Beyond Remittances

The True Cost of Nepali Labor Migration

Bibliographic Data

ID6155437
AuthorsAnimesh Ghimire (0000-0003-2167-5771, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume10
Issue4
Pages756-767
Publication date2025-10-27
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Human Rights and Social Work (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2365-1792 • E-ISSN: 2365-1792
PublisherSpringer International Publishing (PUBLISHER • SG)
DOI10.1007/s41134-025-00409-4
OpenAlexW4415597568
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited60

This commentary examines the systemic failures within Nepal’s labor migration governance framework, arguing these are primary drivers of the pervasive exploitation and human rights abuses confronting Nepali migrant workers, particularly in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and Malaysia. Grounded in an extensive review of academic literature and institutional reports, and significantly informed by insights from the author’s sustained, research-based engagement with Nepali migrant communities, this analysis reveals critical vulnerabilities systematically intensified by insufficient pre-departure safeguards, fraudulent recruitment practices often fueled by a fragmented and captured policy network, and chronically weak enforcement protocols. The commentary further illuminates the “double jeopardy” confronting climate-displaced individuals and women migrants, who navigate distinctly compounded and often gender-specific risks. It scrutinizes the limitations of existing legal and protection mechanisms in both Nepal and destination countries, highlighting the critical disjuncture between policy rhetoric and lived realities. Consequently, this work calls for urgent, multi-pronged reforms: strengthening national regulatory oversight, enforcing ethical recruitment through robust bilateral and international cooperation, and ensuring accessible justice for aggrieved workers. Ultimately, it advocates for a fundamental reorientation of migration governance towards a rights-centered paradigm, ensuring that labor migration becomes a genuine pathway to dignity and empowerment, rather than perpetuating cycles of human suffering and exploitation

Climate Change, Adaptation, Migration · Employment and Welfare Studies · Migration and Labor Dynamics

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access