Promoting labour rights

The US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) is to fund promoting labour rights in Sri Lanka.

DRL announced an open competition for organizations interested in submitting applications for projects that support the policy objective of promoting internationally recognized labor rights.

In South Asia and the Gulf, DRL seeks to promote migrant workers’ rights on both ends of the migration corridor.

The State Department says projects should propose creative and comprehensive interventions that advance migrant worker rights at all stages of the migration process, including by advancing new partnerships and technology to promote migrant workers’ rights.

DRL requests innovative proposals that support the establishment or development of labor organization- and/or other civil society-driven efforts that advance labor rights of migrants in countries of origin and destination.

Competitive applications may establish or further develop existing linkages between labor and/or other civil society organizations in countries of destination and origin and build international networks of labor and civil society that can operate at all phases of the labor migration process.

Competitive applications will utilize unique strategies that emphasize developing or using appropriate technology for advancing migrant workers’ rights in a range of activities that could include legal assistance services, increasing awareness of labor rights and the recruitment process among potential migrants, training migrants post-arrival, developing or strengthening grievance mechanisms, or improving the recruitment process. Applications must focus on the South Asia to the Gulf migration corridor.

Target countries must include at least two of the following only: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, and Saudi Arabia.

At least two of the listed countries, one a country of origin and the other a destination country, must be included in the proposal. Proposals should demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of other labor migration-focused technical assistance programs in the target region and clearly indicate how proposed activities are complementary to those efforts.