SEANF Paper on Migrant Workers 2. The SEANF recommends that the ASEAN Instrument should cover and apply equally to the family members of migrant workers accompanying those workers in the labour receiving countries. a. b. 3. 5 This recommendation reflects the SEANF’s conviction that since all the ASEAN Member Governments ratified the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) they must act in accordance with the CRC requirement that all ratifying states “shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the present Convention to each child within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind…” The CRC specifically lists “national origin” as one the criteria for non-discrimination. Furthermore, the SEANF notes that the Committee on the Rights of the Child adopted General Comment no. 6 which requires application of the CRC “to each child within the State’s territory and to all children subject to its jurisdiction… including with respect to those children who come under the State’s jurisdiction while attempting to enter the country’s territory.” The Committee thereby finds that “the enjoyment of rights stipulated in the Convention is not limited to children who are citizens of a State party and must therefore…also be available to all children - including asylum seeking, refugee and migrant children - irrespective of their nationality, immigration status or statelessness.” 5 This recommendation also reflects the SEANF’s view that since all ASEAN Member Governments have ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), they should ensure women family members of migrant workers are covered by the Instrument. The SEANF advocates for the concept of “national treatment” to be the core principle of the ASEAN Instrument. “National treatment” is non-discriminatory treatment that ensures migrant workers receive treatment no less favorable than the treatment accorded to nationals of the labour receiving state. Committee on the Rights of the Child, “General Comment No. 6 (2005), Treatment of Unaccompanied and Separated Children Outside their Country of Origin”, adopted 39th session, 17 May-3 June 2005. 14