Asean MPs urge govts to protect migrants from Covid-19 surge

 

Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) has urged the Thai and Malaysian governments to halt discriminatory practices against migrant workers in the Covid-19 pandemic, as it is counterproductive to recovering from the ongoing health crisis.

“While we are all affected by the pandemic, governments are excluding migrant workers from their social and public health policies in their response, leaving them behind and struggling to survive.

“We will never recover from this health crisis if we do not provide care for everyone, including all migrants.

“Government policies must ensure that they have equal access to immediate aid, testing, treatment, and vaccinations, without fear,” said Mercy Barends, an Indonesian MP and APHR member.

In their statement, the regional network of MPs called for both Thailand and Malaysia to include migrant workers in social protection measures on an equal basis as those of their citizens, and ensure that criteria for accessing essential services are not based on nationality or migration status.

“Migrants who have contracted Covid-19 should be treated immediately and all should be granted access to vaccinations in the same manner as citizens,” said APHR.

Last week, following complaints about migrant workers being turned away from vaccination centres (PPV), coordinating minister for National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (NIP) Khairy Jamaluddin directed all PPVs to accept all migrant workers who had received their vaccination appointments on MySejahtera.

When asked about safety concerns for undocumented migrants planning to get vaccinated, Khairy said that the Home Ministry is tabling a "much delayed" cabinet paper this month to decide on a framework to innoculate undocumented migrants against Covid-19.

 Previously, Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin stressed that it would be "impossible" to administer vaccines to undocumented individuals, due to difficulties tracking their status here.

This followed Hamzah’s statement on the government’s plans to arrest undocumented migrants in the ongoing movement control order - which began on June 1 - to help them get vaccinated and to “protect Malaysians”.

The APHR highlighted that migrants in Malaysia face difficulties receiving assistance, while ongoing raids, arrests and detentions by authorities are deterring migrants from stepping forward for testing, medical treatment, or to be vaccinated.

“The fear of accessing essential services will likely result in an increase in undetected infections that can affect all communities, including through spikes in Covid-19 cases in overcrowded and unsanitary detention centres, as they did last year,” said APHR.

APHR's interim executive director Teddy Baguilat attributed the increasing stigma and hate speech against migrants online and offline to these policies and actions.

Last month, Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha declared the closure of campsites for construction workers until the end of July, confining migrants in overcrowded living conditions with limited access to medicine and food.

Shortly after, it was also decided that proactive Covid-19 testing and healthcare assistance for migrant workers in Bangkok and its surrounding provinces would cease.

Approximately two million undocumented migrants are excluded from Thailand’s national Covid-19 vaccination programme, with migrants not qualifying for cash hand-out remedies.

“It is disgraceful that the governments of Thailand and Malaysia are contributing to divisive anti-migrant rhetoric, for what appears to be political gain at a time when they are coming under heavy criticism for their failure to contain the spread of the virus,” said Baguilat.

The group said that one long-term solution to this is for Asean member states - which Malaysia is a part of - to improve social protection and implement labour reforms, in line with their commitments made in the Asean Declaration on Strengthening Social Protection.

The declaration seeks to achieve inclusion and improve equitable access of vulnerable groups, such as migrant workers, among others, to opportunities and social protection. - Mkini