Effective return and reintegration of migrant workers with special focus on ASEAN Member States

This report was prepared as the background document for the ASEAN Workshop on Reintegration Programmes for Returning Migrant Workers (27–28 August 2019) in Yogyakarta, organized by the Ministry of Manpower, Government of Indonesia, and the ILO TRIANGLE in ASEAN programme.

The return and reintegration of migrant workers back to their home countries marks the end of their migration cycle. While extensive work has been done on ensuring effective migration laws and policies, pre-departure training, and research on working conditions when abroad, there is little work done around the return and reintegration of migrants. This phase of the migration cycle has even been described as the ‘unwritten chapter in the history of migration’. In spite of widespread support and commitments, migrant workers continue to face challenges in accessing return and reintegration services. Aiming to address this gap, the ASEAN Committee on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers and the Government of Indonesia took the lead to develop a set of ASEAN Guidelines on Effective Return and Reintegration. This report was prepared with the support of the Governments of Australia and Canada, through the ILO TRIANGLE in ASEAN programme, to provide background and inputs to the development of these guidelines. The report highlights conceptual issues and good practices in reintegration of migrant workers in the ASEAN region and beyond.