Aim For Summit

SOUTH Asian Forum for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) may not exactly be in tatters, but it is easy to agree with the view that at present it is going nowhere. With the SAARC summitry mechanism in limbo, SAARC is rudderless. The 11th SAARC summit that Nepal was to host late last year did not take place because India requested for postponement of the summit following the installation of a military government in Pakistan. This hiatus in summitry has meant that the heads of state or government of the SAARC Seven, who meet discuss and try to find solutions to the problems of the one billion people of the region in annual meetings, have not met for the last 30 months. If this does not indicate the current total stoppage of the SAARC vehicle, what does? Considering the fact that SAARC indeed has the potentials to achieve much for the common good of the South Asians in the seven countries, any effort to revive the SAARC is most welcome. Endeavours of Sri Lanka, the current chair of SAARC, in this respect thus have to be greeted with appreciation. Sri Lankan Minister for Foreign Affairs Lakshman Kadirgamar has been discussing with Nepalese leaders the possibility of holding the meetings of SAARC Charter bodies including the postponed 11th summit.

Following talks, both he and Foreign Minister Chakra Prasad Bastola have stressed the need to give continuity to the ongoing activities of SAARC. That is a good approach to take. While all-out efforts to have the summitry back on the track should continue, the lower-level meetings like the technical committee meetings should not be allowed to suffer because summits are not happening. This is especially important as Mr. Kadirgamar did not sound very optimistic about the summit taking place soon. The silver lining is that SAARC technical committee meetings as well as the meeting of the Standing Committee, which has foreign secretaries of the seven countries, in all probability will begin to take place, with Indian participation, in the first quarter of next year. The target is to hold these meetings in the first four months of next year with the first taking place early next month in which India will also participate. Hopefully, when the Sri Lankan minister visits Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Maldives on the next legs of his trip, his efforts to revive SAARC will receive further boost. Overall, however, the efforts must aim for seeing the long-frozen summit to take place in Kathmandu.

World Migrants' Day

THE world is observing the International Migrants' Day today at the call of the United Nations General Assembly. The International Migrants Day is being celebrated to recognise human rights and fundamental freedom of all migrants in the world and to raise global awareness about this. At present there are millions of migrants in the world, who are suffering from various problems. These migrants moved to alien countries in search of work and better opportunities. Sadly these workers are in the most vulnerable condition and are exposed to social and economic risks as well as exploitation and discrimination. Health problem of these migrant workers is another area of concern for the international community. The recent studies have shown that migrant workers are more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS infection. As a result, the United Nation General Assembly decided and called its member states to observe the International Migrants' Day on December 18 this year with the theme of building awareness against the problems and plights of the migrant workers in the world. The migrant workers are also not allowed to enjoy their basic human rights. The International Migrants' Day therefore aims at building public opinion and an international awareness for the rights and welfare of migrants. Nepal is also observing the International Migrants' Day with various programmes with a view to protecting, preserving and propagating the rights of the Nepalese migrant workers currently working in different countries in the world in an institutionalised manner. As employment and other opportunities are getting scarce in Nepal, many Nepalese people are going abroad as migrants looking for jobs and better opportunities. There are reports that some of these Nepalese workers have suffered harassment, discrimination and exploitation. Although His Majesty's Government has been providing assistance when Nepalese migrants are in trouble abroad, such efforts sometimes may not have been adequate as the government has been suffering from resource crunch. Efforts also need to be made from the non-governmental sector. In view of this, Nepalese migrants in different parts of the world have recently formed an organisation called Migrants Workers' Association with the objective of advocating and fighting for the rights and welfare of Nepalese migrants abroad. If coordinated efforts were made from both governmental as well as non-governmental sectors for the rights and welfare of the Nepalese migrant workers in different parts of the world, the plights and problems of Nepalese workers at such places would be definitely reduced.