The Colombo Process (CP) Thematic Area Working Group (TAWG) on Pre-Departure Orientation and Empowerment concluded a two-day meeting in Manila on March 16, emphasizing the need to collaborate on the promotion of pre-departure orientation programs to help ensure decent work and safe migration across South, East and Southeast Asia.

Representatives from CP Member States, including Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Viet Nam were joined by participants from civil society organizations, trade unions, the private sector and UN agencies in a hybrid meeting to discuss the need for the development and implementation of policies to address the vulnerabilities of migrant workers. Member States also discussed their three-year work plan and agreed to further the overarching goal of the TAWG, adding a new objective on migrant worker empowerment.