The International Organization for Migration(IOM) has opened an office in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu on Tuesday 12 September 2006. Established in 1951, IOM is the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration and works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. With 118 member states, a further 20 states holding observer status and offices in over 120 countries, IOM is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It does so by providing services and advice to governments and migrants. IOM works to help ensure the orderly and humane management of migration, to promote international cooperation on migration issues, to assist in the search for practical solutions to migration problems and to provide humanitarian assistance to migrants in need, including refugees and internally displaced people. The IOM Constitution recognizes the link between migration and economic, social and cultural development, as well as to the right of freedom of movement. Migration is an important livelihood option for many in Nepal, where 31% of the population of 26 million lives below the poverty line and 42% of the workforce are unemployed or under-employed. The majority of Nepalese migrants work in South Asia, the Middle East and South East Asia, notably in India, Malaysia, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Some 95% of the total Nepalese migrants are men and over 90% are unskilled labourers. In 2002-2003 Nepalese migrant workers’ remittances reached US$720 million, representing some 14.8% of GDP and 65% of the country’s foreign exchange earnings. The economic benefits that Nepal derives from labour migration are offset by the prevalence of human trafficking in the country – despite ongoing government efforts to combat the problem. Nepalese women and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation, domestic servitude and forced labor. Many trafficking victims come from the country’s poorest areas, where between 100,000 to 200,000 people have been reportedly internally displaced during the decade long internal armed conflict.
|
Publisher:
IOM
,
(2006
) |
Type / Script:
Press Release
in English
|
Keywords:
INTERNALLY DISPLACED, CULTURE CONFLICT, HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, MIGRATION BALANCE, RURAL POPULATION, INTERNAL MIGRATION, SEXUAL EXPLOITATION, CAPACITY BUILDING, HUMAN TRAFFICKING, FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNINGS, NEPALESE MIGRANTS, HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE, REFUGEE, INTERNAL ARMED CONFLICT, DOMESTIC SERVITUDE, CHILDREN TRAFFICKING, CHILD ABUSE, VIOLENCE, THREAT
|
Thematic Group: IOM
:
Internatinal Organization for Migration
|
Thesaurus:
08.01.00
- Population Dynamics
|
Reference Link:
|
|
|
** This document has been:
1428
times viewed
15
times downloaded. Feeder:
DEEPIKA DHAKAL
, Editor:
ALISHA THAPALIYA
, Auditor:
View Document History
|
|
|
|