SEANF Paper on Migrant Workers progress can be made during 2010 towards an inclusive draft Instrument that can be considered by key regional officials in ASEAN, and the ASEAN member states. The South East Asia National Human Rights Institutions Forum (SEANF) is the unified voice of the national human rights institutions in ASEAN. The SEANF is composed of Komisi Nasional Hak Asasi Manusia Indonesia (KOMNAS-HAM), Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia Malaysia (SUHAKAM), Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHRP), and the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (NHRCT). The members of the SEANF are coincidentally from the same four nations whose government representatives are serving on the Drafting Committee. Two of the SEANF members (KOMNAS-HAM and CHRP) are from countries that primarily send migrant workers abroad, while the other two members (SUHAKAM and NHRCT) are from countries that chiefly receive migrant workers from other countries. The SEANF participated in highly fruitful exchanges between the representatives of governments and ASEAN civil society at the ASEAN Forum on Migration hosted by the Thai Ministry of Labour on July 30-31, 2009, in Bangkok. The SEANF strongly believes that the human rights perspective should be at the center of the policy discussions and drafting of the ASEAN Instrument to protect the rights of migrant workers. With their expertise in human rights and thorough knowledge of the context of ASEAN and its nations, the SEANF members are uniquely positioned to constructively contribute to this policy dialogue. Therefore, the SEANF sincerely desires to play a central role in an ongoing process of consultation with the ACMW, representing the governments of ASEAN, and ASEAN civil society organizations. The SEANF notes that Navanethem Pillay, the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, has designated “human rights in the context of migration” as a global human rights priority by making it one of the thematic priorities in the OHCHR’s work in the period 2010-2011. Specifically, the OHCHR plans to dedicate special focus to supporting the protection of migrants’ economic, social and cultural rights, and combating abuses such as discrimination and exclusion, criminalization of irregular migrants and conditions of detention that violate their basic human rights 2. The High Commissioner is also strongly urging all member states to accede to the International 2 United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights, “Statement by Ms. Navanethem Pillay UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: Briefing to Member States on the Strategic Management Plan 2010-2011”, November 17, 2009, p. 4 11