ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (ILO News) – Since 2015, the ILO has been implementing a development cooperation project with support from the United States Department of Labour entitled “From Protocol to Practice: A Bridge to Global Action on Forced Labour” (BRIDGE). The BRIDGE project has contributed to increasing global efforts to eliminating forced labour by improving countries’ capacity to tackle the issue. The project’s focus is on promoting ratification of the ILO Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention; improving and developing responsive national policies, actions, and legislation on forced labour; undertaking research and sharing knowledge on forced labour; strengthening employers’ and workers’ organizations to support the fight against forced labour; and increasing the awareness of and access to services and livelihood programmes for victims of forced labour.

The phase II of the project started in 2023 and provides continuity to successful initiatives in countries such as Uzbekistan, Peru, Nepal, while also expanding interventions to Mongolia and Pakistan.  The project commenced by bolstering the knowledge and skills of law enforcement officials and stakeholders in Balochistan regarding forced labour, bonded labour, trafficking, victim identification, and effective investigation and prosecution. To start with, a comprehensive Needs Assessment was conducted to identify current knowledge gaps for developing targeted capacity-building strategies. This Needs Assessment incorporated insights from all relevant stakeholders, gathered through interviews and focus group discussions, which revealed substantial gaps in law enforcers' understanding of relevant laws and techniques for victim identification, and soft skills hindering their effectiveness in law enforcement and protection efforts.

Building on the assessment, a draft training manual was developed. This training manual was structured into five comprehensive sessions covering different aspects of combating forced labour, bonded labour, human trafficking, Investigation and Soft skills. The modular design of the training program allows for flexibility to accommodate diverse learning needs. To validate the training manual's contents, a pilot training was conducted on March 6-7, 2024, in Quetta, with 20 officials representing various agencies including Department of Labour, Inspectorate of Mines, Balochistan Police, Federal Investigation Agency, Pakistan Workers Federation and civil society organizations. Their feedback contributed to refining and finalizing the training modules, ensuring their practicality and user-friendliness.

The final version of the training module will be utilized to capacitate law enforcement officials in Balochistan, empowering them in the fight against forced labour and human trafficking in the region.

For further information please contact:

Muhammad Numan
Communication Officer
Email: numan@ilo.org
Mobile: +92 303 5000041