Migration has always existed. Can we see this as a positive?

Organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the UN Regional Migration Network, an intergovernmental meeting in Bangkok drew ESCAP members and associate members, relevant stakeholders, United Nations agencies and independent experts from across the region. DW Akademie’s Andrea Marshall, who has spent a decade examining and reporting on the issue, was there.

Andrea, you spent four days in Bangkok at the second review of the Asia-Pacific region on the implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. What were your impressions?

It was a very high-level meeting, with several hundred participants from around 40 countries in Asia and the Pacific region. It was impressive, but also not so easy to follow. The focus of the Bangkok conference was on individual governments and the United Nations taking stock of the extent to which the 23 objectives of the migration pact have been achieved. However, 150 experts from 97 civil society organizations (stakeholders), including myself, also took part in the discussions. There was a separate pre-conference day for these interest groups.

This was preceded by a months-long online consultation process, including with a steering group of civil society stakeholders, as well as a very good, detailed report. All of this is part of the methodology of the regional reviews of the Global Compact for Migration. We experts were personally invited to apply to take part in the process.

In particular, I was touched by the encounters with those affected, for example, with activists from the Pacific islands. Pefi Kingi from Niue Atoll and her fellow campaigners used songs and a symbolic “chain of tears,” which she hung around the neck of Jonathan Prentice, Chairman of the Secretariat of the UN Network on Migration, to draw attention to the climate migration that is severely affecting this region. Global warming is causing sea levels in the Pacific to rise, small islands are in danger of sinking, inhabitants are losing their livelihoods and are having to relocate. How can this be organized fairly? Who pays for the damage? Pefi Kingi does not feel sufficiently heard on these issues. Young people like student Gabriel Veigaunavinaka are demanding a say.

Talks with activists who have toiled for years as migrant workers under the most difficult conditions in Asia and are now campaigning for better conditions were also moving. The Indonesian Eni Lestari, for example, who chairs the International Migrants Alliance, told me about the severe discrimination and exploitation she was subjected to as a domestic worker in Hong Kong for more than 20 years - and then again after returning to her home country, when she was socially stigmatized in Indonesia. From Eni’s viewpoint, governments of the receiving countries must protect migrants more and at the same time educate the locals better.

How do media and social media influence migration? Was this discussed in Bangkok?

Media and social networks are not a focus of the Global Compact for Migration, but this aspect is reflected in the 23 objectives.

Objective 3, for example, stipulates that reliable and up-to-date information should be provided for all phases of migration. The Asia-Pacific Report cites residence regulations and news from the countries of origin and destination as examples. This could reduce the risks to migrants, such as being lured to a country of assignment on false promises or being exploited by employers there. The report praises the use of campaigns in the respective languages in social networks or on the radio as particularly effective, which could be used to inform migrants who are otherwise difficult to reach. I see a link here to DW Akademie’s work with Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh or Afghan refugees in Pakistan, who are informed about certain topics via radio broadcasts or on Facebook, among other things. We have been implementing such recommendations that involve civil society organizations and migrants themselves in program development for years.

Are there other ways that the role of media is included in the migration pact?

Objective 17 calls for the elimination of discrimination and the promotion of a public discourse that is based on facts and improves the public perception of migration.

In this context, many speakers pointed out the need to collect data on migrants. Data are seen as very important for better migration management and policy-making - and also for public debate. We also experience a great demand for data at our own conferences and journalism training courses - media professionals want to know how many people have been in which places and in which countries and since when.

But facts and figures are not everything. Media professionals are not only reporters, but also gatekeepers and multipliers of public discourse. They can focus on the problems of migration - or tell the story of migration as a story of resilience and opportunities.

The fact is that, as in other parts of the world, migration is often cast in a negative light in the Asia-Pacific region - migrants are generally portrayed as a group of “scapegoats,” rather than as individuals with their own hopes, abilities and desires. Social networks often polarize this, with many media outlets reporting in a sensationalist and one-sided manner. Hate speech from the digital world often spills over into reality. The narratives conveyed have a strong impact on public perception. This is my own experience after many years of working in Asia, and it was also addressed at the conference.

Did the conference touch on how to improve this situation for migrants, how to more accurately report on the challenges?

In fact, yes. It was not so much the negative side that was highlighted there, but rather the positive effects of well-managed migration: Migrants not only contribute their labor and skills, but also their cultural diversity. They drive innovation and strengthen economies throughout the region. By adopting this perspective, the public debate can be made more balanced.

Many speakers pointed out that migrant workers help reduce poverty and can influence entrepreneurial investments through their remittances to their family left behind. Migration can therefore contribute to sustainable development in the home countries. In the receiving countries, such as Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia or Japan, young migrants can help support ageing societies. In this way, migration can work in both directions, even if the causes of the respective problems are not solved.

How then can these encouraging aspects be relayed to the public?

Politicians in particular have a duty here, according to civil society groups. This includes a responsible approach to language and framing - both for political decision-makers and for media professionals. This is where further training can help, as my team is already offering and will continue to roll out this year.

Others, including IOM Thailand, advocate more personal encounters between local journalists, universities and migrants. Journalist Elroi Yee from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, pointed out that problems should not be swept under the rug, but that the media should also highlight what migrants and locals have in common. He himself has not only reported on “hard” stories such as human trafficking, but has also produced a successful video series in which well-known Malaysian personalities dine with refugees. “'Social cohesi,on' should be a news value in its own right in newsrooms,” Elroi said at a panel discussion in Bangkok.

You’ve been in this business for a long time. Are you hopeful?

I personally can't give a general assessment of whether migration is well managed in the Asia-Pacific region. The area and this field of work is too complex for that. I see major deficits in some countries, especially when it comes to refugees. However, I found it remarkable that those affected, and their organizations, were present and were heard in this international setting. They emphasized the motto “Nothing about us without us,” which is also our approach when we advocate for better information services for refugees, migrants and host communities in Asia. And this is by no means as simple as it may sound. The challenges range from work bans and movement restrictions in the host countries to missing passport documents and denied entry visas in the receiving countries.

So, what happens now?

The ball is now back in the court of national governments - the United Nations has called on them to work on better protection of migrants and to enable them to make their full contribution to development. In addition, the results of this Asia-Pacific process will feed into the discussion on the worldwide status of implementation of the Global Compact for Migration. This will take place at the International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) 2026 in New York.

For our part, we as the DW Akademie team and our partners are doing our best to sustainably improve the public debate on displacement and migration in Asia and increasing access to information for all migrants.

The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration - GCM or UN Migration Compact - is the first intergovernmental agreement negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations in 2018 and covers all aspects of international migration in a holistic and comprehensive manner. Party states agree to improve opportunities for regular migration, to protect migrants from defamation and hate speech and to facilitate their integration into society and the labor market. The pact is complemented by the Global Compact on Refugees.

DW Akademie advocacy work at the conference is part of the Displacement and Dialogue Asia project which is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).