Access to justice for recruitment-related abuses

Recruitment of migrant workers should be conducted in a way that respects, protects and fulfils internationally recognized human rights. When these rights are violated, workers – irrespective of their nationality, legal status, gender, religion, ethnicity, caste or any other social or economic considerations – must have the right to access justice and to seek effective remedy.

Access to justice is central to making human rights, including labour rights, a reality for all workers and individuals. It is premised upon the central tenet of non-discrimination – that every person is entitled, without discrimination and on an equal basis with others, to equal treatment and protection under the law.

Ensuring effective access to justice forms critical component of the ILO’s work on labour migration and fair recruitment. The ILO has worked to advance access to justice for migrant workers through a number of activities, including legislative review and analysis, capacity building of duty bearers, and information and awareness-raising among migrant workers, among other areas. Recently, access to justice has been recognized as a “priority area of focus” by the Fair Recruitment Initiative (FRI) Advisory Committee.

The ILO Fair Recruitment Initiative Knowledge Hub will host a roundtable discussion on “Access to justice for recruitment-related abuses” to share ILO’s latest research findings and explore practical tools and approaches.

Welcome word 

09:30-09:40 (10”) 

CEST 

1. Michelle Leighton, Chief, ILO Labour Migration branch 

Part 1:

9:40-10:50

(70”)

1. Mustafa Qadri, Director, Equidem Research and Consulting 
2. Dr. Jeevan Baniya, Assistant Director, Social Science Baha 
3. Suriya Nandhini, National Coordinator, Migrant Resource Centre, Malaysian Trades Union Congress 
4. Douglas MacLean, Executive Director, Justice without Borders 
5. Vidhi Aggarwal, Lead, Labor and Human Rights Programs, Apple 

Moderator: International Training Centre of the ILO (ITC-ILO) 

Part 2: Q&A with audience 

10:50-11:25 (35”) 

Participants are encouraged to share their reflections on the subject and ask questions directly to panellists, using the Q&A function on Zoom. 

1. Moderator: ITC-ILO 

Closing 

11:25-11:30 (5”) 

1. Maria Gallotti, ILO Labour Migration Specialist 

• Dissemination of research findings from the ILO Working Paper on “Fair recruitment and access to justice for migrant workers”, through a roundtable discussion featuring global experts and practitioners
• Identify key areas of intervention for the Fair Recruitment Initiative to take forward in the field of access to justice (for example, specific tools or working groups to be developed)

• Concept note (short)
• Agenda 
• ILO Working Paper on “Fair recruitment and access to justice for migrant workers”