By Marion Dehier

From 21 to 24 May 2019, Uganda hosted a regional workshop on Regulation and Ethics of International Labour Recruitment.

The workshop was organized by IOM, the UN Migration Agency, through the Better Migration Management (BMM) Programme, a regional, multi-year, multi-partner programme, funded by the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and coordinated by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). IOM is one of the main implementing partners alongside UNODC, Expertise France, Italian Department of Public Security, CIVIPOL, GIZ and the British Council.  The BMM aims to improve migration management in the Horn of Africa and covers, in addition to Uganda, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan.

Government stakeholders, public and private recruitment agencies and civil society representatives from Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda attended the workshop in Entebbe.

The objective of the three-day workshop was to build the capacity of the East and Horn of Africa-focused BMM and adjunct countries’ government regulators, recruitment agencies and civil society actors on issues of ethical recruitment and migrant workers’ rights by exposing them to the various IOM tools, like IRIS, Bilateral Arrangements, and other international instruments and good practices according to International Migration Law (IML). It also aimed at strengthening national governments in pursuing a whole-of-government approach to migration management and migration governance, including to address trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants, abuse and exploitation of migrants, and thus at strengthening international cooperation and partnerships for safe, orderly and regular migration.

International labour migration is a necessity in today’s globalized world. An estimated 164 million persons are working outside their country of birth. In Africa approximately 25 million persons are considered international migrants; more than 80% of whom migrate in search of employment. It is estimated that slightly over 50% of these migrants are young, predominantly male and below the age of 25 years old, while female migrants constitute approximately 47%. Despite efforts to ensure the protection of migrant workers, millions remain vulnerable and assume significant risks during the migration process. Unethical and corrupt recruitment practices are often at the root of this problem.

Speaking during the opening ceremony, IOM Uganda Chief of Mission Mr. Ali Abdi said: “It is IOM’s conviction that well-regulated labour migration can be a powerful driver of development. This is also emphasized in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the recently-adopted Global Compact for Migration (GCM)”.

Among other goals, the GCM aims to strengthen international cooperation and global partnerships for safe, orderly and regular migration (objective 23), and facilitate fair and ethical recruitment and safeguard conditions that ensure decent work (objective 6).

Mr. Martin Wandera, Director of Labor, Employment and Occupational Safety and Health, represented the Ugandan Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development. He underscored the need for regional and global action: “No country can address migration on its own. Regional meetings like this are therefore very important to make migration work better for humanity.”

The European Union was represented by Mr. Thomas Tiedemann, Head Section for Democratic Governance and Human Rights, and Acting Head of Cooperation at the European Union Delegation to Uganda. During the opening ceremony, Tiedemann said: “It is our hope that this workshop will further strengthen the coordination between all the partners and governments. It is the first of its kind and we are proud to have it in Uganda.”

The workshop was facilitated by IOM’s Senior Regional BMM Coordinator Mrs. Tatiana Hadjiemmanuel from IOM Regional Office for the East and Horn of Africa, and Mr. Philip Hunter, Senior Labour Migration Specialist from IOM Headquarters in Geneva.

Through a series of working level meetings, governments exchanged ideas on innovations and best practices and identified regulatory and policy gaps and variances. Parallel discussions took place among key recruitment agencies to encourage a dialogue on ethical recruitment as well as human and labour rights.

Finally, participants were introduced to and trained in the use of IOM’s International Recruitment Integrity System (IRIS).

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For more information please contact Mrs Parul Mehra, IOM Regional Office for East and Horn of Africa, Nairobi, Kenya at pmehra@iom.int