Country: Uzbekistan
Closing date: 31 Oct 2019
Background on topic and the ILO's SKILL UP Programme
On any given day in 2016, there were likely to be more than 40 million men, women, and children who were being forced to work against their will under threat or who were living in a forced marriage that they had not agreed to.
In 2015, government leaders agreed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to help achieve fair, inclusive and sustainable development by 2030. SDG 8.7 calls on all governments to take immediate and effective measures to end forced labour, modern slavery, and human trafficking, as well as child labour in all its forms. However, since then, progress made towards ending these practices has been slow. While the Government Response Index suggests that national legal, policy, and programmatic responses to modern slavery are improving, there remain some fundamental issues with identifying victims and providing services for survivors. Furthermore, only 40 of the 183 countries assessed in that report have ratified the ILO’s 2014 Forced Labour Protocol. This instrument establishes the obligations to prevent forced labour, to protect those subjected to forced labour, and to provide them with access to remedies, while it also emphasises the link between forced labour and trafficking in persons. The 50 for Freedom Campaign promotes the ratification of the convention to help end modern slavery.
Awareness-raising is the most common of the prevention provisions contained in the Forced Labour Protocol and Recommendation. One way to raise awareness is to mainstream the forms, risks and effects of modern slavery into education and training curricula, with a view to sensitizing the vulnerable groups at risk of forced labour and human trafficking. Young people are one important risk group and the school system constitutes an especially important entry point for reaching them with information on forced labour. In Peru, for instance, mentoring materials are being introduced and workshops organized to support Peruvian teachers in discussing forced labour risks with students in their last years of high school in high-risk areas. In addition, non-formal skills provision through community-based organizations, youth centres or faith-based organizations can be an important avenue to reach vulnerable populations and address the risk of forced labour and human trafficking. The Forced Labour Protocol also highlights the special risks faced by migrants and their consequent need for information about how to avoid falling victim to forced labour. For example, in a number of European countries, trade unions have established networks of information and support centres for migrant workers who may face risks of trafficking and forced labour. Pre-departure training for these populations can be a particularly effective way of raising awareness.
The reintegration of people that have been subjected to forced labour constitutes another key pillar of the comprehensive response to modern slavery outlined in the Forced Labour Protocol and Recommendation. Social and economic assistance, including access to educational and training opportunities and access to decent work, are cited as measures for promoting rehabilitation of victims. However, while most countries provide basic immediate assistance to people released from forced labour, far fewer provide services designed to ensure long-term recovery. Indeed, according to the ILO only 71 countries gave access to vocational training opportunities for victims of forced labour in 2018, even though 179 countries managed to provide shelter. A common strategy employed for supporting reintegration and recovery, is to leverage existing public services and programmes in these areas; accommodating people formerly in forced labour into existing public employment and training programmes for example. In other contexts, specialised rehabilitation packages have been developed, including rehabilitation grants, skill development training, psychosocial support, microcredit, and micro-enterprise development.
The ILO’s Skills and Employability Branch promotes inclusive skills development systems to meet the needs of all people, including people in vulnerable situations. As mentioned above, skills development represents a crucial factor in the strategy to tackle modern slavery, acting as a prevention tool and giving victims the opportunity to reintegrate the labour market. The SKILL-UP Programme is a joint effort of the ILO and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs aimed to help the ILO Member States enhance their skills systems. As part of the SKILL-UP Programme, the ILO is looking to step up skills development work specifically targeting vulnerable groups like people resorting to irregular migration, displaced persons including refugees, people with disabilities, people at risk of human trafficking, particularly young women, and people affected by modern slavery in sub Saharan Africa and other regions.
Objective
The objective of this assignment is to collect good practice examples in Uzbekistan on using vocational training and skills development-based tools and approaches to tackle modern slavery, i.e. forced labour and human trafficking for work. This includes
efforts to prevent the incidence of forced labour by mainstreaming awareness raising on forms, risks and effects of modern slavery into education and training curricula, including those that target vulnerable groups at risk of forced labour and human trafficking.
efforts to rehabilitate and reintegrate victims of modern slavery and promote their reintegration into the labour market by providing them with skills development services to access decent work opportunities.
Methodology
The external collaborator will collect primary and secondary data through desk review, key informant interviews, field visits and focus group discussions.
The good practice examples identified will address the following main questions:
How have different groups at risk of forced labour and human trafficking and their specific vulnerabilities been identified? Please describe vulnerabilities identified.
Do education and training policies and programmes in the country address the issue of modern slavery? If so, how?
What types of prevention measures have been implemented and why? Please describe them briefly.
Have formal or non-formal education and training programmes addressed the issue of modern slavery/forced labour/human trafficking? If so, how? Please describe delivery modes, teacher training, durations and provide material if available.
Have specific skills development programmes addressed groups at risk of modern slavery? Please describe these programmes, their challenges and success factors.
Have these programmes been evaluated? Please summarize findings, including their cost-effectiveness and sustainability.
Which specific institutions and actors are involved in prevention and reintegration interventions?
How have victims of forced labour and human trafficking been identified?
What kind of skills development interventions have been implemented to support labour market integration of victims? Have existing training and post-training support measures been made accessible for victims? Or have new programmes been designed? If so, how have these been different? Please provide details on delivery modes, types of programmes and services applied (workplace training, group training, job search support, psychosocial counselling, career advice, job matching, entrepreneurship support, financial services etc.)
Which skills development policies and programmes have been effective in rehabilitating them and why?
The report will be structured the following way:
Background information on modern slavery in the country
Good practices on prevention of modern slavery: identification of vulnerable groups and skills-based responses
Good practices on reintegration of victims of forced labour and human trafficking through skills development
Discussion of main challenges, how they have been addressed and their potential for replicability in other contexts
Deliverables
A list of persons to be interviewed – To be submitted no more than 10 days after contract signature.
A workplan – To be submitted no more than 10 days after signature.
A draft report of not more than 20 pages describing successful practices to prevent modern slavery and/or support the reintegration of victims of modern slavery – Deadline: 31st December 2019.
A final report incorporating comments received – Deadline: 31st January 2020.
Payment schedule
The first instalment of 20% will be paid upon submission of a list of persons and institutions to be interviewed and the workplan to the satisfaction of the ILO
The second and last instalment of 80% will be paid upon satisfactory submission of the final report
How to apply:
If interested in carrying out this study, please submit a Technical and Financial Proposal to the following email address:
Henri Ebelin
Skills and Employability Branch, International Labour Office, Geneva