Photo: © UNIC Jakarta

JAKARTA —A UN committee reviewing Indonesia’s treatment of migrant workers on Wednesday said the country has made real progress but still faces major problems, especially around recruitment and the safety of Indonesians working abroad.

The Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (CMW), a treaty body from the United Nations, looked at Indonesia’s latest report on how it protects its citizens overseas. According to Jakarta's data, there are more than 5.2 million registered Indonesian migrant workers abroad.

Members of the panel said Indonesia has taken meaningful steps in recent years, including tightening rules on recruitment agencies and increasing its budget—from IDR 260 billion in 2020 to more than IDR 687 billion this year—for migrant worker programs. 

Indonesia also told the committee it stopped more than 5,900 people from attempting irregular migration in 2025.

Even so, experts said key issues persist. They questioned the heavy dependence on private recruitment agencies and the risks of debt and deceptive contracts. “There was still a high level of involvement of private actors in the recruitment of migrants,” said Jasminka Dzumhur, a committee expert and co-rapporteur. 

Members also raised concerns over young Indonesians being drawn into online scam hubs across Southeast Asia, where many end up trapped in forced labor.

Jakarta defended its efforts, noting that its cyber-trafficking response team has rescued and repatriated more than 1,300 Indonesians from scam operations since last year.

The discussion comes as online scam centers in the region continue to grow. USAID estimates at least 150,000 people are currently trapped in such compounds in Cambodia alone, many of them foreign workers.