ToR for Strengthening CSO Advocacy for Migrant Women Using CEDAW Training

1.         Executive Summary

In January 2024, Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and Human Right Development Foundation (HRDF) started a 24-month Project entitled Strengthening CSO Capacity and Networks for Migrant Rights Protection Project funded by the European Union that aimed at promoting and protecting labour rights and promoting safe working environment for vulnerable migrant workers in and around Mae Sot District, Tak, Thailand, for decent work and economic growth. The project targets4,000 migrant workers in and around Mae Sot, Thailand.

Thailand has been attracting low-skilled migrants from neighbouring countries for decades. It hosts approximately 3.9 million documented and undocumented migrant workers from Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, and Viet Nam (IOM, Protecting Migrant worker in Indo-Pacific supply chain, 2022). Based on this estimate, migrant workers constitute over 10 percent of Thailand’s labour force of 38.7 million. Nationals from Myanmar make up the largest migrant worker population in Thailand, with recent estimates putting the figure at 2.3 million individuals (International Migration Report, 2019). Tak province, in specific, is a common destination for Myanmar migrants because of the road linkages to Myanmar, ease of access through porous border crossings and the high concentration of factories and the growing agriculture sector providing employment opportunities. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, risks posed to migrant workers in Thailand included vulnerability to excessive recruitment fee and migration-related costs, restrictions on freedom of movement, poor working conditions, irregular working days and working hours, and lack of access to legal and social protection, informal barriers, etc. The pandemic has further exacerbated these vulnerabilities (IOM, 2021)[1].

The major problems facing Burmese migrant workers include: (i) Weak law enforcement for labour rights protection. Though the Labour Protection Act and related measures are in place to protect the migrants’ labour rights, law enforcement remains at a low level. Furthermore, migrant workers themselves are not aware of their labour/human rights under the Labour Protection Act.  (ii) CSOs lack of capacity to engage in the dialogue process at the national level due to weak coordination, limited resources, low digital literacy, language barriers, living outside of the capitals and in remote areas, etc. (iii) Occupational safety and health is another issue affecting migrants, where injuries could be prevented through more effective implementation of the workplace safety standards set by the safety laws.

It is envisaged that these identified problems will be tackled through the “Strengthening CSO Capacity and Networks for Migrant Rights Protection” project. The stated objective will be achieved by the outputs described below:

The individual trainer or the training team will undertake the following activity under Output 2.1:

[2.1.2] Provide operational and technical support to three sub-granting CSO partners.

By the end of the workshop, it is expected that participants will have knowledge and skills on the following topics:

1.       Key principles of CEDAW and its relevance to migrant women’s rights

2.       How to use CEDAW as a tool for advocacy and policy influence

3.       Applying a gender lens to analyze migration-related issues

4.       Ethical use of lived experience and storytelling in advocacy

5.       Linking advocacy efforts to national and international human rights mechanisms (e.g. CEDAW shadow report)

The lead trainer will conduct the training by performing the following tasks:

·         Develop the training agenda, lesson plan, and training materials such as PowerPoint presentations, handouts, and interactive activities in appropriate and accessible language for the target audience.

·         Participate in coordination meetings with the ADRA team before, during (if needed), and after the training.

·         Facilitate a two-day in-person training workshop scheduled for 17–18 June 2025 in Mae Sot.

·         Develop simple training evaluation tools (e.g. pre/post-tests or reflection forms).

·         Submit a training report in English summarizing the workshop activities, key discussion points, outcomes, and recommendations for follow-up.

The training materials should be developed by the trainer team by 9 June 2025 and expected the training materials in English will be delivered to ADRA by 10 June 2025 for translation. The Training is scheduled to take place in 17-18 June 2025. The training report will be submitted to ADRA by 2 July 2025.  The total payable working days for training team are no more than 5 days.

Applications should be submitted no later than 5 June  2025. The successful candidate will be contacted by the Selection Committee within 7 days after the application deadline.

Applications in the English language, including i) a resume of not more than 3 pages; ii) a cover letter; iii) a brief proposal to describe how trainings will be carried out; iv) a draft budget outlines consultant fees and associate costs should be submitted by email to dararai@adrathailand.org .