Jakarta – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Wednesday, 12 June 2024, held a public discussion on migration governance in Indonesia and National Action Plan (NAP) of the Global Compact of Migration (GCM).  This hybrid event was attended by 110 in-person participants and 52 online participants from relevant ministries and agencies, local government institutions, diasporas, civil society organisations (CSOs), academia, national human rights institutions, and other relevant stakeholders. Prior the discussion, Migration Governance Indicators (MGI) profiles for Indonesia and Central Java Province which were developed through several national and local consultations since March 2023, were launched. These MGI profiles set the baseline for the discussion.

“Migration can contribute to economic growth, social cohesion, and unique development. But it can also pose risks especially when poorly managed or governed. Therefore, it is essential for countries to have effective and coherent policies that are aligned with national priorities and international commitments. This MGI is developed to provide a comprehensive and objective assessment of migration governance in Indonesia,” said Jeffrey Labovitz, IOM Indonesia’s Chief of Mission, in his remarks.

Indonesia is a champion country of the Global Compact of Migration (GCM), the first inter-governmental negotiated agreement on safe, orderly, and regular migration, that covers all dimensions of international migration in a holistic and comprehensive manner. As a champion, Indonesia has drafted an NAP for the GCM 2022-2025 after multiple consultations with various ministries and other relevant stakeholders.

“The Indonesian government developed this MGI to identify priority achievements and gaps in migration policy at the national and local levels. It is hoped that this MGI will become a reference to understand comprehensive migration policy which can encourage synergy in developing future policy, strengthen the commitment of each ministry, institution, and local government in protecting migrants, as well as ensure good migration governance from upstream to downstream,” said Penny Dewi Herasati, Director of Socio-Cultural and International Organizations of Developing Countries at the MOFA, during her opening remark.

This event also attended by Gita Sabharwal, UN in Indonesia Resident Coordinators, who emphasized the importance of MGI in closing the policy gaps and addressing migration challenges. “The launch of MGI is setting the pathway to comprehensively address challenges that the migration faces. This also strategically bridges the policy gaps as a driver for greater migrant protection. It is a viable tool to assess migration-related policies and the basis for collaboration and dialogue among stakeholders, including private sectors and recruitment agencies,” she said.

The public discussion was divided into three sections. The first two sections discussed the GCM objectives no 5 and 7, while the last session gathered insights on the implementation of GCM action plan in Indonesia. During the GCM Objective 7 (Protecting Indonesian Migrant Workers) discussion session, Judha Nugraha, Director of Indonesian Citizens Protection, MOFA emphasized the importance of MGI in ensuring safe migration. “Through this report, we know that Indonesia has existing relevant law, good institutional aspects, and migration programmes. The next challenge would be how we ensure all the tools that we have can bring positive impact to the migration,” he said.

On the session for NAP GCM, Ary Aprianto, Functional Coordinator at Directorate of Socio-Cultural and International Organizations of Developing Countries at MOFA said, “The main reason for Indonesia's participation in the GCM negotiation process is because it aligns with the formulation of Law No. 18 of 2017, which views the protection of migrant workers must start at the village level. The protection must be provided in all sequences of migration, from upstream to downstream”.

The public discussion was supported by Migration Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MMPTF) through Migration Governance for Sustainable Development in Indonesia programme collaborated by IOM, UNDP, and UN Women.