|
Background:
In the world today approximately 175 million people are working outside their own countries, 80% of whom are labour migrants. International labour migration plays an important role in the global economic growth. In 1972 the total volume of remittance sent by the migrants stood at US $2 billion, while in 2000 it reached to $80 billion. Despite the multifaceted contributions of migrant workers to their own national economies and international economy as a whole, there is yet to emerge an international structure for protecting their rights. The migrant workers are harassed and their rights violated in a number of ways in various stages of their migration process, in source, transit and destination countries.
All South Asian countries send labour for overseas employment. The problems faced by the migrant workers of this region are more or less similar. However, each country is striving to develop its own approach to address these problems. In 2003, the Refuge and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) of the University of Dhaka and the Department for International Development (DFID), UK jointly organised an international conference titled Migration, Development and Pro-poor Policy Choices in Asia. The participants of the conference that included researchers, government officials and NGO activists agreed that the South Asian countries should come to a common stand on issues relating to the rights of migrant workers, work conditions in the receiving countries and so on. They also felt that much can be learnt from one another with regard to management of migration. It is in this backdrop that the South Asia Migration Resource Network (SAMReN) has been launched at a recently concluded meeting in Dhaka. Representatives of five South Asian countries have finalised the objectives and activities of this Network. The Secretariat of this network is located at RMMRU, Bangladesh. SAMReN is being supported by the DFID, UK.
An interactive website will be the hub of this Network that will provide information on migration experiences of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. This Network will be the source of information for policy makers and researchers, as well as of aspirant migrants. SAMReN will also offer research grants as well as training to young researchers, journalists and government officials on migration.
| Objectives: |
*Exchange information on the nature and magnitude of internal and external migration flows and develop a database to assist governments in taking appropriate policy measures.
*Ensure observance of labour standards by sharing information and lobbying the governments of South Asian countries.
*Engage in policy advocacy and to provide inputs to policy makers to better manage migration;
*Provide broad based and reliable information and options to the policy makers at national and regional levels.
*Help Governments to advocate concerned international organizations for better protection of migrant workers.
*Develop an information resource base of migration literature focusing on South Asia by South Asians and others.
*Exchange and build an information pool for all stakeholders.
*Promote collaborative research to better understand the links between migration and poverty.
*
Develop capacity of young academics, professionals and NGOs through training, fellowship and other means to better analyse and manage migration.
|
SAMReN Activities:
*An interactive website with figures and statistics, update on government policies, important news items, new publications, findings of research etc. with regard to migration
*Training workshop for young academics and professionals on Social Science Research and Migration
*Fellowship as research grants for young academics and professionals
*Documentation to develop a library with books, articles, documents, reports, data and statistics on migration
*Briefs for policy makers
*Publications
Core Group:
1. Dr. Jagannath Adhikari, Nepal Institute of Development Studies, Nepal
2. Mr. Haris Gazdar, Collective for Social Science Research, Pakistan
3. Dr. Ganesh Gurung, Nepal Institute of Development Studies, Nepal
4. Ms. Myrtle Perera, Marga Institute, Sri Lanka (Chair)
5. Dr. S K Sasikumar, V V Giri National Labour Institute, India
6. Dr. Tasneem Siddiqui, RMMRU, Bangladesh
7. Mr. G. D. G. Soysa, Migrant Collective, Sri Lanka
8. Dr. Ravi S. Srivastava, Centre for the Study of Regional Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University.
For further information on SAMReN contact:
Programme Officer, SAMReN
C/o, Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit
Sattar Bhaban (4th Floor)
3/3 E, Bijoynagar
Dhaka 1000
website: www.samren.org
|
![Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit [RMMRU]](images/RMMRU_LOGO.jpg){kind=logo}