Ongoing

Developing effective up-to-date programs that benefit migrant workers is one of the primary goals of RMMRU. Below is a list of the programs RMMRU is currently engaged in: 

Fight Slavery and Trafficking-in-Persons (FSTIP)
Duration: June, 2024 – March, 2026

The Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) is implementing a project titled "The Fight Slavery and Trafficking-in-Persons (FSTIP) Activity” with Winrock International supported by The United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This two-year initiative is designed to implement strategic interventions to combat human trafficking, reduce vulnerability, and ensure safe migration practices.

The program's goal is to advance and promote safe migration, prevent TIP, and support vulnerable and affected migrant workers as well as survivors of trafficking. It seeks to ensure accountability by developing the knowledge of relevant institutions, engaging in policy advocacy, and promoting sustainable reintegration.

Objectives:
• Promoting safe migration and combat TIP through research, policy documentation an advocacy with reflection of best practices in regard of migration management as well as shelter home services.
• Strengthening capacity of institutions and stakeholders and awareness among migrant community and survivors.
• Ensuring services and support of vulnerable returnee migrants’ men and women through Sheter home and emergency support in connection with social and economic reintegration.

To improve the wellbeing of survivors and their successful reintegration into communities through social and economic support-services the implementing partner will follow specific intervention strategies to achieve the objectives of this project. These are:

a) Research, Evidence Generation and policy advocacy
b) Comprehensive Support and reintegration for vulnerable migrant workers and TIP
c) Enhancement of knowledge and Capacity of Govt., non-Govt Institutions
d) Campaign at grassroots
e) Strengthen collaborative engagement through networking, referral linkage for sustainable reintegration services.

The project aims to achieve the objectives aligned with the project goal, ensuring survivors centric comprehensive support mechanism and services for the well-being while fostering a more accountable and responsive institutional framework to combat human trafficking effectively in Bangladesh. It will help to promote survivor identification, and reintegration focused on gender equity and climate resilience.

Project Duration: January 2024 -March 2026
Supported by Asia Foundation

RMMRU is implementing a project named “Justice at the Door Step” project, a 5-year initiative of Asia Foundation under 'Promoting Effective, Responsive and Inclusive Governance in Bangladesh (PERI)' project. This initiative is part of the FCDO's Bangladesh Collaborative, Accountable and Peaceful Politics (B-CAPP) Programme. The objective of the programme is to enhance governance effectiveness, responsiveness, and inclusivity across Bangladesh. This project will help to achieve key policy and institutional reforms in targeted areas, fostering peaceful community relations. This project activities is implementing following two pathways

Pathway #1: Regularizing the Sub-Agents

Pathway #2: Strengthening the Grievance Management Committee (GMC)

Within this project, RMMRU has undertaken various activities aimed at supporting migrants, including migration mediation, legal assistance, and referral services. Additionally, awareness campaigns have been conducted, and capacity building programs have been facilitated at the grassroots level. On a national scale, RMMRU is actively engaged in advocacy programmes, research etc. to promote fairer labor migration practices and regarding regularisation of sub-agents.

Project Objectives

  • Strengthening migration governance; improving rule of law in migration management along with fostering transparency, accountability of migration institutions through regularization of the Sub Agents and execution of the Rules and policies.
  • Ensuring rights and protection of migrants as well as members of their families and reducing vulnerabilities of migrants especially for female migrants to ensuring justice at local level.
  • Enhancing capacities and strengthening knowledge of migrants’ stakeholders to ensure safe migration.
  • Developing evidence-based documentation to influence and support policy makers at national and global level.

Project Intervention Strategies

RMMRU’s aims to promote good governance in the migration sector through research; policy advocacy and field intervention to reduce the risk of fraudulence. Under this initiative, it will follow specific interventions strategies to achieve the objectives of RMMRU as well as PERI project. These are: (a) evidence-based research and advocacy initiatives (b) institutional capacity building of service providers; (c) Protection of migrants’ rights through national and community based programmes and campaigns and (d) networking and referral.

