UN General Assembly Side Event In the early stages of the campaign, awareness raising with key stakeholders was crucial as its first steps - the recognition of wage theft as a persisting global issue, especially among governments, where the concept of wage theft was hardly acknowledged in the realm of labour migration. The impact of the campaign went beyond dialogue and recommendations. It prompted the governments of the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka to commit to taking concrete action. These governments recognized the urgency of addressing wage theft and organized a high-profile side event at the UN General Assembly, “Forum on Strengthening Migrant Protection: Addressing Wage Theft Against Migrant Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” This event aimed to delve into the complexities of wage theft and explore potential solutions. The active participation of these governments on such a global stage underscores their commitment to finding collaborative and impactful solutions to the pervasive issue of wage theft affecting their migrant populations. Colombo Process TAWG and IOM Engagement Following the Thematic Area Working Group meetings, a positive development was noted regarding IOM's increased attention to the issue of access to justice. This development reflects a step forward in addressing the multifaceted challenges surrounding justice for migrants. The growing acknowledgment of the urgency and significance of this matter within the broader discourse on migration is evident in the increased focus from IOM. The engagement of key stakeholders, including IOM, signifies a turning point in recognizing the interconnectedness of justice and migrant rights. This was marked by a roundtable discussion on “The Future of Remedy for Migrant Workers in Asia” co-hosted with the Philippine Government and the IOM which looked at promising practices in the implementation of State and non-state-based grievance mechanisms across Asia. The discussions from this roundtable strengthened multistakeholder collaboration on the issue of access to justice, broadening the potential for more opportunities to engage and establish partnerships between stakeholders at a higher level to address the issue of wage theft. Through a Knowledge Sharing Forum on Reintegration which was conducted back to back with the Colombo Process Thematic Area Working Group (TAWG) meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka in December 2023, MFA as representative of civil society shared lessons learned on reintegration from the Southeast Asia region through the perspective of development lost due to wage theft against migrant workers, emphasizing how wage theft experienced by migrant workers not only impact their lives directly but also undermines the potential of origin countries to pursue development particularly for returning migrants. 5