SAFE MIGRATION: PREVENTION OF LABOR AND SEXUAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KATHMANDU 002315 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR SA/INS, SA/RA, G/TIP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV ELAB PINS KWMN NP SUBJECT: SAFE MIGRATION: PREVENTION OF LABOR AND SEXUAL TRAFFICKING REF: A. KATHMANDU 638 ¶B. KATHMANDU 553 SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) With dwindling economic prospects stemming from a decade-long Maoist insurgency, increasing numbers of Nepalese workers are leaving for other countries in search of safety and better employment opportunities. The Embassy and USAID recently gathered representatives from UN agencies and Nepal's government, INGO and NGO sectors to discuss ongoing efforts to promote the safe migration of Nepali citizens domestically and overseas. Government representatives explained efforts by His Majesty's Government of Nepal (HMGN) to negotiate bilateral agreements and institute monitoring mechanisms to prevent abuses, both domestically and overseas. UN agency, INGO and NGO representatives noted that migration, and the rising levels of exploitation associated with it, affect all Nepalese, including youth. A representative of the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agents (NAFEA) underscored that a coordinated approach is necessary to stem the tide of labor and sexual exploitation of Nepalese workers. END SUMMARY. BACKGROUND: MIGRATION ON THE RISE -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Nepali citizens have traditionally traveled to neighboring countries in search of employment or better opportunities. While Nepal's only labor agreement to date is with Qatar (ref A),Nepal's export of laborers to India and third country destinations has been rising steadily. The most recent statistics from the Department of Labor and Employment Promotion (DoLEP) indicate that the number of Nepali workers leaving the country for overseas employment rose by 50.4 percent during the 2004/05 fiscal year (Note: Nepal's fiscal year runs from July to July. End note.) Various "manpower" agencies exported a total of 137,678 Nepali laborers to 15 employment destinations during the last fiscal year, as compared with 91,540 in 2003/04. The majority of workers migrated to Malaysia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). WHAT IS THE GOVERNMENT DOING? -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The Embassy and USAID gathered representatives on October 5 from UN agencies and Nepal's government, INGO and NGO sectors to discuss efforts to promote the safe migration of Nepali citizens. Purushotam Ojha, Secretary of the Ministry of Labor and Transport Management, noted that a lack of pre-departure information coupled with informal/illegal migration were the main factors contributing to labor and sexual exploitation. Indebtedness to middlemen involved in sending Nepali workers to destination countries often led to abuses and indentured servitude overseas; for example, the current "dispatch fee" Nepalis paid to work in Malaysia was 80,000 rupees (USD 1,143),which took most Nepalis up to two years to repay. A reduction in dispatch costs needed to take place, Ojha underscored. Ojha admitted that Nepalese missions abroad did not have sufficient staff to monitor workplaces to ensure that labor conditions were humane and contracts were honored. The government needed to establish a "monitoring mechanism" to track labor conditions for Nepalis working overseas, Ojha concluded. ¶4. (SBU) Ojha stated that government measures on safe migration should be "promotive" rather than "restrictive." The government was taking a number of steps to support the safe migration of Nepali workers abroad. In an effort to safeguard the rights of Nepali workers overseas, the government in March signed a labor accord with Qatar, home to the second largest group of expatriate Nepali laborers (ref A). Similar bilateral accords with other destination countries were under negotiation, Ojha revealed. The Ministry of Labor was also developing an amendment to the Foreign Employment Act and Regulations to reflect current labor conditions. Ojha noted his Ministry was working with NGOs and other stakeholders to disseminate information on safe migration at the field level, particularly to discourage migration through unofficial or illegal channels. He noted that there was a need for "partnering" between government and recruiting agencies to establish a built-in mechanism to monitor the situation of Nepali workers. A "lot of room for improvement" remained, Ojha admitted to the group. ¶5. (SBU) Dr. Ram Hari Aryal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Population, added that migration is one component of population change and an "emerging issue" in socio-economic sectors. He noted that migration was a regional issue and safe migration should therefore be promoted through regional cooperation. "We need good, substantial policies at the national level," Aryal admitted, adding that "we're in the process of developing these." According to Aryal, policies should include protection and benefits to migrants, pre-departure information, monitoring, and strengthening of consular services for Nepalis working abroad. Additional studies were necessary, Aryal underscored, to determine the extent of the problem, particularly in relation to the trafficking and smuggling of migrants. Aryal noted that his Ministry "welcomed ideas" from NGOs and other sectors for such a survey. IO'S, INGO'S AND NGO'S: MIGRATION TOUCHES ALL NEPALESE YOUTH -------------- -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The