Safe Migration (SaMiCa)

finished

Despite growing cities, around 80 per cent of the Cambodian population still live in the rural areas. Most households earn their income in agriculture and are thus particularly hard hit by climate change. Cambodia is among the ten countries worldwide that are most vulnerable to the impact of climate change. There are hardly any opportunities to earn a living outside of agriculture, and educational and occupational options are limited. Consequently, many see migration as the only way of securing a livelihood. Many people migrate in the hope of finding a job and a better income in order to make a better life for themselves and their families. There are currently a total of 1,2 million Cambodian workers in Thailand alone.

Despite formal agreements on safe migration between the two countries, people choosing the legal migration route are in the minority. According to estimates, less than 30 per cent of labour migrants travel to Thailand legally and have a visa and/or a work permit. One of the reasons for this is that the administrative procedures are too lengthy, extremely bureaucratic and involve high costs. The low level of knowledge of rights and duties on both sides, as well as the lack of community networks lead to migrants entering along an irregular route and with false expectations – fertile ground for people trafficking and exploitation.

Women and children affected by and at risk of people trafficking are supported through prevention work, protection and reintegration measures by the local NGO Damnok Toek and the National Committee for Counter Trafficking. The SaMiCa project (Safe Migration Cambodia) takes a holistic approach in that it prevents people trafficking, supports victims and promotes their reintegration. In order to promote the sustainability and high quality of the project implementation, Caritas Switzerland supports the two local implementation partners through the expansion of capacities, help with technical concerns, monitoring of the project implementation as well as political dialogue and the use of best practice.

Educational measures make the migrants and the communities aware of the risks of unsafe migration. And with the expansion of capacity inside the authorities and the support of potential migrants in acquiring official documents, an additional contribution is made to the prevention of human trafficking. Emergency care is available for victims of human trafficking. To further improve these services, specialists are trained in the identification and protection of victims and referral procedures are strengthened. Furthermore, the reintegration of children into safe family structures and of migrants into their communities is ensured. In this way, the project strengthens the resilience of the migrants and aims to ensure their wellbeing in the long term.

Finally, the problem of weak institutions and lack of cooperation between the various actors in the field of migration inside the country is addressed through the expansion of capacities and coordination between NGO networks and other stakeholders in the field of ‘Safe Migration’.

To ensure that the migrants gain autonomy and are able to make informed decisions, they need specific support services and information about their rights. Only in this way can they realise their fundamental human rights and labour rights. Prevention, protection and reintegration are thus strengthened, interaction between the various actors is improved, and ultimately human trafficking as well as the exploitation of Cambodian migrants are combatted.

Caritas Switzerland works in Cambodia to ensure that migrants – particularly women and children – are protected against discrimination and exploitation. Promoting safe migration is the overarching goal of all activities. Caritas cooperates with the local NGO Damnok Toek and the government’s National Committee for Counter Trafficking in order to promote informed migration decisions and thus enable people to have an autonomous and dignified life.