In
today's globalized economy, workers are increasingly compelled to look for job
opportunities far away from home, and many find employment in countries other
than their own. With this in mind, UNODC, in partnership with the International
Labour Organization (ILO), have launched a global call for action to prevent
and respond to abuse and fraud in the recruitment of labour.
The initiative was unveiled at a side event during the 29th
Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, as part of a series of joint
efforts which include studies on human trafficking prevention through the
regulation of labour recruitment, and abusive recruitment practices and their
relation with trafficking in persons. These initiatives enjoy the support not
only of Governments, but of representatives from employer and labour
organizations worldwide.
While labour mobility brings benefits to millions of workers and
their family members, for many it comes at a high price, particularly when it
is not properly regulated. Both public and private employment agencies can play
an important role in mediating opportunities for full and productive employment
and decent work, and in promoting the efficient and equitable functioning of
labour markets. Across the world, however, concerns are being raised about
unscrupulous employment agencies, informal labour recruiters and criminal
traffickers who prey on the low-skilled and migrant workers in particular,
acting outside legal and regulatory frameworks. Reported abuses include
deception about the nature and conditions of work, retention of passports,
deposits and illegal wage deductions, charging of recruitment fees to workers,
debt bondage linked to the repayment of recruitment fees, and threats of
violence or deportation. These abuses derive from gaps in the governance of
labour recruitment, especially across international borders.
ILO and UNODC have thus joined forces to promote fair
recruitment practices within and across countries. ILO's Fair Recruitment Initiative,
which has also gained support within the Global Migration Group, aims to
prevent human trafficking and forced labour within and across borders; protect
workers, in particular migrant workers, from abusive and fraudulent recruitment
practices; reduce the human, social and economic costs of labour migration and
enhance development outcomes for migrant workers and their families, as well as
for countries of origin and destination. Synergies and cooperation is being
built with other relevant initiatives, including IOM's initiative on Ethical
Recruitment. The Fair Recruitment Initiative is grounded in international
standards and guiding principles, notably ILO Conventions, Protocols and
Recommendations, the UN Trafficking in Persons Protocol, and the UN Guiding
Principles on Business and Human Rights.
As the guardian of the Trafficking in Persons Protocol, UNODC
assists Member States in their efforts to effectively implement the Trafficking
in Persons Protocol and to build comprehensive and effective responses to
trafficking in persons. This includes research, issue papers and reports on
trafficking in persons to increase Member States' knowledge and understanding
of key concepts and issues concerning trafficking in persons.
Based on those above-mentioned international commitments and
principles, ILO and UNODC call on governments, social partners, businesses,
other international agencies, and all concerned stakeholders, as appropriate
and in line with their respective roles and mandates, to strengthen their efforts
to address abusive and fraudulent recruitment practices by considering the
following actions:
Adopt and strengthen, in line with international standards,
national laws, particularly labour, migration and criminal laws and other
regulatory measures, to address the entire spectrum of fraudulent and abusive
recruitment practices that may lead to trafficking in persons;
Raise awareness amongst recruiters, private employment agencies
and employers in the private and public sectors on due diligence and best
practices on how to eliminate abusive and fraudulent recruitment practices;
Enable cooperation among relevant government agencies, workers'
organisations, employers' organisations and representatives of private
employment agencies; promote strategic partnerships between the public and
private sectors, and facilitate exchange of good practices within common
migration routes, so as to ensure that labour recruiters violating criminal
laws are sanctioned, including, where appropriate, for the offence of trafficking
in persons;
Ensure coverage and enforcement of other relevant legislation,
including labour law, to eliminate abusive and fraudulent practices during the
recruitment and placement process;
Create an environment that is conducive to fair and sustainable
business practices;
Create complaint mechanisms and ensure that migrant workers who
have experienced abusive and fraudulent recruitment practices or subsequent
exploitation, gain access to justice and effective remedies, such as
compensation;
Ensure the Right to Freedom of Association, maximise collective
bargaining coverage and support trade unions in their efforts to organize
workers, including migrant workers, to better protect them from exploitation
during or resulting from the recruitment process;
Foster the transparent and participatory negotiation, conclusion
and effective implementation of bilateral and regional agreements, rooted in
international standards, as well as other specific mechanisms to ensure
improved international coordination and cooperation and to close regulatory and
enforcement gaps across common labour migration routes;
Ensure that national mechanisms to regulate the recruitment of
migrant workers are integrated into labour migration policies and relevant
bilateral and regional agreements, to ensure coherence between national laws
and policies governing labour recruitment and the broader policies relating to
employment, skills, and education;
Promote the ratification of relevant UN and ILO Conventions, in
particular the recently adopted Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour
Convention, 1930; the Trafficking in Persons Protocol; the Private Employment
Agencies Convention, 1997 (No 181); the Migration for Employment Convention,
1949 (No 97) and the Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention,
1975 (No 143) to ensure proper recognition and regulation of labour recruiters
and employment agencies. –End-
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