Funded by: The World Bank
Time Frame: June 1, 2023 to 10th April 2025

The Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment (MoEWOE) has taken initiative to set up a Reintegration Program for returnee migrants as part of a project titled “Recovery and Advancement of Informal Sector Employment (RAISE)” funded by the World Bank. The Wage Earners Welfare Board (WEWB), being an attached body of the Ministry will be responsible for supporting Reintegration of Returning Migrants and overall welfare services for Bangladeshi migrant workers as part of their regular welfare activities.

Under the RAISE project, RMMRU has established four (04) MWWCc/WCs in four districts; Tangail, Mymensingh, Kishoreganj and Thakurgaon, along with the four catchment districts; Sherpur, Jamalpur, Netrokona and Panchagar. Through these Welfare Centres, RMMRU has been conducting returnee migrants’ identification, screening, registration, counselling, referrals and other services. Throughthe project, RMMRU with the support of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) aims to promote a strong collaboration to support the Government of Bangladesh in its efforts to strengthen its services for the reintegration of returnee migrant workers.

Project Description:

RAISE project intends to uphold and establish the rights of the migrant to be reintegrated with the needful support from the Bangladesh government where they will be supported to bring positive change in their economic and social status. RMMRU, under the project, is expected to set up Welfare Centers, identify and register 31000 returnee migrants and provide them reintegration support through proper counseling, psychosocial first aid, referral, and follow-up mechanisms. The activities of the project will help the migrant community to fight back the after effect of the pandemic and support them to stand on their own feet with courage and confidence. In this particular project, the affected migrant workers who returned due to the COVID-19 pandemic and became vulnerable due to their return situation as a result of this emergency are the main beneficiaries and most important stakeholder. Besides them, the service-providing institutions at the local level such as DEMO office, PKB, TTC, any other private service-providing institutions, BMET, WEWB and MoEWOE. Other CSOs are one of the major stakeholders. The project activities at the community level will be implemented from June 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024.

Objectives:

The overall goal and objective of this project is to create a sustainable reintegration model in holistic approach for Bangladeshi returnee migrant workers. The specific objectives of this project are:

  • To promote livelihood opportunities through skill development
  • To provide referral services for the welfare of returnee migrant workers by engaging concerned stakeholders
  • To generate an effective database of returnee migrant workers
  • To provide psycho-social counselling to the returnee migrant workers through the welfare centre
  • To provide cash incentives to the selected returnee migrant workers

Implementation Strategy:

To smoothly implement the overall project interventions, RMMRU has established some strategies. As the establishment of the four Welfare Centers in Tangail, Mymensingh, Kishoreganj and Thakurgaon districts has already been completed, now the staffs of the centers are now moving towards the project implementation stage. First of all, the staff of the centers will raise awareness among mass people to inform and provide a clear concept of the RAISE project. After that, they will identify and register returnee migrants on the basis of some criteria. After the screening and registration, beneficiaries will be separated in some categories based on their specific needs. Later, the registered returnee migrants will be provided counseling to identify their specific needs and or problems. Then they will be referred for various services, such as skill development training, vocational training, mental health services, certification for RPL and so on. After availing the services the registered migrants will be eligible for the cash incentives. Finally they will be provided a reintegration card each.    

Funded by: Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation
Duration: 2021-2024 (31 March)

Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit is working for the well-being of the migrant workers and their family members, particularly the marginalized men and women in safer migration practices through improved quality of services and information. The Strengthened and Informative Migration Systems Project (SIMS) project supports to make informed choices related to migration, ensure access to justice and provide financial literacy to the migrant community.

Geographical Area:

The geographical coverage of the project is in twenty-five unions in five Upazilas of Cumilla district (Adarsha Sadar, Sadar Dakhin, Chandina, Muradnagar, Daudkandi).

Outcome of SIMS Project:

Outcome 1: Men and women migrant workers make an informed decision on migration with a view to choose pathways that maximize economic returns and minimize risks related to migration;

Outcome 2: Public and private sector providers have improved capacity to provide necessary services for safe migration;

Outcome 3: Migrants and their family members are able to reduce exposure to external shocks by using remittances more effectively.

For more information on any of the above ongoing programs please contact us at info@rmmru.org