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MANILA,
Oct. 3 (PNA) -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will host the
launching at Malacanang on Thursday (October 2) of the Second Global
Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) which is scheduled to be held
in Manila October 28 to 30, according to the Department of Foreign
Affairs (DFA).
Aside
from the DFA and the Office of the Executive Secretary, the heads of
other agencies involved in GFMD, such as the Department of Labor and
Employment, will join the President in the activity.
The first GFMD was held in Brussels in 2007.
According
to DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Affairs, Esteban Conejos Jr., the
Philippines was chosen to host the second round in recognition of its
leadership in pushing for the rights of migrant workers. The
Philippines also has an estimated 13 million workers abroad.
Earlier,
Conejos told foreign affairs reporters that it will incorporate into
its discussions the "Manila Plan of Action" on the rights of women
migrant workers, which came out of a recent two-day international
conference, also in Manila, on issues involving women, migration and
development.
The
September conference, called by women's groups and involved the
International Labor Organization, declared that women are more
vulnerable than men because their skills tend to be underestimated and
their pays lower.
It also called for a unified contract among countries receiving migrant worker.
This
meant, said Dr. Jean D'Cunha of the United Nations Fund for Women
(UNIFEM), that a Filipino or an Indonesian domestic worker shall
receive the same pay that a househelp from Poland receives in a host
country.
The
DFA conference in October will have round-table discussions which will
include ranking officials of migrant workers receiving countries such
as Saudi Arabia.
United
Nations Secretary-General Ban ki-moon has confirmed his presence at the
GFMD and will address the opening ceremonies, DFA said.(PNA) |