Good Practice

Improving the governance and protection mechanisms for labour migration in the Middle East & Advocacy Strategy on ILO's Domestic Workers Convention in the Arab States (C189) - Final Evaluation

Project documentation | 24 October 2017
Contact(s): RO-Arab States/DWT-Beirut
Good Practice Description

Governance of labour migration and the protection of migrant workers are sensitive issues in several countries in the region, in particular in GCC countries. The project, in cooperation with other ILO departments, engaged with government officials in these countries on labour migration in the framework of labour market and/or employment policy related issues, anti-trafficking issues, etc. which governments are interested to discuss and for which ILO know-how is well received.

Communication is a very important tool for the dissemination of information. The involvement of PANOS (communication institute sub-contracted by the project) did not generate a passionate welcome upon inception, but the work delivered has generated new opportunities with the media which offer potential for further development.

Although research work has not followed a precise plan of action, the knowledge base on labour migration issues has been enriched through the preparation of research studies, the implementation of surveys, the development of the data base and the gathering of experienced resource persons at different events.

The project cooperated with the PAVE project, to deliver a joint training programme for Governments, the social partners and the civil society on anti-trafficking issues, with CARITAS Lebanon to design and develop a research initiative on Access to Justice, with ILO Cairo to design a joint component of a Project replicating advisory services on the migration policy to the context of Egypt, with the Work in Freedom project (DFID funded) to implement a survey on knowledge and attitudes of employers of domestic workers in Jordan and with the EU-funded South Asia Labour Migration project (implemented by ILO) focusing on GCC countries from the perspective of sending countries.

The focus on domestic work under Outcome 4 has provided the opportunity to test gender-sensitive approaches in the development of migration governance models. Under the research and policy component (Outcome 1) Domestic Work is the occupation chosen to qualify gender sensitive vulnerabilities of women migrants.