Niyama Rai is the National Project Coordinator for the South Asia Labour Migration Governance (SALM) project based at the ILO Country Office for Nepal. In this role, she works closely with government agencies, trade unions, employers, and civil society organizations to promote effective governance of labour migration in Nepal. In particular, she provides technical support to promote the protection of the rights of migrant workers; collaborates with employers and concerned stakeholders to support ethical recruitment practices through policy dialogues and cross-learning exchanges; develops evidence-based knowledge products; and manages activities for providing direct support to Nepali migrant workers.

Niyama has been engaged in areas related to human trafficking, labour migration, gender equity and social inclusion since 2010. Prior to joining the ILO, she worked as a Program Officer at The Asia Foundation for the USAID-funded Combating Trafficking in Persons program in Nepal. In her capacity as a Program Officer, she worked with key government agencies including the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, the Office of the Attorney General, the National Judicial Academy and various local government agencies to strengthen and implement rights-based policies focused on human trafficking and safe labour migration. Niyama had also previously been engaged with research institutes to conduct evidence-based researches on various topics including organ trafficking, financial literacy, ethnic cultural movements, and human trafficking.

Niyama holds an undergraduate degree in Sociology-Anthropology and Economics from Middlebury College, Vermont, USA and a graduate degree in Sustainable International Development from Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, Massachusetts, USA.

Working language – English and Nepali (national language)