pdf PLA’S IMPACT ON SAFE AND INCLUSIVE LABOUR MIGRATION (2017–2024)

Platform for Labour Action (PLA) has made significant strides in promoting safe and inclusive labour migration in Uganda. Since 2017, PLA has empowered over 20,000 individuals—primarily youth and women—with critical knowledge on labour rights, trafficking risks, and safe migration pathways. Through community awareness campaigns, legal aid, and strategic partnerships, PLA has directly contributed to the protection of migrant workers and the reduction of exploitation.  We shared our impact during the recently concluded Ashoka Fellow Summit under the theme charting the future of Africa and we held a round table discussion on day two of the summit i.e. 11^th September 2025 under the theme Access to Justice and Human rights addressing migration and trafficking.

The Key achievements shared include:

• Legal Aid & Justice Access: 386 migrant workers received legal support, with 70% of exploitation cases resolved.
• Youth Engagement: 7,475 youth educated across 22 institutions on migration risks and reporting mechanisms.
• Female Migrant Preparedness: 2,484 women trained on contracts, rights, and emergency contacts before departure.
• Law Enforcement Training: 102 officers trained, leading to disrupted trafficking networks and improved border vigilance.
• Reintegration Support: 189 returnees supported with skills and entrepreneurship training, with 76% engaged in agribusiness.

PLA’s multi-stakeholder approach, including collaboration with government bodies, and international organizations, has strengthened national coordination and policy advocacy. Continued investment in scaling these interventions is essential to sustain impact and ensure migration becomes a pathway to opportunity, not vulnerability.

The roundtable and Summit Recommendations included the following;

1. Integrate Migration into Cross-Sectoral Development Planning

Recognize and institutionalize the interconnectedness of migration with key development sectors such as health, education, and the environment. Migration policies and programs should be designed to:

• Ensure access to essential health services for migrants.
• Promote educational opportunities for migrant families and returnees.
• Address environmental factors that drive or affect migration patterns.
• Promote access to justice and protection of human rights.

2. Support Movement Building for Inclusive Labour Migration

Promote and invest in movement building initiatives led by changemakers such as Ashoka Fellows and other grassroots innovators working on human rights and access to justice. These movements should:

• Foster collaborative models that scale impact across borders drawing on the PLA shared model and adopt technology to ensure timely legal support. Citizen Gavel PODUS platform is a good mechanism to learn from as part of scaling.
• Advocate for safe, inclusive, and dignified labour migration.
• Facilitate job creation in-country to reduce forced or unsafe migration.
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3. Develop and Institutionalize Guidelines for Safe and Inclusive Migration

Empower civil society movements, Ashoka fellows collaboration and diaspora-led initiatives to co-create and shape migration guidelines that:

• Uphold international labour standards and human rights.
• Promote gender-responsive and youth-inclusive migration frameworks.
• Ensure transparency, accountability, and community participation in migration governance.

Our gratitude to the development partners who have enabled us make this contribution over the years namely Anonymous, Democratic Governance Facility (DGF) as it then was and IOM. Our appreciation to Ashoka for creating the space to enable us share our work with fellows across the African continent on this pertinent issue.

For more detailed information, please download the full impact brief.