The Rights of Migrants in Action regional consultation meeting for Africa brought together migration experts from East, West and South Africa in Harare, Zimbabwe, from 17-18 January.

With a reminder of the recent return of 200 Zimbabwean women to their places of origin after having been stranded in Kuwait, where they were lured by a local human trafficking syndicate on the pretext of lucrative job offers, grass-root experiences in migration and trafficking of persons were shared between representatives of CSOs and National Societies from Benin, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe.

In those countries, simultaneously areas of origin, transit and return for migrants, finding appropriate ways of dealing with movements of people remains a challenge. Peer-to-peer exchange during the first day of the consultation aimed at enabling the recognition of common challenges, among which the identification of victims of human trafficking and the prosecution of traffickers were particularly highlighted. The strategies that proved to be the most successful in achieving the promotion and protection of the human rights of migrants were also presented. One of the best practices includes the use of research demonstrating the positive impact of recognizing migrants’ labour rights in given communities so as to raise awareness and achieve political commitments. Another one consists in the involvement of government officials at national and local levels in the design and implementation phase of the projects. Active participation of beneficiaries was also mentioned as a key factor for the successful implementation of activities.

In order to analyse the issue from a more regional perspective, representatives from the EU delegation, Zimbabwean authorities, the International Organization for Migration, the International Labour Organization and academia joined on the second day of the meeting. After hearing the moving testimony of a woman who had managed to escape forced labour in Kuwait and was in the process of rebuilding her life with the help of the project, the participants focused on the formulation of a set of recommendations aimed at improving the development and implementation of common policies and best practices in Africa. Together with the recommendations gathered in other regions, these will contribute to the development of a global position paper highlighting the challenges faced at the international level in the fields of human trafficking, domestic labour migration and the rights of migrants more generally.

The final round of regional consultations of Rights of Migrants in Action will take place in Bangkok in March, with delegates from Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand and the Mekong River Basin attending the Regional Consultation for Asia Pacific.

The Development Practitioners Zimbabwe Trust (DPZT) is providing training in career development, resilience and life skills, entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills to young people in communities facing migratory pressures, as a way of reducing their vulnerability to unplanned migration and human trafficking. The training intervention, dubbed “Catch Them Young”, is based on the theory that most young people in such communities view migration as their only means of survival, leading to high rates of school drop outs and irregular migration.

In Plumtree, a student raised concerns over changes in societal values, with education slowly becoming underappreciated in an area where cross border trading is hailed as the most financially-rewarding activity. In this regard, immigration officer Mrs Maphosa commended the timeliness of the intervention, especially in the areas covered by the training package, as it offers an alternative to migration.

In order to extend the reach of the intervention as broadly as possible, DPZT is working with schools, churches and youth-friendly centres to target youths, both in and out of school, who may wish to pursue self-help projects. Most of the students engaged in this training have expressed enthusiasm for the idea of considering other options besides unplanned migration. They highlight that their mind-set before the training limited their potential as they assumed that such knowledge could only be accessed at higher institutional levels. One of the trainees from Tromehus Training Centre in Beitbridge, Valentine Venge, said, “I had a chance to learn things we never had the opportunity to learn such as life skills, building confidence and decision making.”

In addition, a Dzivarasekwa teacher in Harare noted that the Catch Them Young training complements a school curriculum gap in entrepreneurship and financial literacy.

To ensure project sustainability, DPZT is training teachers and other community leaders in these areas.

Lebanon hosts approximately 200,000 female migrant domestic workers (MDWs), mainly coming from African and Southeast Asian countries. Excluded from national labour legislation, MDWs do not enjoy legal or social protection, with their presence and work regulated by an abusive and exploitative sponsorship system known as the “Kafala.” This puts MDWs in an extremely precarious situation, exacerbating their vulnerabilities and exposing them to exploitation and trafficking throughout the recruitment process, as well as during their stay in Lebanon. Almost all MDWs lack accurate information regarding the situation in Lebanon, and are ill-informed about the nature and/or conditions of work in the country.  They often face extreme circumstances including restricted mobility and being confined to their employers’ homes, long work hours, isolation, non-payment of wages, physical, sexual and verbal abuse, and confiscation of passports, among other violations.

