KATHMANDU: ‘Migration Profile’, a book analyzing the trend and impact and the governance structure of migration in Nepal, has been launched today on the occasion of the International Migrants Day.
The profile has been prepared by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) with the coordination of the Government of Nepal.
Minister for Labour, employment and Social Security Rameshwor Raya Yadav launched the profile at a program organized to mark the Day.
IOM stated that the Profile has been prepared with the objective of supporting the formulation of effective policies by presenting updated statistics and of mainstreaming the migration in the development plans. The profile describes the types of migration, their characteristics and presents the related facts and figures by identifying the source.
It is divided into four parts and the first part contains the data and analysis regarding migration trends. The second part dwells on the impact of migration on the main socio-economic and development indicators; the third part deals with the governance structure for managing the migration while the fourth part contains recommendations t the policy makers.
On the occasion, Minister Yadav said the government has adopted a policy of sending only the skilled human resources for foreign employment in order to make the migration safe. He added that the remittance send back home by the migrant workers would be utilized in the productive sectors.
The Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security asserted that that manpower companies would be regulated by doing away with the anomalies and aberrations in the foreign employment sector. “The government has been implementing various welfare schemes targeted to the migrant workers since the past through its mechanisms,” he said.
Chairman of the Centre for Policy Research, Ganesh Gurung said problems were faced in making policy and plan for lack of true data and expressed confidence that the data and statistics included in the profile would support in advocating for improved policy and plans related to migration.
“The IOM can play this advocacy role in policy formulation and reforming laws related to migration being based on the facts and figures using the profile,” he said.
United Nations Resident Coordinator for Nepal, Valerie Juliand said the Migration Profile will help establish the rights of migrant workers in Nepal and abroad.
The statistics show that about 500,000 youths leave the country for abroad employment annually. Nepal Rastra Bank in a report said that around Rs 900 billion entered the country as a remittance in the last fiscal year.
IOM Chief of Mission for Nepal Lorena Lando said the Migration Profile has been prepared for taking forward the strategy on migration in a new way. She stressed that IOM’s wish was that migration should benefit both the country of origin and the country of destination.
Suggestion furnished to streamline migration
A total of 24 recommendations have been furnished in the profile for the management of the migration one among them being formulation the border migration policy and establishing institutional coordination mechanism.
There are several organizations working on various levels that oversee migration-related works. The profile has offered its suggestion to work in coordination with these organizations.
Furthermore, the profile also suggests the inking of bilateral labor agreements with between the labor sender countries and the labor destinations for securing the welfare of the migrant workers.
It also draws the attention of the government towards creating opportunities for investment for the Nepali migrant workers returnees so that they could leverage their skill, knowledge and capacity and engage in self-employment also.
The document also points out the need for putting in place mechanisms that check the implementation of labor and foreign employment-related laws. Besides, a time-to-time review of the migration-related laws between the concerned agencies of both countries has been advised in the report.
According to the IOM, the profile was prepared in consultation with various government organizations, civil servants organizations, trade unions, research-based organizations and UN agencies and experts and consultants.
Various data such as national census, periodic survey and administrative archives were procured from the government agencies.
The profile that illustrates the various aspects of migration in 81 countries is considered one of the best thematic reports in the world.
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