Representatives of Amnesty International’s affiliated local Groups are trained about rights of the migrant workers. For the campaigning purpose Amnesty International (AI) has named them the “Safe Migration Ambassadors” (SMAs). The training for the SMAs was held on 18-20 January 2013 in Chitwan. As a part of the SMA initiatives, 24 representatives from Amnesty International’s affiliated local Groups covering around 17 districts were trained to fulfill an objective of the organization to enable SMAs in providing appropriate, sufficient and useful information to the perspective and returnees migrants or their relatives/friends.
Every SMAs after receiving training will organize at least 6 awareness raising events basically to provide different types of information regarding migration in sub-district level during local mela/festivals or major
gathering when that takes place locally. In those events, practical information about migration including rights of the individual going abroad for the work will be provided by the SMAs.
In the program, Robert Godden, Asia-Pacific Campaign Coordinator of Amnesty International, Rameshwar Nepal, Director of Amnesty International Nepal, Pradeep Subedi, the Under Secretary of Department of Foreign Employment and Pravina Gurung, the Project Coordinator at the International Organization of Migration run various sessions about the various aspects of migration and rights of the migrant workers.
Highlighted topics of the program were challenges for women in labour migration in Nepal, international and domestic framework protection about women migrants and difficulties women face on return to Nepal. Likewise, an introduction to international migrants rights framework, rights abuses in labour migration from Nepal, types of abuses, failures in the system, processes that one wishing to go abroad for the work has to complete, process to file complaint against individual or agency who have exploited him/her, remedies (including compensation) that a person can have access to and processes for it and types of services and benefits available (from Nepal government) for one who is exploited in the migration process.
In Nepal recruitment agencies continued to traffic migrant workers for labour exploitation and forced labour. Recruiters deceived many migrants in the terms and conditions of work. So, Amnesty International is organizing campaign countrywide to make the people aware about their rights.