Within this context Kafa, under the Rights of Migrants in Action project, is working to raise awareness among potential MDWs in their respective countries of origin. Kafa will be producing a ten-minute video aimed mainly at African migrant communities (namely Cameroon, Senegal, Nigeria, and Ghana) and Bangladesh informing them of Lebanese social and legal frameworks in relation to domestic workers. The video, titled “Working in Lebanon” features information about the process of recruitment in the country of origin, what the worker’s rights are in this phase of the process, what they should look out for, what happens upon arrival to Lebanon and their labour rights during their stay; as well as other practical information about social and cultural life in Lebanon. These videos are meant to be diffused in the country of origin of the MDWs, as a way to prevent potential abuse and misinformation. More information on Kafa activities can be accessed at: www.kafa.org.lb

The Amel Association, based in Lebanon, conducted a visit to Bangladesh in December 2016, represented by Zeina Mohanna and Madeleine Maxwell Hart, respectively Programme Coordinator and Project Coordinator for the organization. The visit formed part of Amel’s programme for the support of migrant domestic workers and victims of human trafficking, implemented within the wider context of the Rights of Migrants in Action project.

The mission included attendance at the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) – an important space for civil society engagement at which many of the CSOs implementing the Rights of Migrants in Action project were represented, made possible in cooperation with the MADE Network.  As well as participating in the GFMD, Amel Association also attended the People’s Global Action (PGA), and conducted an assessment of migration challenges from Bangladesh to Lebanon.

Within the framework of Time for Action: Doing rights-based governance of migration in our communities and across borders, civil society organizations gathered to discuss a number of pressing issues related to the protection of refugees’ and migrants’ rights in a global context. With breakout sessions related to climate change, mixed migration, labour migration and recruitment reform among others, participants were invited to form concise recommendations for the GFMD dialogue. With Lebanon having the second highest number of migrant domestic workers from Bangladesh, Amel also took the opportunity to meet with various stakeholders and responders to migration challenges.

Prior to these events in Dhaka, Amel participated in the IOM CSO Consultations in Geneva, to discuss the initial conclusions from the UN High-level Summit for Refugees and Migrants and its New York declaration for migrants and refugees, from which the Global Compact for Regular, Orderly and Safe Migration will be shaped. Given Amel’s grassroots work in the refugee response, as well as in migration and development through the Migrant Domestic Worker programme, the association was able to provide insight into the situation on the ground. Attending the platform also helped influence international dialogue, as well as participate in networking opportunities aimed at enhancing the response to the humanitarian needs of all migrants.

On 18 December 2016, Future Pioneers in partnership with the Jordanian Society for Combatting Modern Slavery launched a large media campaign to further promote the services of the Friendly Service Centre for Domestic Workers and ensure proper visibility for the initiative.

This centre is part of the Rights of Migrants in Action project, and aims primarily at reducing the communications gap between domestic workers and their employers, in particular during the first three months of employment, in order to avoid the escalation of any issues between them and to ensure smooth relations. This is particularly relevant for domestic workers who have not received similar information sessions in their home country prior to moving to Jordan. The centre’s trained volunteers provide Arabic language classes, Jordanian tradition classes, socio-psychological counselling, and recreational activities for domestic workers.

In addition, a donors’ workshop was organized as part of the campaign to include the participation of Ambassadors from Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri-Lanka, relevant ministries and high-level Jordanian officials. During the workshop, the project team presented the objectives of the centre, various sustainability strategies and a concrete and comprehensive proposal to be submitted to the different donors to attract more support for the centre.

Soon after the workshop a spot promoting the centre was broadcast on national tv and radio. More than 60,000 mobile texts were sent to people living around the service centre informing them of the services being provided. Additionally, 20,000 flyers were distributed in specific locations to further promote the role of the centre and ensure broader reach of the message. One million emails were also sent out including the centre’s flyer (pictured).

The overall aim of the legal and informational support centres is the promotion of migrants’ human rights in rural areas, with a specific objective of increasing public awareness regarding the protection of human, social and economic rights of rural migrants in five target districts of the Rasht Valley in Tajikistan.

Implemented by the organization Nihol, in close collaboration with a local NGO, the project involves district government representatives in training sessions and public meetings. The free professional legal consultations provided by the centres are in strong demand among the targeted beneficiaries, who previously had limited access to social services. The centres’ experts (lawyers and psychologists) provide regular consultations and assist migrants in their preparation of necessary documents or refer them to the relevant social services office.

The psychological support provided by the centres is in particular demand among female members of rural migrant families. Due to the prevalence of conservative attitudes in target communities, women are considered to be one of the most vulnerable categories of the population. Female victims of domestic violence, or those seeking legal assistance, are supported by the centres’ activities in these areas.

