This collection of essays is the first of three volumes devoted to Migration and the Arab World. The 19 authors whose essays appear in this first volume address several salient questions: What are the sizes and characteristics of the non-national workforces of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries? Which “push” and “pull” factors have driven and continue to drive this phenomenon? What effects has labor migration had on the sending and receiving countries, and on the migrants themselves?

The Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM) is one with the exploited women of the world in the commemoration of the 100^th year of the International Women's Day and in their continuing fight for comprehensive rights in society.

Many of such oppressed women are migrant workers and immigrants including those who are undocumented or in an irregular status. Their conditions have been exacerbated by the failure of neo-liberal globalization and have led to more discriminatory and restrictive policies imposed by governments of labour importing countries.

Caritas Internationalis is calling on governments and the international community to protect migrants who work in people’s homes as maids, nannies and carers from exploitation. These workers are mostly women.

Domestic workers are frequently trafficked and exploited. They rarely benefit from any form of legal protection. Abuse can be difficult to detect because the workplace is in private homes.

Caritas asks that domestic workers have the same legal protection in the workplace as others workers do.

Statement from the Gender and Migration NGO Caucus that met on Mar. 1 during the 54th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York. The intention of the statement is to lift up the needs of migrant women in the review of the Beijing Platform for Action and to call attention to the need to strengthen the involvement of migrant women in global fora.