Three international organizations have expressed concern about the Bangladeshi workers who were arrested after going to Malaysia as victims of fraud. The organizations are - International Organization for Migration, International Labor Organization and United Nations on Drugs and Crime. The agencies are ready to provide immediate assistance to the detained workers in need, a statement said.

Today Saturday (May 4) Malaysian media Free Malaysia Today reported this news.

In a joint statement, the organizations said they would work to increase Bangladeshi workers' access to justice and basic services in such circumstances. They will also be supported in long-term efforts to find sustainable solutions to problems based on human rights.

The statement added, "These three organizations are ready to assist the Malaysian government in reviewing the current labor migration system, in line with international standards and building a transparent and efficient labor migration process."

The statement on the inhumane living conditions of migrant workers in Malaysia said, "Employers and related recruitment agents are accused of confiscating workers' passports and other documents."

There are even complaints that workers are often housed in overcrowded hostels, apartments and even warehouses. Apart from this, giving them minimal food, limiting their contact with the outside world and providing them with minimal health care have also come up in the report.
UN Human Rights Council-appointed experts have expressed dismay at reports of Bangladeshi migrants tricked into coming to Malaysia with promises of employment.

Earlier in October last year, migrant rights activist Andy Hall highlighted Malaysia's weak measures to address the plight of Bangladeshi workers at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.