Experience has shown that those most in need of basic information are the potential migrants living in the mountainous regions of the Republic of Tajikistan, including the Rasht region. Based on this insight, a handbook –  “On the rights of migrants and their families” – was published and has proven very popular amongst the target population, as well as with local government bodies, and is used as practical guidance in addressing the needs of beneficiaries.

International Migrants Day is observed on 18 December – the day that the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families was adopted in 1990.

In Chiang Mai, Thailand, MAP Foundation and the Northern Labour Network, a network comprised of 16 CSOs that promote migrants’ rights, as well as academics and migrant workers’ representatives, participated in a two-day seminar for International Migrants Day. This was a follow-up seminar to May Day and International Domestic Workers’ Day – two similar events jointly organized by MAP and the network. In attendance were over 150 migrant workers from a variety of occupations, including domestic workers.

The seminar included breakout sessions where migrants reviewed a number of issues affecting them and gave inputs as to what changes were needed. Issues identified included the following: lack of access to labour protection remains a major problem, often resulting in exploitation in the form of not receiving minimum wage, long working hours, no paid days–off or holidays, no paid overtime, and working over weekends; inability to access proper safety equipment at the workplace; being unable to benefit from social security due to their employers not enrolling them and due to a lack of clear mechanisms for making claims from the fund; and limitations on mobility that commonly resulted in extortion by local police.

On the second day, participants prepared banners and held a news conference before moving onto the Provincial Government house. There they showed their solidarity in a silent protest (in part because of the military government’s rules on public gatherings, and also out of respect for the mourning of the King of Thailand) and presented a letter of recommendations to the Provincial Governor addressed to the Provincial Government, the Thai Royal Government, and the Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.

Under the project Opening Doors, the Justice Center for Legal Aid (JCLA) has been able to assist a considerable number of migrant workers through its legal consultations and representations. In this regard, the category of migrant domestic workers was found to be at particular risk of abuse and human trafficking.

One of the cases brought to JCLA involved the trafficking of a domestic worker from the Philippines. The woman’s placement agency agreed to a trial period of one week with potential employers, a couple from Ma’an, who took her to their home promising the agency to come back within a week, either to return her or to sign a contract of employment. Instead, they took her passport, hid her in their house for two years, cutting all her communications so that the placement agency could not find her, and prevented her from leaving the house. Throughout these two years, the woman was forced to work not only in her employers’ house, but in all the neighbourhood houses, without receiving any salary. She repeatedly suffered physical and verbal abuse. After two years, the couple abandoned the woman in Amman, where she was found by the authorities. A JCLA lawyer referred her to the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) where she filed a complaint – the case is still under investigation and a subpoena has been issued against the couple. Once the investigation has been completed, the case will be filed in court. The victim was released from the shelter and is currently sharing a house with a friend. She is now working legally in Jordan and fully enjoying her rights.

This case is similar to many other stories involving abuse against migrant domestic workers, namely:

• non-payment of wages
• withholding of their passport and official documents by their employer
• denial of weekly rest day
• denial of holidays
• working more than eight hours per day without receiving compensation for overtime
• employment without a work permit
• accumulation of fines, due to the missed renewal of their work and residence permits
• verbal and physical abuse
• sexual abuse
• administrative detention
• deportation
• birth of children without citizenship (born out of wedlock due to lack of official documents and work permit).

JCLA believes that regardless of social or economic status, everyone has the full right to access the justice system and enjoy all legal rights. Through Opening Doors, the Rights of Migrants in Action project allowed JCLA to accomplish that goal.

El mes de noviembre del 2016 se realizó la ceremonia de clausura del diplomado “Migrantes y Víctimas de Trata de Personas con Necesidades Específicas de Protección Nacional e Internacional” desarrollado en el marco del Proyecto Derecho de los Migrantes en Acción.

El diplomado fue avalado por el Instituto Interamericano de Derechos Humanos (IIDH), y se desarrolló mediante un proceso académico de 4 módulos formativos. Cada módulo con una duración de dos días, durante el proceso se emplearon metodologías participativas y componentes teóricos y prácticos; el contenido desarrollado fue: Modulo I “Generalidades de la Migración, Refugiados y Desplazados Internos”; Módulo II “Trata de Personas y la Normativa Jurídica que Penaliza la Trata de Personas”; Módulo III “Trata de Personas desde un Enfoque en Derechos Humanos”; Módulo IV Prevención del Delito de Trata. Entre los académicos que dictaron cátedra a lo largo del diplomado se encontraban destacados profesionales como la Abogada María Teresa Paredes consultora Mexicana, la Abogada y Notaria Mireya Zepeda representante del Instituto de Estudios Estratégicos y Políticas Públicas de Nicaragua y la Lcda. Mirna Rodríguez experta de Movilidad Humana.

