Meeting the Challenge

1
Meeting the Challenge

• Confronting the Problem and Presenting Solutions
  to Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong
  Sub-region
• Thetis Mangahas
• Allan Dow
• Cairns, Australia - 5 August 2008

2
Confronting the problem

• Building the knowledge base
• Within a labor migration framework, what is the
  extent of the problem?
• What are the aggravating factors?
• What sectors of work are most affected and who
  are the people worst affected?

3
What did we learn?

• Increasing share of children and youth (30 of
  migrants below age 25)
• Children come with parents youth on their own
• They are unable to access education and social
  services due to irregular status or fear
• They endure abuse difficult working conditions
• Young women and men affected in different ways
  and jobs clustered according to gender

4
What did we learn?

• Exploitation occurs against a background of
  social tolerance and exploitation.
• Many employers unaware of national laws regarding
  migrants and childrens rights
• Migrants often view informal recruiters in a
  positive light providing better and cheaper
  services
• Under-regulated sectors foster employer impunity
  seafood/fishing, domestic work, construction,
  prostitution, tourism-related entertainment

5
Indications of exploitation

• Restricted freedom of movement (outside work
  hours)
• Constraints preventing workers from leaving their
  workplaces even during time off
• Debt bondage and deductions
• Violence
• No control over documents
• Excessive work hours
• Lack of rest days

6
What we did

• With partners, contributed to policy and local
  level change
• targeted poverty reduction and employment
  alternatives
• improving migration management and recruitment
  practices
• address exploitation directly with outreach to
  those at risk, and monitoring exploitative work
  sectors
• start-up activities on longer term return and
  reintegration work
• Demonstrated the value of working simultaneously
  throughout the migration chain (from source to
  destination)
• Video documentation examples of on the ground
  work

7
Working with Governments

• Multilateral and Bilateral work with Governments
• Research sub-regional recruitment practices
  affecting migrant workers offering ways to
  improve them
• Train on improved recruitment practices in
  sectors where young people face exploitation
• Produce awareness-raising materials for
  vulnerable groups (Travel Smart Work Smart)
• Support coordinated implementation of laws and
  approaches to respond to the needs of migrants,
  children and victims at all levels

8
Working with workers

• Bringing together labor-rights advocates
• To recruit them in the fight to better protect
  those with little protection including migrants
  and help build support networks (e.g. legal
  teams)
• To help us better understand the situation on the
  ground and learn the correct responses

9
Working with employers

• Bringing together socially responsible employers
• To help employers meet their hiring needs and
  improve accountability
• To recruit their organizations in the fight
  against exploitative employers and agents

10
Working with communities

• Through NGOs, womens/childrens advocates
• To offer livelihood options and skills training
  closer to home (an alternative to migration)
• To help young people (esp. girls) remain in
  school longer
• To give a voice to those whos views are rarely
  consulted (e.g. Children/Youth Forums)
• To reach, inform, shelter, provide services for
  migrants at risk

11
Public and Policy Advocacy

• To break down negative stereo-types about
  migrants, women, girls.
• Actively encourage the inclusive bottom-up
  approach while working simultaneously at policy
  levels
• Lobby for better protection and access to social
  services for young migrant workers at
  destinations

12
Meeting the Challenge

• Keeping the promise to our stakeholders..
• Here are some of their views