Draft policy for migrant protection gets cabinet nod

The Bangladesh cabinet has approved the draft of the ‘expatriates welfare and overseas employment policy, 2016’ incorporating six policy directives to ensure safe migration as well as to protect migrants and their family members.
The approval was given at the regular weekly meeting of the cabinet with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, cabinet secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam said the draft policy has been formulated in line with the international laws on migration after reorganising the existing short policy to this end framed in 2006.
He said the policy has given a special focus on six policy directions like encouraging and ensuring safe migration, protection of migrant workers and their family members, ensuring facilities and welfare of the migrant workers, migration of female workers, associating migration with national development and proper planning for labour migration.
In the new policy, there are specific directions for various ministries, including ministry of finance, foreign affairs, home affairs, commerce ministry and the ministry of civil aviation and tourism to ensure proper welfare and protection of the migrants.
The cabinet secretary said the policy has a particular chapter on female workers’ migration with guidelines to safeguard female workers moving overseas.
Under the policy, the government will take integrated and participatory programmes in consultations with various stakeholders, including interested female migrants, public and private organisations, trade unions, recruiting agencies, employers as well as relevant international organisations to strengthen migration process, Shafiul Alam said.
He said the responsibility to ensure proper role and potentiality of female migrant workers as well as their participation in migration will be bestowed upon the government.
Talking about human trafficking, the cabinet secretary said the home ministry will take necessary steps in this regard and oversee the issue according to the draft policy.
Shafiul Alam said the cabinet also approved the draft of a protocol between the governments of Bangladesh and Turkey on training and cooperation in the field of military and health.
Through signing of the protocol, the existing friendly bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Turkey would be further consolidated.
Besides, a proposal of the shipping ministry on ratifying an agreement, titled ‘inter-governmental agreement on dry ports’ of the UN-ESCAP also got cabinet nod.
With this initiative, it will be possible to link the country with the Asian Highway Network and the Trans-Asia Railway Network, the cabinet secretary said.
Ministers and state ministers, secretaries concerned attended the meeting.