21 fueron los graduados, después de concluir un proceso de varios meses, entre ellos funcionarios públicos y representantes de organizaciones de sociedad civil como: OIM, Comisionado Nacional de los Derechos Humanos, Calidad de Vida, Foro Nacional para las Migraciones en Honduras, Cruz Roja Hondureña (CRH), Casa Alianza, Instituto Nacional de Migración, Policía Preventiva, Policía Militar y Cancillería.

Al final del diplomado los participantes afianzaron sus conocimientos, mismos que pondrán en práctica en sus funciones diarias, para la resolución de casos de trata de personas y atención a personas migrantes en situación de vulnerabilidad.

Como requisito de graduación, los participantes realizaron un plan de acción contra la trata de personas, aplicando los conocimientos adquiridos, a partir del trabajo que realiza cada organización.

The Zimbabwe HIV/Aids Activist Union Community Trust (ZHAAUCT), under the Rights of Migrants in Action project, has raised awareness among many migrant domestic workers about their rights, enabling them to receive access to health services and providing psychosocial support to victims of human trafficking.

Lilian Mafuka migrated from Murehwa to work as a domestic worker in Borrowdale, Harare.

The project team identified Lilian as facing challenges in accessing healthcare services. She gave an inspiring and powerful testimony on how an HIV testing and counselling campaign held in Harare helped to change her life.

“I was a migrant domestic worker who had no clue on any of my rights. I had limited information on HIV and AIDS and I did not know the importance of getting tested. I used to work for long hours without adequate rest. This affected my health and I ended up getting sick most of the time. The unfortunate part is that my employer did not allow me to seek treatment; I was supposed to be always on duty.

Despite the long working hours my salary was very little, hardly enough for survival. I shared my case to the ZHAAUCT team. They spoke to my employer, now I can seek treatment whenever I fall sick. My employer now understands my rights.”

Lilian expressed her gratitude to the project, “I would like to applaud the ZHAAUCT team; they have enlightened me and empowered me with knowledge of my rights. They rescued me from my ignorance. They gave me an opportunity to get tested for HIV and I now know my HIV status. I am going to be re-tested today,” Lilian testified.

Lilian was trained as a community facilitator on migration, migrant domestic workers’ rights and issues on human trafficking. She is actively involved in the project and disseminating information to the communities. In addition, she is referring more and more migrant domestic workers to the project so that they can benefit as well. She encouraged the ZHAAUCT project team to continue to raise awareness among migrant domestic workers on their rights and assist victims of human trafficking. She highlighted that more migrant domestic workers need to be reached.

Solimi, the CSO implementing the Rights of Migrants in Action project in the Sughd region of Tajikistan, launched the Migration Coordinating Council in late 2015, focused on enhancing cooperation between key migration’ stakeholders at the regional level. The Migration Coordinating Council is composed of representatives from all migration-related stakeholders at regional and district levels, including governmental migration, health and social protection agencies, local non-governmental organizations and the regional branch of the Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan. The regular partners’ meetings, first initiated in December 2015, began with the signing of a long-term Partners Cooperation Agreement, aimed at strengthening coordination on migration initiatives among key partners. The Agreement was signed by 28 state and non-governmental organizations including the regional State Migration Service Department and Health Service Department, the Consulate General of Russia in the Sughd Region, and the local Justice Department and Department of Internal Affairs. The Migration Coordination Council, within the framework of the signed Partners Cooperation Agreement, will operate beyond the Rights of Migrants in Action project implementation period.

The main objective of the Migration Coordinating Council is the harmonization of efforts and initiatives between relevant actors in awareness raising activities and protection of the rights and interests of migrant workers. The first significant achievement of the Migration Coordinating Council is the successful organization and implementation of medical, social and legal services for migrants in the pilot regions, carried out in the framework of the regional partnership health network. Along with providing friendly, free and high-quality health consultations and services to female migrants, legal services are also offered, including the protection of personal rights in cases of detention and deportation, and the reinstatement of unpaid wages to victims of trafficking.

For three Shan women living in Chiang Mai, Gu*, Moo* and Seng*, their lives in Thailand began when they were all young girls escaping the poverty, political and military intimidation, and lack of jobs in Shan State, Myanmar. After braving arduous journeys crossing the border without papers and then working agricultural jobs in Fang district, these women moved to Chiang Mai for a chance at a better paying job and a more secure lifestyle. Once in Chiang Mai, many women enter either construction or domestic work. Though both fields have their challenges, these three women feel that daily wage and how much free time workers receive are the biggest influences in choosing a job.