International Labor Organization (ILO) representative, Pracha Prasat, noted the difficulty in establishing safe migration programs since many migrants did not travel through formal channels. Various organizations' estimates, therefore, were most likely underestimating the numbers. He noted that the ILO was working on the prevention side through social mobilizers, radio programs, employment generation activities, and the non-formal education sector. The ILO was also partner to HMGN in its National Plan of Action to combat trafficking in persons, Prasat stated (ref B),and was planning a series of studies on migration. ¶7. (SBU) Aruna Thapa, United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) representative, explained the measures her organization had taken to safeguard the rights of women workers. Women workers, particularly migrant workers, were stigmatized in Nepali society. UNIFEM had thus launched a media campaign to address negative stereotypes of women workers in Nepalese society, and also to lift a government-imposed ban on female workers traveling to the Middle East (Note: This ban has since been lifted. End note.) UNIFEM had also advocated for, and won, a government-imposed requirement that recruiting agencies provide workers with three days of pre-departure orientation. Thapa noted, and the Labor Ministry's Ojha agreed, that while the government had done its job in passing this law, the recruiting agencies were getting around it by selling certificates of pre-departure training attendance. Thapa claimed that the feminization of poverty in Nepal (since only 6-10 percent of land was registered in women's names) and the Maoist conflict resulted in women being "the first to migrate" in search of work and other opportunities for their families. ¶8. (SBU) "Safe migration has touched each and every youth in the context of the current conflict," Pankaja Bhattarai of The Asia Foundation (TAF) stated. Bhattarai noted that because migration was an individual right, it was important not to restrict it and force it underground, which would make migrants more vulnerable to exploitation. While TAF's focus was primarily on urban areas, it worked with local partners in all seventy-five of Nepal's districts to set up safe migration counseling booths and provide safe migration training to Village District Committee (VDC) task forces. While safe migration was the responsibility of the government, Bhattarai noted, it was also important to engage the employment agencies to be more accountable to migrant workers. ¶9. (SBU) Although safe migration was an emerging issue in its own right, other organization representatives noted that programs promoting safe migration were subsumed within their anti-trafficking initiatives. The South Asia Regional Initiative/Equity (SARI/Q),funded by USAID, had recently conducted a policy workshop on safe migration, which included an assessment of pre-departure programs and regional resource materials available for safe migration. Prakash Bhattarai, Secretary General of Youth Action Nepal (YAN),stated that SIPDIS his organization had identified labor migration as a major issue for Nepalese youth. He noted that Chief District Officers (CDOs),who issued passports at the district level, were responsible for providing pre-departure counseling. Bhattarai revealed that YAN had prepared a study entitled "Migration of Nepalese for Foreign Employment: Prospects and Problems," which would be published soon. THE RECRUITING AGENCIES' PERSPECTIVE -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agents (NAFEA) representative Tirtha Gurung, stated that his organization, which represented 450 member companies, was taking steps to control corruption and labor exploitation. Middlemen were providing wrong information to workers, Gurung admitted, and incidents of sexual and other exploitation were taking place, particularly to those coming out of rural areas. While NAFEA could investigate complaints directly, it was also working with UNIFEM, NGOs and INGOs to provide a unified approach to the increasing incidence of abuse stemming from the rising numbers of migrants leaving Nepal to find safety, security, and economic opportunity in the face of dwindling economic prospects as a result of Nepal's decade-long Maoist insurgency. The best way to solve the problem, he continued, was to work with the government, since the solution lay in increasing the number of bilateral labor agreements and improving consular services to Nepalese workers. With Nepalese workers doing so much to help Nepal, Gurung stated, it was time Nepal did more to help its workers. (Note: Total remittances represented nearly 12 percent of Nepal's GDP last year. End note.) COMMENT -------------- ¶11. (SBU) The right to migrate in search of a better livelihood or security, particularly in the context of the Maoist insurgency, must be balanced with Nepal's need to create a better legal framework that helps prevent the growing trend of labor and sexual exploitation during migration. Rising numbers of Nepali citizens are on the move--from rural to urban areas, and from Nepal to India and other receiving nations. As economic opportunities dwindle and security issues rise due to Nepal's ongoing Maoist insurgency, increasing numbers of migrants are leaving Nepal in search of security and employment. Safe migration is therefore becoming an increasingly important issue for the government, the people, and the donor community in Nepal. Without a unified approach by government, non-state, and recruiting agency representatives, labor and sexual exploitation will continue to be a rising trend. MORIARTY