It has been three years since Ethiopia introduced new overseas employment proclamation. While the proclamation addressed many of the issues that are against the interests of Ethiopian employees overseas, the delay in its coming to effect has prevented the desired outcomes.
The previous proclamation had gaps in securing the safety, dignity and rights of citizens who are employed abroad. As a result, overseas employment has been banned by the government for the last five years in order to assess and bring long term resolutions.
Though the new proclamation serves as an instrument to ensure safe environment to create more domestic jobs, encourage regular migration and prevent human trafficking or illegal migration, some are still concerned that the implementation has been delayed because of prolonged period of preparation.
Basazin Deribie, Public Relations and Communication Senior Expert at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MOLSA) says the implementation of the new proclamation has been delayed because it requires effective preparation both in terms of technical capacity nationally and the signing bilateral agreements with recipient countries.
He says rather the main issue should be the future safety and rights of citizens who go abroad for overseas employment. And the implementation of the new proclamation has to accommodate every possible principles and structures in order to avoid the sad experiences of the past.
Different governmental and nongovernmental organizations are playing roles in implementing the new proclamation by taking several mandates.
However, the issues of illegal migration or human trafficking are still the government’s top concern, says Awol Sultan, Legal Study Drafting and Dissemination Prosecutor at the Federal Attorney. This called for endorsement of another proclamation 909/2014 which deals with criminal laws related to human trafficking and smuggling.
On the other hand, National Committee and Anti-Trafficking and Smuggling task force have been established. The task force is working in three different activities: prevention, investigation and rehabilitation, adds Awol.
This proclamation has also come up with new perspectives on exploitation by incorporating International protocols. In earlier trends, only using females for the sake of commercial sex work was considered as crime of exploitation.
But the new proclamation has stated that recruiting children for military purposes, holding persons as debt bondage, and stealing humans’ internal organs as crimes of exploitation.
And most of the time, it is illegal migrants who are vulnerable for such crimes. Therefore,the proclamation has broadened the prevention mechanisms of human trafficking and smuggling.
“The minimum penalty for these crimes has also been raised from five to 15 years sentence” notes, Awol.
The new overseas proclamation 923/2016 on the other hand deals with complicated issues as the law is prepared in Ethiopia while its execution extends overseas. In order to implement the proclamation, there must be a regulation.
In this case, overseas employment regulation is also endorsed and all the necessary structures have been established in every level of Federal and State governments.
Overseas employment agencies are also the focal points in this particular issue. There were more than 400 active overseas employment agencies in the country prior the new proclamation. The new proclamation obliges these agencies to meet strict requirements and regulations.
Their licenses could not be renewed unless they meet close to 13 preconditions of the new regulation. The preconditions include clear organizational structure and adequate financial capacity that enable them to protect the safety and rights of the citizens recruited for overseas employment.
Every agency is obliged to open branches in recipient countries. They are obliged to bring confirmation from the recipient country that ensures their reliability for the job and that they have no more than four previous records of misconduct.
Agencies are also obliged to provide temporary shelter, food and other facilities for the employees until they start their contractual job.
“We have been assessing the backgrounds of the agencies and identified those who are capable to provide the service. For instance, those who have been banned for four times are no more allowed to engage in overseas employment services,” says Basazin.
On the other hand, there are also procedures and criteria for citizens to meet to work overseas. In this case, the government has been establishing structures and working with Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) centers of the nine states throughout the country to train and certify qualified citizens.
Bilateral agreements between Ethiopia and recipient countries are also crucial in this regard. “Overseas employment cannot be realized unless the countries have signed agreements. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, and Kuwait are major labor recipient countries that have already signed the agreement with Ethiopia,” he notes.
Currently, preparation to execute the proclamation has been accomplished. Repatriating undocumented Ethiopians abroad was also part of the task and some 67,000 repatriates from Saudi have been reinstated, adds Basazin.
Moreover, the new proclamation has helped to reduce human trafficking crimes to a certain extent. Referring to IOM’s report, Awol notes that missing and dead Ethiopian and Somali migrants who tried to cross boarders have decreased by 1000 in 2017.
“But there are still criminal groups who are active in few neighboring countries working with secret networks. In this case, all state and the federal governments should work together. Ethiopia and governments of other neighboring countries should also exert integrated efforts,” Awol emphasizes.
