EQUIP: Equipping Sri Lanka to Counter Trafficking in Persons

The EQUIP Project presents a unique strategy to affect lasting change to the trafficking in persons challenge faced by Sri Lanka. Every year since 2013, Sri Lanka has been ranked under the “Tier 2 Watch List” in the United States Department of State’s annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. This implies a need for Sri Lanka to significantly step up efforts to combat human trafficking, and to do so urgently. The ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Standards and Recommendations too have observed a need for Sri Lanka to step up prevention, protection and prosecution efforts as they review country compliance with ratified ILO Convention No. 29 on Forced Labour. The trafficking in persons challenge in Sri Lanka is further complicated by contributing impediments in the realm of migration management and governance, a limited knowledge base on the phenomenon and on the methods for high impact responses, limited services on offer to protect victims and prosecute violators, and a legal and regulatory framework that is not as responsive as can be. EQUIP takes into account these clear challenges and proposes a set of interventions comprising 3 overarching goals of Prevention, Protection and Prosecution, with a total of 4 core objectives, which are: Objective 1) Research and awareness to inform regulations and practice: A favourable regulatory environment and practices in place to reduce forced labour and trafficking vulnerabilities through research and targeted awareness by 2020. Objective 2) Ensuring fair and ethical business recruitment practices: Recruitment agents, MDOs and migrant workers are better equipped to conform to ethical and fair recruitment principles and guidelines by 2020. Objective 3) Protection services for identified victims: To improve protection services to ensure identified victims, including men and children, receive specialized care services. Objective 4) Prosecuting and investigating offenders: To increase investigation and prosecution of offenders of trafficking through due process, training of officials on victim identification, legal procedures and referrals processes.

Project symbol

LKA/17/01/USA

Admin unit

CO-Colombo

Start date

20/09/2017

End date

31/07/2021

Total allocation

1180402

Total expenditure

Status

Closed

1159223

Development Partners

USA, Department of State

Country/Countries

Sri Lanka

Outcomes

Outcome 7: Adequate and effective protection at work for all