Dr. Wayne Palmer (Bielefeld University) leads the project Institutional Responses to Migrant Worker Rights in Indonesia (2021 – 2024) which is now linked to the Shaping Asia Network as an associated project.

The project examines why institutions in Indonesia deny migrant workers access to labour and employment rights despite ratifying the international convention that protects them. Indonesia is a destination and transit country for a wide range of migrant workers, including foreign professionals and spouses. In recent years, Indonesia’s fishing industry, has also been the subject of inquiries about trafficking of foreign migrants for forced labour. This project compares the systemic logic for depriving migrant fishers and other migrant workers of their legal rights in disparate areas of the country, providing important lessons for policymakers and advocates to improve rights protection as part of the global commitment to sustainable development.