Sdc Launches A Call For Proposal In Lebanon On Domestic Migrant Workers (Dmw)

SDC Launches a Call for Proposals on Migrant Domestic Workers in Lebanon

1. CONTEXT

The number of migrant domestic workers (MDW) in Lebanon is estimated to be 250,000. Like other countries in the region, the lives of MDW in Lebanon are governed by a sponsorship system called ‘kafala’ where both residence and employment status of migrant workers depend on a contractual relationship dominated by the employer. This dependency of workers vis-a-vis their employers makes workers especially vulnerable to abuse from their recruitment in the country of origin (COO) to the end of their employment experience in the Middle East (ME). Furthermore, MDW in Lebanon are not included under the labor law, an indicator of their vulnerability as their protection cannot be argued on the basis of the labor law but only on their labor contract (if at all existent) as well as human rights law. This leaves large room for manoeuver both to the recruitment agencies and the employer. The situation is made even more difficult as labor inspectors are not allowed in the private sphere i.e. on the working premises of MDW, which makes monitoring and assessment of working and living conditions extremely difficult. The structural gaps in the legal framework make it difficult for MDW to access justice. Further, MDW in Lebanon mainly originate from Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Ethiopia and often have a low level of education and face language barriers.

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has been involved in the area of migrant workers in the ME through its Global Programme Migration and Development (GPMD) with the overall objective of“Decent working and living conditions for migrants enhance the development benefits of migration”.In Lebanon,SDC has been supporting an NGO consortium on MDW and it was decided to pursue the support of MDW given their significant needs, while channelling support through diversified modalities. GPMD’s work in Lebanon will be coordinated with other actors working in this area.

2. INTERVENTION

The objective of the call for proposals: Local Civil Society actors and Human Rights advocacy groups are strengthened to actively advocate for MDW rights, improving their working and living conditions.

Candidates will have to submit proposals contributing to this objective focusing on the following areas of interventions:

Thematic areas of interventionare:

recruitment practices services provision/assistance (psycho-social, medical, education, etc.) access to justice, legal aid and strategic litigation working and living conditions referral system, coordination of CSOs in Lebanon administrative detention violence against MDW

Types of intervention are:

Research and dissemination Campaigning, awareness raising Advocacy or lobbying Service provision Training, capacity building (skills, rights, etc.)
3. APPROACH

The call for proposal in a nutshell:Previous SDC experience in the MDW sector in Lebanon showed that there is a large variety of actors in the area and a lively NGO scene. Different organizations have different comparative advantages and niches. In order for all these actors to have the opportunity to demonstrate their strengths, SDC decided to issue a broad call for proposal, where all relevant actors can participate. The call for proposal is a program that supports several projects/initiatives in different areas relating to MDW; organisations can apply either individually or with a joint proposal.

Criteria for funding projects:The project must be well targeted to utilize its limited resources for maximum impact and leverage. The project selection will be based on clear criteria. Beyond the below mentioned criteria, any Lebanese NGO, research centre, or private sector entity with a successful track record of activities/experiences in MDW issues can apply. The organisation must be able to show credibly that it is well managed and has the required solidity to enter a three year partnership. Some criteria include:

Sound context analysis (political, socio economic), including a stakeholder and political economy analysis that show the rationale for the intervention Participatory approach (incl. migrants) ensuring a needs based approach and impact on MDW Define clear results, “SMART” objectives Clear and realistic implementation strategy Policy issues or gaps are identified and addressed Alignment with local labor laws, human rights, CEDAW, customary law and international conventions, etc. Gender sensitivity Links (or inclusion) with other organisations working on this issue and concrete proposal on coordination mechanism (including a referral system); based on an actors mapping National outreach; exceptions need to be justified Communication and media outreach, dissemination of results and achievements Sustainability of intervention Innovative approach Realistic workplan Cost efficiency

Organisations can apply individually or as a group with other partners (a leader must then be defined, representing the group with SDC) for the different thematic or type of interventions as defined above.

Implementation of call for proposals:SDC will take a two-steps approach:

The first step is the publication of the invitation to submit Concept Notes (CN) on February 19, 2015. The invitation will be followed by an information session to be held on Tuesday March 3, 2015 at 9am at the Crown Plaza Hotel, Hamra, in Lebanon. During the information session, SDC will present the call for proposals and the templates to be submitted and hold a Q&A session. Interested organisations have to submit their final set of documents by March 20, 2015. By the beginning of April, SDC’s selection committee will select 6-8 CN based on the pre-defined criteria to proceed to the second step. Unsuccessful applicants will receive a feedback.

In the second step,SDC will invite 6-8 successful applicants to submit full project proposals. SDC will then carry out organisational visits for those candidates to assess their organisational and financial capacities, combined with a presentation of the submitted project. The deadline for submitting the full project proposal is April 24, 2015. Visits will tentatively be carried out during the first week of May. Based on the full project proposal and the organisational visits, SDC’s selection committee will approve 3-4 projects that will be financed. Results will be announced by mid-May. After the announcement, SDC plans around 4 weeks to finalize discussions, negotiations and contracting so that projects can start in July 2015.

Projects are planned between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2018. SDC’s contribution to selected projects will be between CHF 240’000 and CHF 360’000 for the 3 years.

4. BENEFICIARIES

The final target group is MDW in Lebanon. Direct target groupsinclude Lebanese civil society actors and human rights advocacy groups.

5. NEXT STEPS

Interested applicants are invited to attend the information session on the call for proposals on March 3, 2015 at 09:00 am at Crown Plaza Hotel, Hamra, Lebanon. (Kindly confirm your attendance by sending an email to: #0000ff; font-size: small;">[email protected])

#0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Concept notes#0000ff; font-size: small;"> (Annex I) should be submitted in English along with the #0000ff; font-size: small;">factsheet#0000ff; font-size: small;"> (Annex 2), #0000ff; font-size: small;">organisation background information#0000ff; font-size: small;"> (Anne#0000ff; font-size: small;">x#0000ff; font-size: small;"> 3) , #0000ff; font-size: small;">budget#0000ff; font-size: small;"> (Annex 4) and#0000ff; font-size: small;"> log frame#0000ff; font-size: small;"> (Annex 5) by March 20, 2015 to the following email address:#0000ff; font-size: small;">[email protected]. Applicants will receive a standard reply (acknowledgement of receipt) once the email is received. Beginning of April, all applicants will know if they are selected for the second step. For any further queries, SDC can always be contacted at #0000ff; font-size: small;">[email protected].

The documents attached are:

Annex 1 CN Annex 2 Factsheet Annex 3 Organisation background information Annex 4 Budget Annex 5 Log-frame

SCO Lebanon, Beirut. Published Feb 19, 2015.