BY HENOK TIBEBU
The previous proclamation had gaps in securing the safety, dignity and rights of citizens who are employed abroad. As a result, overseas employment has been banned by the government for the last five years in order to assess and bring long term resolutions.
Though the new proclamation serves as an instrument to ensure safe environment to create more domestic jobs, encourage regular migration and prevent human trafficking or illegal migration, some are still concerned that the implementation has been delayed because of prolonged period of preparation.
Basazin Deribie, Public Relations and Communication Senior Expert at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MOLSA) says the implementation of the new proclamation has been delayed because it requires effective preparation both in terms of technical capacity nationally and the signing bilateral agreements with recipient countries.
He says rather the main issue should be the future safety and rights of citizens who go abroad for overseas employment. And the implementation of the new proclamation has to accommodate every possible principles and structures in order to avoid the sad experiences of the past.
Different governmental and nongovernmental organizations are playing roles in implementing the new proclamation by taking several mandates.
However, the issues of illegal migration or human trafficking are still the government’s top concern, says Awol Sultan, Legal Study Drafting and Dissemination Prosecutor at the Federal Attorney. This called for endorsement of another proclamation 909/2014 which deals with criminal laws related to human trafficking and smuggling.
On the other hand, National Committee and Anti-Trafficking and Smuggling task force have been established. The task force is working in three different activities: prevention, investigation and rehabilitation, adds Awol.
This proclamation has also come up with new perspectives on exploitation by incorporating International protocols. In earlier trends, only using females for the sake of commercial sex work was considered as crime of exploitation.
But the new proclamation has stated that recruiting children for military purposes, holding persons as debt bondage, and stealing humans’ internal organs as crimes of exploitation.
And most of the time, it is illegal migrants who are vulnerable for such crimes. Therefore,the proclamation has broadened the prevention mechanisms of human trafficking and smuggling.
“The minimum penalty for these crimes has also been raised from five to 15 years sentence” notes, Awol.
The new overseas proclamation 923/2016 on the other hand deals with complicated issues as the law is prepared in Ethiopia while its execution extends overseas. In order to implement the proclamation, there must be a regulation.
In this case, overseas employment regulation is also endorsed and all the necessary structures have been established in every level of Federal and State governments.
Overseas employment agencies are also the focal points in this particular issue. There were more than 400 active overseas employment agencies in the country prior the new proclamation. The new proclamation obliges these agencies to meet strict requirements and regulations.
Their licenses could not be renewed unless they meet close to 13 preconditions of the new regulation. The preconditions include clear organizational structure and adequate financial capacity that enable them to protect the safety and rights of the citizens recruited for overseas employment.
Every agency is obliged to open branches in recipient countries. They are obliged to bring confirmation from the recipient country that ensures their reliability for the job and that they have no more than four previous records of misconduct.
Agencies are also obliged to provide temporary shelter, food and other facilities for the employees until they start their contractual job.
“We have been assessing the backgrounds of the agencies and identified those who are capable to provide the service. For instance, those who have been banned for four times are no more allowed to engage in overseas employment services,” says Basazin.
On the other hand, there are also procedures and criteria for citizens to meet to work overseas. In this case, the government has been establishing structures and working with Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) centers of the nine states throughout the country to train and certify qualified citizens.
Bilateral agreements between Ethiopia and recipient countries are also crucial in this regard. “Overseas employment cannot be realized unless the countries have signed agreements. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, and Kuwait are major labor recipient countries that have already signed the agreement with Ethiopia,” he notes.
Currently, preparation to execute the proclamation has been accomplished. Repatriating undocumented Ethiopians abroad was also part of the task and some 67,000 repatriates from Saudi have been reinstated, adds Basazin.
Moreover, the new proclamation has helped to reduce human trafficking crimes to a certain extent. Referring to IOM’s report, Awol notes that missing and dead Ethiopian and Somali migrants who tried to cross boarders have decreased by 1000 in 2017.
“But there are still criminal groups who are active in few neighboring countries working with secret networks. In this case, all state and the federal governments should work together. Ethiopia and governments of other neighboring countries should also exert integrated efforts,” Awol emphasizes.
