Colombo Process

Governments are increasingly realizing that migration issues and challenges cannot be addressed by one state alone and there is a need for a regional approach. Established within this context, Colombo Process (CP) is a regional consultative process of 12 Asian countries that focuses on protection of and provision of services to migrant workers and optimizing benefits of organized labour migration for both sending and receiving countries along with the migrants and their family.

As Nepal is the current Chair (2017 – 2019) of Colombo Process, IOM Nepal acts as the secretariat to the Colombo Process and at the request of the Chair-in-Office in Kathmandu, and with funding support from the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC), IOM provides technical and administrative support to the Government of Nepal, Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security (MoLESS) in coordinating and facilitating meetings, consultations and workshops as per their work plan. IOM Nepal also acts an extension of the CP Technical Support Unit (CPTSU) based in IOM Sri Lanka and ensures linkage of CPTSU’s respective work and provide regular updates and coordinated support to the CP Chair-in-Office in Kathmandu. IOM is coordinating with the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security (MoLESS), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and other partners to identify the priorities for technical support related to the Colombo Process.