JTIP Project (Socio-professional integration of victims of trafficking)

Domains intervention :

Trafficking in Persons, Skills, Socioeconomic reintegration, Public Employment Services (PES), Decent Work, Training, Vocational Training

Context

Morocco ratified the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) on 19 September 2002 and acceded to its Palermo Protocol on 7 May 2009. Morocco has not yet acceded to the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air. In 2007, Morocco adopted a National Strategy to Combat Trafficking in Persons (TiP), which was supplemented in 2015 by an updated National Action Plan to Combat TiP and Protect and Assist VoTs. It adopted a National Migration Policy in 2013 and a National Immigration and Asylum Strategy (SNIA) in 2014, which includes combating TiP as one of its main objectives. The adoption of Anti-Trafficking Law 27-14 in August 2016 signaled the country's commitment to institutionalizing efforts to combat human trafficking. This commitment was further confirmed by the adoption of Decree 2-17-740 establishing the composition and operating mode of the National Commission for the Coordination of Measures to Combat and Prevent Human Trafficking (NC) (Articles 6 and 7 of Law 27-14) in 2018. Morocco also adopted Law No. 19-12 in 2016 establishing the working and employment conditions of domestic workers, Law No. 79-14 in 2017 on parity and the fight against all forms of discrimination, and Law No. 103-13 in 2018 to combat violence against women, all of which contribute to addressing TiP issues . The NC published its first report in February 2022 indicating that 474 VoTs (25% non-nationals, 75% nationals) were identified between 2017 and 2020; among them, victims of sexual exploitation, forced labor and forced begging. The proposed two-year joint project between the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the International Labor Organization (ILO), in addition to partnerships with civil society organizations (CSOs) and institutional actors, aims to identify, protect and socio-economically reintegrate VoTs into communities in Morocco or in their countries of origin through IOM's Voluntary Assistance and Reintegration Programme (AVRR). This joint project complements and supports the Government of Morocco ( GoM ) in its recent efforts to protect VoTs and combat TiP , but also to address the gap in terms of tailored protection services and socio-economic reintegration services for VoTs . The project will bring the common expertise and experience of all stakeholders needed to improve and provide victim- and trauma-informed protection services to VoTs , ensuring that their rights are respected in terms of assistance provided, protection during criminal justice proceedings and socio-economic inclusion to achieve reintegration locally or in their country of origin.

A two-year joint program between ILO, UNODC and IOM (July 2023-July 2024), JTIP (Protection and Reintegration of Victims of Trafficking) brings together the expertise of the three agencies, within the framework of their mandates to improve the detection, referral, protection, return and reintegration (at the national level or in the countries of origin) of Victims of Trafficking ( VoT ). The VoTs identified under this joint program can be nationals and non-nationals, adults and children, and victims of different types of exploitation. The ILO intervenes specifically for the reintegration of VoTs by supporting national partners, in particular the Ministry of Economic Inclusion of Small Business, Employment and Skills (MIEPEEC), the National Agency for the Promotion of Employment and Skills (ANAPEC) and Social Partners (CGEM, UNMT, UGTM and CDT) through training for institutional actors and capacity building activities in order to strengthen the coordination of support measures towards the qualification and employment of VoTs as well as socio-economic inclusion through the recognition of prior learning, the improvement of skills and the development of social enterprise.

The ILO worked to strengthen governance structures related to recruitment to prevent trafficking and forced labor. The ILO also supported the development and implementation of the National Employment Strategy, the promotion of job-creating macroeconomic and sectoral policies and the anticipation of skills in certain sectors of activity, as well as the promotion of youth and women's entrepreneurship, the promotion of international labor standards, the protection of migrant workers, and the fight against child labor. Regarding the close link between trafficking and migration, the ILO provided technical assistance to the government, workers, employers, and NGOs on forced labor, labor migration, particularly the fair recruitment approach, labor law reform, and industrial relations, among other issues. Since 2021, the ILO has been providing technical assistance to ANAPEC, through the provision of international placement services and the provision of intermediation services on the national labor market for migrants and refugees. In addition, the ILO is working closely with ANAPEC on the training and job search of seasonal Moroccan female migrant workers in order to direct them towards sustainable income-generating projects upon their return to Morocco. These beneficiaries share several characteristics with some VoTs (limited literacy, language challenges, low skill levels, etc.). The materials and approaches developed for their training will be relevant to adapt to the needs of VoTs.

Objectives and results targeted

Overall Project Objective: The project aims to improve the protection and well-being of VdTs and their socio-economic inclusion, through a more efficient and victim-centered national system.

ILO Specific Objective: Strengthening sustainable socio-economic integration pathways by Moroccan government institutions in coordination with specialized CSOs, through strengthening access for victims of trafficking to targeted services for recognition of acquired skills, improvement of skills and personal, social and economic development:

Expected results:

• Creation of pathways for the integration of survivors into services offered by Moroccan institutions and CSOs (MIEPEEC, ANAPEC), through:
  • Raising awareness among their territorial managers on the coordination of their actions within the framework of the implementation of the national action plan for the socio-economic integration of VoT;
  • Support for institutions and CSOs to design and implement a cascading series of workshops ( tot ) for their operational agents
• Adaptation of targeted services and tools offered by ANAPEC and CSOs to VoTs , through:
  • Carrying out a skills assessment/skills assessment of VoTs and the needs of the labor market;
  • Support from relevant institutions and CSOs to provide victim-centered assistance, career guidance and counseling services, taking into account their trauma and reintegration needs.
• Facilitating support for VoTs in their socio-economic integration through public and private employment services targeted at salaried and independent activity, through:
  • Strengthening existing processes within relevant institutions and CSOs to recognize prior learning and help VoTs access these services;
  • The establishment of an apprenticeship, sponsorship and recruitment program with national and multinational companies through the CGEM.
  • The implementation of a pilot program to support 90 VoTs in their search for salaried employment or the development of independent work through targeted public and private employment services (ANAPEC, Enterprise, Social Partners).