The 5-day intensive training program on “Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers, Women and Children in the GMS” is designed to expose Lao civil servants to factors that determine who is a migrant, how those moves take place, and the particular involvement of women and children in the migration pattern. The Program is organized under the auspices of Mekong Institute in collaboration with Thailand International Cooperation Agency. Ten participants in attendance are from neighboring Laos from the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare and the Lao Women’s Union.
The program contents include contextualization of migrant workers, women and children situations in the region and the fundamentals of protection policies, critical analysis of the existing protection measures, challenges and good practices that should be adapted in Laos.
As migrants are vulnerable to rights violations, including exploitations, discrimination and lack of access to basic services , it is important to inform people how to enhance protecting and promoting the rights of migrant workers in both sending and receiving countries. Furthermore, since women and children are often exposed to human trafficking, abuse of labor and domestic violence, this training course will cover the good practices in terms of providing protection measures to them through a rights- based approach. Developing an understanding on the current good practices and challenges will enable Laos to improve its management system in protecting the rights of those vulnerable groups.
