law, and expressed disappointment that the European Commission (EC) has again postponed its proposal to do the same, without setting a new deadline.
Research by investigative non-profit Public Eye has revealed that trading companies with a Swiss presence – or their subsidiaries – own more than 550 plantations covering over 2.7 million hectares worldwide, but are not able to prevent land grabbing, labour rights violations and deforestation on their land.
A new article, part of a four-part Radio Free Asia series examining the aftermath of the UK lorry tragedy that took the lives of 39 Vietnamese people two years ago, looks at the perilous journey made by Vietnamese people to and through Europe. The authors ask why many families still aspire to send their most capable member — a promising son or daughter, a young mother or father — to work abroad, despite the risk of exploitation by human traffickers and even death.
This opinion piece argues that NATO needs to come to Libya’s aid by sending security and humanitarian aid and strengthening protections for migrants, to end the smuggling and trafficking crisis and offset this humanitarian catastrophe.
After a recent government decision, law enforcers in Bangladesh can no longer directly arrest recruiting agents based on lawsuits by human-trafficking victims. CSOs and activists fear that the government decision will further shield the perpetrators, who are “already very much protected by the system itself”.
A new video documentary series produced by Independent Media examines the possibility of baby trafficking syndicates operating in some hospitals and clinics in South Africa. Episode 1 and Episode 2 are available online.
ASEAN-ACT is hosting an expert panel on 9 December to discuss recovery from trafficking and approaches to supporting victims of trafficking in reflecting, recovering, and reintegrating into a safe and supportive community.
Together with Migrant Forum Asia, the GRFDT and other partners, we are pleased to invite you to two Global Compact for Migration webinar sessions on counter smuggling (today, 7 December) and eradicating trafficking (14 December) at 4pm CET.
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