Gov't, IOM launch project to safeguard migrant workers

MIGRANT WORKERS 

The Government together in partnership with the International Organisation for Immigration (IOM) have launched a project aimed at strengthening the safety of Ugandan migrant workers.

The project is to cost $1.2m, in 25 selected districts funded by the United States of America Department of State (Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons [J/TIP] ), through the Global Fund To End Modern Slavery (GFEMS).

The districts to be covered include; Kampala, Lyantonde, Mukono, Wakiso, Buikwe, Rakai in Central region; Butaleja, Mbale, Busia, Manafwa/Namisindwa Mayuge; Tororo, Iganga, Budaka, Kibuku, Sironko and Namayingo (Eastern); Arua, Gulu, Lira and Napak (Northern); Isingiro, Kisoro and Mbarara in Western Uganda.

The districts are regarded to having a high incidence of people being trafficked through labour as per 2018 Government report.

The IOM Uganda Chief of Mission, Savage Tejan Sanusi, said the initiative is aimed at promoting and protecting the rights of Ugandan migrant workers.

"They deserve to be treated with respect, with dignity and in an environment of the personal security. But the same cannot be said for a good number of international migrant workers from Uganda, who seek employment abroad," he noted.

He cited some of the stories heard from the migrant workers including sentences like: "I was bought.....or I was sold or my passport was confiscated, or even when I was sick, I was forced to work".

He said such stories are so sad, stressing that the preamble of the IOM's Constitution encourages provision of migration assistance, including assisting the migration of persons "to countries where they may achieve self-dependence through their employment".

Sanusi said if recruitment is done in a fair and transparent way, recruitment contributes to safe, orderly labour migration which benefits countries of origin and destination, employers and migrants.

"But when it is conducted in a manner inconsistent with international standards, unethical recruitment can lead to fraudulent behavior, exploitation and, in the worst cases, conditions of forced labour, enslavement, and grave human rights abuses," he added.

He noted that in many migration corridors, the vulnerabilities experienced by migrant workers are exacerbated by weaknesses in regulation and enforcement.

He said inconsistences across jurisdictions, coupled with uneven enforcement capacity, can lead to gaps in migrant protection.

He further noted that even the current Covid-19 pandemic situation has scaled up in many countries the vulnerability of migrant workers in general and female domestic migrant workers in particular.

Project goals

Sanusi said the project; "Bolstering ethical recruitment policies and practice to enhance safe and orderly labour migration pathways, prevent exploitation and better protect migrant workers from Uganda" will strengthen commitments and actions of private recruitment agencies to create consensus, cooperation, and an enabling environment for ethical recruitment across the industry.

To improve policy, regulatory and enforcement frameworks at national and local levels to enhance migrant protection and promote ethical recruitment, provide capacity development services on ethical recruitment to a range of stakeholders, including the Uganda Government as well as the members of the Uganda Association of External Recruitment Agencies (UAERA).

Sanusi said the project will facilitate stakeholder dialogues and engagements on ethical recruitment and the protection of migrant workers, including support in policy dialogue, development, and implementation; regulation; due diligence; and enforcement.

He said "ethical recruitment" is the heart of the project and will be implemented through the promotion of the International Recruitment Integrity System (IRIS) as its flagship global initiative on ethical recruitment.

The UN Resident Coordinator in Uganda, Rosa Malango, said contemporary slavery, modern slavery or neo-slavery is estimated by the International Labour Organization (ILO), to include at least 40 million people worldwide including people affected by forced labor, those exploited as domestic workers-in construction-in agriculture.

"It also includes victims of human trafficking, millions sexually exploited as well as women and girls forced into alleged marriages," she added.

Malango said many Ugandan migrant workers who have returned from work stints abroad tell tales of being treated as if they are not human beings.

"This is an abomination, a tragedy for which we have a collective responsibility to eliminate and eradicate," she noted.

She stressed that the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a clarion call to eradicate slavery in all its forms.

"On behalf of the UN, I reiterate our commitment to tackle human trafficking, modern slavery and forced labour as outlined in targets under SDG 5 Gender Equality and SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth. We will also leverage the UN's Global Compact on Migration, Objectives 6 and 10 to inform our contribution to this fight," Malango added. 

She commended IOM Uganda for developing the initiative to prevent exploitation or enslaving of Ugandan migrant workers abroad.

The Minister for Gender, Frank Tumwebaze, said they are going to analyse all the agreements Uganda signed with different countries to see their commitment towards respecting the rights of workers.

He said all bilateral agreements which do not place rights of migrant workers as priority, will be repudiated immediately.

Tumwebaze also noted that there is need to have teams to inspect where "our people work".

Uganda Association of External Recruitment Agencies (UAERA) chairman, Barker Akantambira, said government needs to expedite the signing of bilateral agreements with other countries where many Ugandans have been going to work.

"We have many Ugandans in Oman and United Arab Emirates but we have no agreements with them. We had two agreements with Saudi Arabia and Jordan. But the Jordan agreement failed because of mistreating our girls and refusing to pay them," he said.

He noted that when Ugandans go to countries with bilateral agreements, there is always a fallback position.

"But without agreements, people suffer a reason why we continue to receive stories of many girls suffering," he said.

He said the number of Ugandans sent abroad by recruitment companies increased from 20,000 in 2017 to 60,000 as of end of 2019.

Uganda has 196 licensed export labour companies.