Objective 14: Enhance consular protection, assistance and cooperation throughout the migration cycle

The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) was formed by an Act of Parliament in 1985, one of its objectives being the establishment of an Overseas Workers Welfare Fund (OWWF). The OWWF aims to meet all expenses incurred in providing assistance to Sri Lankan migrant workers and their families. The Fund offers a compulsory insurance scheme, coverage of cost of repatriation of migrant workers, scholarships for children, and loan schemes with partner banks to cover migrants' pre-departure costs and start-up of self-employment schemes.

The Ventanilla de Salud is a program of the Government of Mexico developed by the Department of Health and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and implemented through 50 Mexican consulates in the United States and local health organizations. The Ventanillas provide reliable information on health topics, counseling and referrals to health services available and accessible in local communities.

The objective of this card is to provide Mexican migrant workers in the United States with a document that can act as an identify card, thus facilitating access to services. An additional objective is to streamline assistance and lower remittance transfer costs.

The National Policy on Labour Migration addresses the following three broad objectives:

• Promotion of good governance of labour migration;
• Protection of migrant workers and promotion of their welfare and that of families left behind;
• Optimization of the benefits of labour migration on development while mitigating its adverse impact

Specific objectives

Governance

Portugal's Action Plan for the Integration of Immigrants (in its second edition) embodies the "whole of government" approach at the heart of mainstreaming: it tackles integration issues across different sectors (employment, health, education, etc) across distinct target groups (descendants of immigrants, family reunification, older migrants, etc) and across the government (involving 10 ministries).