Abu Dhabi Dialogue: Managing Labour Migration

Abu Dhabi Dialogue: Managing Labour Migration

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Why in News

  • The Abu Dhabi Dialogue (ADD) is an international platform that focuses on managing worker movement. It was created in 2008 as a regional, state-led, voluntary, and non-binding consultative process.
  • The main goal of this forum is to promote safe, orderly, and regular labour migration through better policy coordination and shared best practices.

Member States and Structure

  • The Abu Dhabi Dialogue (ADD) includes 11 Member States of the Colombo Process which act as countries of origin for workers.
  • The origin countries are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.
  • It also includes 7 destination countries, with 6 of them located in the Gulf region along with Malaysia.
  • The specific destination countries are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Malaysia.
  • The United Arab Emirates (UAE) acts as the permanent secretariat, while the leadership role rotates between sending and receiving nations.

Governance and Objectives

  • The forum works to improve how labor migration is managed and to build strong partnerships between home and host nations.
  • Under the Temporary Labour Migration Model, receiving countries do not grant permanent residency rights to workers.
  • A migrant's residency is strictly tied to their employment, which helps host nations handle economic changes easily.

Pillars of Good Governance

  • Programmes under this dialogue are built upon three core pillars of governance.
  • The first pillar focuses on ensuring the safety and protection of migrant workers.
  • The second pillar aims at empowering workers so they can reach their personal goals.
  • The third pillar gives workers a fair chance to benefit from temporary migration.

Observers and Civil Society

  • Several international organizations take part in meetings as regular observers.
  • Key observers include the IOM (International Organization for Migration), the ILO (International Labour Organization), UN Women, and the OECD.
  • Representatives from civil society also join these discussions to support migrant welfare.