Migrant workers are facing a number of critical problems particularly before departing and in the country of destination.
It is estimated that more than 6 million Nepali youth are working as foreign labor migrants in more than 100 countries around the world, but mostly in the Middle East and Malaysia. Migrant workers are hugely contributing to Nepal’s GDP over the past one and half decades and also have been instrumental in reducing poverty and improving the standard of living of thousands of poor families throughout
Nepal. Despite the positive contributions made by Nepali migrant workers in the time of political and economic instability in the country, they are deprived of living a dignified life during the entire migration cycle. Thus, protecting the rights of Nepali migrant workers throughout the migration cycle is considered Nepal government’s primary responsibility, where other actors such as civil society can play a supplementary role in this regard. Effective implementation of the existing migration policies and effective functioning of migration governance is regarded as fundamental step towards protecting the rights of migrant workers. Given this context, this project is proposed to establish a civil society monitoring mechanism for the “Effectiveness of Migration Policies and Governance” in Nepal. Analysis of news coverage related to foreign labor migration in the print and online Nepali media, conduction of the users’ satisfaction survey regarding the quality and efficiency of services provided by the relevant government agencies, and an annual assessment on the progress made by Nepal government for implementing its labor migration policies and programs and introducing new policies and initiatives are proposed as three major tools to monitor the progress towards the effectiveness of migration policies and governance in the country.
