Representatives of over 60 NGOs, trade unions, private sector companies, and civil society organisations, gathered on 11-12 September 2008 in Phnom Penh to discuss the current situation faced by migrant workers leaving the country to work overseas and migrant workers entering the country.

This is a historic consultation whereby several recommendations to address the problems of migrant workers were put forward to the Cambodian government and ASEAN.

The Consultation was also attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training (MLVT), the Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA, all of whom provided valuable information and insights about government policies regarding migrant workers.

Representatives of the Task Force on ASEAN Migrant Workers were also present and briefed the participants about the important value that ASEAN places on the national consultation process.

ASEAN Secretary-General, H.E. Surin Pitsuwan, has repeatedly called for greater levels of participation by the citizens of the member nations of ASEAN in determining policies adopted by the regional grouping. Inline with this spirit, the Task Force will be providing this National Statement to Secretary-General Surin, other senior officials at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in each of the ten member nations of ASEAN.

Click on the NATIONAL STATEMENT of the Cambodian National Consultation to read the full document.