Migrant Workers' Access to Justice at Home: Nepal

Migrant Workers' Access to Justice Series (Open Society Foundations), 2014

U of Penn Law School, Public Law Research Paper No. 14-22

UNSW Law Research Paper No. 2014-28

225 Pages Posted: 23 Jun 2014 Last revised: 10 Jul 2014

See all articles by Sarah Paoletti

Sarah Paoletti

University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School

Eleanor Taylor-Nicholson

University of New South Wales (UNSW)

Bandita Sijapati

Centre for the Study of Labour and Mobility

Bassina Farbenblum

University of New South Wales (UNSW) - UNSW Law & Justice

Date Written: June 10, 2014

Abstract

Nepal’s citizens engage in foreign employment at the highest per capita rate of any other country in Asia, and their remittances account for 25 percent of the country’s GDP. The Middle East is now the most popular destination for Nepalis -- nearly 700,000 were working in the Middle East in 2011 on temporary labor contracts. For some Nepalis, working abroad provides much-needed household wealth. For others, their contributions to Nepal come at great personal cost. Migrant workers in the Gulf, for example, routinely report wage theft, lack of time off and unsafe and unhealthy working conditions. Some migrant workers report psychological and physical abuse, and other forms of labor exploitation that may rise to the level of forced labor, debt bondage or other forms of trafficking. Women engaged in domestic work are often isolated in the home, where they may also endure emotional, physical and sexual abuse. The story of labor migration begins and ends at home. The conditions that give rise to labor trafficking are often set pre-departure in the recruitment phase itself. Between 2012 and 2014, researchers from Nepal, Australia and the United States conducted a study on migrant workers’ access to justice in Nepal, including for exploitation and trafficking. Justice was defined to comprise both compensation for losses, and the holding of perpetrators accountable, for example through fines, licensing sanctions, or even imprisonment. The study found that overall access to justice in Nepal was extremely low, especially for migrant workers who have been survivors of labor trafficking. However, clear routes exist to improvement. The full results of the study, and related recommendations, are contained in the report Migrant Workers Access to Justice at Home: Nepal. This is the second study in a series providing a comprehensive analysis of migrant workers’ access to justice at home; the first study, Migrant Workers Access to Justice at Home: Indonesia, was published October 2013.

Keywords: Migrants, labor migration, migration, human trafficking, guest workers, country of origin, destination country, human rights, forced or coerced labor, labor exploitation, workers' rights, worker safety, labor contracts, recruitment, civil society, access to justice, redress and remedies

Suggested Citation

Paoletti, Sarah and Taylor-Nicholson, Eleanor and Sijapati, Bandita and Farbenblum, Bassina, Migrant Workers' Access to Justice at Home: Nepal (June 10, 2014). Migrant Workers' Access to Justice Series (Open Society Foundations), 2014, U of Penn Law School, Public Law Research Paper No. 14-22, UNSW Law Research Paper No. 2014-28, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2457948

Sarah Paoletti (Contact Author)

University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School ( email )

3501 Sansom Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.law.upenn.edu/cf/faculty/paoletti/

Eleanor Taylor-Nicholson

University of New South Wales (UNSW) ( email )

Kensington
High St
Sydney, NSW 2052
Australia

Bandita Sijapati

Centre for the Study of Labour and Mobility ( email )

GPO Box 25334
Kathmandu
Nepal

Bassina Farbenblum

University of New South Wales (UNSW) - UNSW Law & Justice ( email )

Kensington, New South Wales 2052
Australia

HOME PAGE: http://www.law.unsw.edu.au/staff/FarbenblumB/

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