BY HENOK TIBEBU
It has been three years since Ethiopia introduced new overseas employment proclamation. While the proclamation addressed many of the issues that are against the interests of Ethiopian employees overseas, the delay in its coming to effect has prevented the desired outcomes.
The previous proclamation had gaps in securing the safety, dignity and rights of citizens who are employed abroad. As a result, overseas employment has been banned by the government for the last five years in order to assess and bring long term resolutions.
Though the new proclamation serves as an instrument to ensure safe environment to create more domestic jobs, encourage regular migration and prevent human trafficking or illegal migration, some are still concerned that the implementation has been delayed because of prolonged period of preparation.
Basazin Deribie, Public Relations and Communication Senior Expert at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MOLSA) says the implementation of the new proclamation has been delayed because it requires effective preparation both in terms of technical capacity nationally and the signing bilateral agreements with recipient countries.
He says rather the main issue should be the future safety and rights of citizens who go abroad for overseas employment. And the implementation of the new proclamation has to accommodate every possible principles and structures in order to avoid the sad experiences of the past.
Different governmental and nongovernmental organizations are playing roles in implementing the new proclamation by taking several mandates.
However, the issues of illegal migration or human trafficking are still the government’s top concern, says Awol Sultan, Legal Study Drafting and Dissemination Prosecutor at the Federal Attorney. This called for endorsement of another proclamation 909/2014 which deals with criminal laws related to human trafficking and smuggling.
On the other hand, National Committee and Anti-Trafficking and Smuggling task force have been established. The task force is working in three different activities: prevention, investigation and rehabilitation, adds Awol.
This proclamation has also come up with new perspectives on exploitation by incorporating International protocols. In earlier trends, only using females for the sake of commercial sex work was considered as crime of exploitation.
But the new proclamation has stated that recruiting children for military purposes, holding persons as debt bondage, and stealing humans’ internal organs as crimes of exploitation.
And most of the time, it is illegal migrants who are vulnerable for such crimes. Therefore,the proclamation has broadened the prevention mechanisms of human trafficking and smuggling.
“The minimum penalty for these crimes has also been raised from five to 15 years sentence” notes, Awol.
The new overseas proclamation 923/2016 on the other hand deals with complicated issues as the law is prepared in Ethiopia while its execution extends overseas. In order to implement the proclamation, there must be a regulation.
In this case, overseas employment regulation is also endorsed and all the necessary structures have been established in every level of Federal and State governments.
Overseas employment agencies are also the focal points in this particular issue. There were more than 400 active overseas employment agencies in the country prior the new proclamation. The new proclamation obliges these agencies to meet strict requirements and regulations.
Their licenses could not be renewed unless they meet close to 13 preconditions of the new regulation. The preconditions include clear organizational structure and adequate financial capacity that enable them to protect the safety and rights of the citizens recruited for overseas employment.
Every agency is obliged to open branches in recipient countries. They are obliged to bring confirmation from the recipient country that ensures their reliability for the job and that they have no more than four previous records of misconduct.
Agencies are also obliged to provide temporary shelter, food and other facilities for the employees until they start their contractual job.
“We have been assessing the backgrounds of the agencies and identified those who are capable to provide the service. For instance, those who have been banned for four times are no more allowed to engage in overseas employment services,” says Basazin.
On the other hand, there are also procedures and criteria for citizens to meet to work overseas. In this case, the government has been establishing structures and working with Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) centers of the nine states throughout the country to train and certify qualified citizens.
Bilateral agreements between Ethiopia and recipient countries are also crucial in this regard. “Overseas employment cannot be realized unless the countries have signed agreements. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, and Kuwait are major labor recipient countries that have already signed the agreement with Ethiopia,” he notes.
Currently, preparation to execute the proclamation has been accomplished. Repatriating undocumented Ethiopians abroad was also part of the task and some 67,000 repatriates from Saudi have been reinstated, adds Basazin.
Moreover, the new proclamation has helped to reduce human trafficking crimes to a certain extent. Referring to IOM’s report, Awol notes that missing and dead Ethiopian and Somali migrants who tried to cross boarders have decreased by 1000 in 2017.
“But there are still criminal groups who are active in few neighboring countries working with secret networks. In this case, all state and the federal governments should work together. Ethiopia and governments of other neighboring countries should also exert integrated efforts,” Awol emphasizes.
BY HENOK TIBEBU
Amharic