WinRock International, MOL sign MOU to address Child Labour, Human Trafficking

The Ministry of Labour and WinRock International have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to address issues of Child Labour, Forced Labour and Human Trafficking in Liberia.

The MOU was signed under the project named “Attaining Lasting Change for Better Enforcement of Labour and criminal Law to Address Child Labour, Forced Labour and Human Trafficking (ATLAS).

The MOU was entered into on Tuesday, December 21, 2021, by and between Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development, an international non-profit organization based in the United States, and the Ministry of Labour, Republic of Liberia.

Winrock is a non-profit organization that works with people in the United States and around the world to empower the disadvantaged, increase economic opportunity, and sustain natural resources. Winrock matches innovative approaches in natural resources management, clean energy, agriculture, and leadership development with the unique needs of its partners. Currently, Labour and Criminal Law to Address Child Labour, Forced Labour and Human Trafficking (ATLAS) in Liberia. ATLAS is funded by the United States Department of Labour (USDOL).

The ATLAS Project is working to implement two main outcomes in Liberia: 1) Strengthened labour and/or criminal legal frameworks concerning child labour, forced labour and human trafficking and 2) improved enforcement of the labour and/or criminal legal framework, specifically related to child labour, forced labour, and human trafficking.

The project will achieve these two outcomes through support to Liberia’s Legislative process and technical support to the Ministry of Labour’s Child Labour and Anti-Human Trafficking Divisions, as well as other actors in Liberia, via the implementation of three strategic interventions referred to as “Differentiated Models of Practice for Enforcement (DMOPs).

DMOPs are-an Enforcement Training Program (ETP), a TOT training for local-level actors, and support to the child labour monitoring system (CLMS)- aim to improve enforcement of labour and legal framework to address child labour, forced labor, and human trafficking in Liberia.

According to the MOU, the Ministry of Labour through its National Commission on Child Labour (NACOMAL) is responsible for the coordination of national efforts on the elimination of child labour, including the worst forms of child labour. The MOL is also responsible for coordinating national efforts on the elimination of forced labour and human trafficking in Liberia.

The MOU which was entered into on Tuesday, December 21, 2021, at the Ministry of Labour in Monrovia, was signed on behalf of Winrock International by Mr. James Yekeh, Country Manager, while Madam Hannah Macaulay Karbo, Deputy Minister for Manpower Planning and Human Resource Development of the Ministry of Labour, signed on behalf the MOL. In a brief remark, Deputy Minister Karbo thanked Winrock International ATLAS and the United States Department of labour for buttressing government efforts in the fight to eliminate the worst forms of child labour, forced labour and human trafficking in Liberia.

She recounted that a few months ago, Winrock working with the National Commission on Child labour and TIP Secretariat conducted Trafficking in-person training for Counties Educational Officers, District Educational Officers, and Coaches in Margibi, Grand Bassa, Bong, Nimba, and Lofa counties as means of increasing their capacity to participate in the fight to eliminate these practices. She assured Winrock of her Ministry’s preparedness to ensure the full implementation of the MOU.

For his part, Country Project Manager of Winrock International/ATLAS, Mr. James Yekeh on behalf of his institution congratulated the Ministry of Labour for its willingness to support the ATLAS project in Liberia.

He promised to work along with the MOU in proving training that are geared towards the eliminating child labour, forced labour and human trafficking in Liberia.