On 29 November 2017, COMMIT (an inter-governmental body of the Governments of Cambodia, China, Lao, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, with UNDP’s UN-ACT project serving as Secretariat), at the 12th COMMIT Senior Officials Meeting, finalized a preamble to support ILO’s General Principles and Operational Guidelines on Fair Recruitment.

The Senior Officials Meeting highlighted that the Principles and Guidelines aim to support all workers, including migrant workers, and identifies the responsibilities of governments, enterprises and public employment services to protect them. The Principles and Guidelines contribute towards the strengthening of national legal frameworks, and the COMMIT Governments underscored that they can be used as a reference for the development of bilateral agreements on human trafficking, which includes the exploitation of migrant workers. The implementation of the Principles and Guidelines will strengthen migration governance between the COMMIT countries to protect migrant workers and provide them with the services they need.