Gu has worked in construction since she was 22-years-old. Construction, she notes, is better than domestic work because you have flexibility and can determine your own schedule. She estimates that 80 per cent of the construction workers she sees are women, which may be because it does not require an education. Though she has suffered several severe injuries, such as breaking her arm and back — injury is one of construction’s greatest risks — she said that a redeeming factor is that some employers provide financial support on a case-by-case basis.

Seng and Moo are domestic workers working at a bus station, and have both tried construction. However, they dislike the heavy manual labour in construction, and feel that they have good flexibility in their current positions. Domestic work with families, they say, is the most exploitative. When staying with families, domestic workers are often overworked and underpaid, asked to work up to 14 hours per day and do more challenging chores. For domestic workers, the biggest challenge is finding jobs that pay the 300 baht per day minimum wage — 250 baht per day is about the highest wage one can find. “I don’t know anyone who is paid 300 baht per day,” Moo said, “but that is the job that I am looking for.”

*Names have been shortened to nicknames

El 28 de noviembre del año 2016, se realizó la presentación del Estudio Documental-Honduras, contándose con la presencia de actores clave del estado, ONGs, academia y organizaciones de sociedad civil. El Estudio nos brinda una panorámica progresiva para ver, entender y atender las migraciones en Honduras. Se aborda la migración desde una perspectiva internacional, regional y nacional, y enfatiza realidades específicas y supeditadas en materia de derechos humanos de los migrantes y de sus familiares. Una de las recomendaciones del Estudio establece que el tráfico humano, la trata de personas y la explotación laboral doméstica, son un desafío constante para todas las instituciones del Estado, las organizaciones de sociedad civil y la población, así como la generación e implementación de políticas públicas, programas, acciones estratégicas y el empleo de métodos resultantes de las experiencias y de las buenas prácticas implementadas en otros países ,estas deben ser consideradas por todos los actores e incorporar todos estos elementos en sus agendas de trabajo, para aliviar el peso social que imprime la migración en Honduras.

Como acto especial del evento, el Ingeniero José Juan Castro, Presidente Nacional de Cruz Roja Hondureña (CRH), realizó entrega del Estudio a la Licda. Liza Medrano, Directora de la Oficina de Atención al Migrante Retornado y su Familia (OFAMIR), de la Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores y Cooperación Internacional y expresó, “esperamos que nuestra contribución y los resultados vertidos por el Estudio Documental, tengan los elementos necesarios para que las Organizaciones de la Sociedad Civil, academia, actores claves y todos aquellos interesados en realizar esfuerzos importantes en el tema, puedan aprovechar este documento como una fuente de ayuda para la planificación de actividades y acciones de incidencia, que contribuyan al bienestar y protección de las personas migrantes”.

Puede acceder y descargar el Estudio Documental-Honduras mediante el siguiente enlace.

On 19 January 2017, Zimbabwe HIV/Aids Activists Union Community Trust (ZHAAUCT) and Together As One (TAO) held a belated event marking International Migrants Day (globally observed on 18 December). The event, entitled “Bridging the gap through community participation,” aimed at raising awareness among the public regarding migrant domestic workers’ rights, safe migration, the plight of victims of human trafficking and refugees and ensuring access to health for the target groups.

The Rights of Migrants in Action project has made significant gains in ensuring access to basic social services, promoting and protecting the rights of migrant domestic workers and victims of human trafficking in Zimbabwe.

Various stakeholders including migrant domestic workers, government ministries, service providers, domestic workers’ unions and members of the community, including high school students, attended the event. Activities including trainings, discussions, edutainment, HIV testing and counselling, distribution of contraceptives and health check-ups were carried out.

“As we commemorate International Migrants Day, ZHAAUCT is ensuring migrant domestic workers and victims of human trafficking have access to health services. Free HIV testing and counselling, blood pressure and blood sugar check-ups, health information and contraceptives are being provided. We want to make sure that migrant domestic workers and victims of human trafficking are able to enjoy their right to health,” noted Miss Chakumara, Project Manager at ZHAAUCT.

“TAO will continue advancing the rights of migrant domestic workers and supporting victims of human trafficking in Zimbabwe,” explained Mr. Masenda, Project Manager at TAO.

The Provincial Administrator representing the government indicated that projects such as the one being implemented under the Rights of Migrants in Action will result in reduced cases of human trafficking and attainment of the country’s 2020 AIDS targets.