SEANF Paper on Migrant Workers Q. Migration management The SEANF has serious concerns about the state of migration management in ASEAN at this time, and proposes a series of recommendations for consideration by the drafters of the ASEAN Instrument and the ASEAN member governments: (1) Participation by civil society organizations 51. The SEANF finds that civil society organizations – such as NGOs, trade unions, community-based organizations, and associations of the migrants themselves – have a very important role in protecting migrant workers’ rights in both sending and receiving countries. ASEAN leaders have repeatedly stated the importance of the participation of the people of ASEAN in the organization’s deliberations. Therefore, the SEANF recommends the ACMW and the Drafting Committee of the ASEAN Instrument to include civil society representatives in their negotiations on the ASEAN Instrument, and conduct regular face-to-face consultations at the national and regional levels with civil society organizations assisting migrants. 52. The SEANF believes that the ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour (AFM) is an important forum that should be continually held on at least an annual basis. However, the SEANF urges the drafters of the ASEAN Instrument and other representatives of the national governments to go beyond the AFM and conduct additional consultations with ASEAN civil society, especially during the year 2010 when much of the drafting work on the ASEAN Instrument will be done. 53. Since the ASEAN Instrument should be based on the daily realities of the problems and issues faced by migrant workers throughout ASEAN, the SEANF urges the drafters of the ASEAN Instrument and other representatives of the ASEAN member states to actively devise forums and other consultative opportunities (such as focus groups, seminars, etc.) where they can consult with actual migrant workers – both where they work and live in receiving states as well as upon return and reintegration to the labour sending state. 29