Preventing human trafficking: How responsible recruitment can protect migrant workers

Amazon and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are working together in Nepal to strengthen responsible recruitment and support safer migration.

Key Takeaways:

• Amazon and IOM are collaborating in Nepal to protect migrant workers from exploitation risks by intervening before they leave home. 
• In 2025 and 2026, the initiative reached over 3,700 people through dozens of community activities. 
• Assessments showed that labor trafficking awareness among participants increased significantly, from 76% to 90%.
• Amazon is supporting IOM to develop a data hub designed to connect fragmented data across labor migration corridors as part of the World Economic Forum's Global Data Partnership Against Forced Labour.

Millions of people leave their home countries every year in search of work, hoping to build a better future. For many, migration creates life-changing opportunities. But for others, the journey begins with deception. A misleading job offer. A recruiter charging steep fees to obtain a job. A promise that doesn't reflect reality in the new country. 

Forced labor has grown into a multi-billion dollar business that profits off human exploitation. Migrant workers are three times more likely to experience forced labor than non-migrant workers, trapped in debt bondage before their jobs even start. This World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, Amazon is highlighting our collaboration with IOM to help workers considering migrating from Nepal to countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates—make more informed decisions.

Launched in 2025, as part of Amazon and IOM’s global collaboration on promoting migrant worker rights and preventing forced labor in supply chains, this initiative brings together governments, civil society, recruiters, worker organizations and businesses to strengthen ethical recruitment practices and support safer migration. It also aligns with Nepal’s National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights, demonstrating how private-sector engagement can support government-led human rights commitments.

“Preventing exploitation requires more than responding to abuse after it occurs—it requires investing in awareness, responsible recruitment systems, and partnerships that empower people to migrate safely from the outset,” said Parul Mehra, a protection officer at IOM. “This collaboration demonstrates how the private sector can play a meaningful role in advancing migrant worker protection and promoting ethical recruitment practices."

With Amazon’s support, IOM and its local partner, Forum for Nation Building, offered pre-departure orientation sessions, community mobile clinics, and other community-outreach sessions across Nepal. These activities were designed to help prospective migrant workers recognize fraudulent recruitment practices, understand how to migrate safely, and access support if something goes wrong.

Prospective migrants, returned workers, and family members also shared their experiences at these sessions, and discussed strategies for handling pressures, recruitment fees, misleading job offers, and unsafe migration pathways. 

Last year, 62 community activities reached 3,736 people. Post-program assessments showed significant improvements in participants' understanding of safe migration, worker rights, and grievance mechanisms, with knowledge scores rising from 76% up to 90%. The program supported over 700 workers in obtaining jobs overseas through ethical recruitment channels.

But education alone cannot eliminate exploitation—it must be reinforced by ethical recruitment practices by recruitment agencies, effective government and private sector policies, and cross-sector coordination in countries of origin and destination. That’s why IOM trained more than 120 recruitment agents, and convened two multi-stakeholder dialogues, bringing together 146 participants from 84 institutions, including governments, recruiters, businesses, civil society, worker organizations, human rights institutions, and international organizations. The dialogues generated practical recommendations to reduce migration costs, strengthen worker protections, and improve coordination along the migration corridor between Nepal and the GCC countries.

"We thought a visit visa was the easiest way to work abroad, but it was a trap built on lies,” said Manju Adhikari, who attended an IOM session after experiencing recruitment fraud. “Through this program, I understood how wrong we were, and I now feel better prepared to protect my family and ensure others do not fall into the same deception."

Amazon and IOM are working to help even more prospective migrants, developing a data hub, beginning with a pilot in Thailand, designed to connect fragmented data across labor migration corridors and build a shared evidence base for targeted interventions, as part of the World Economic Forum's Global Data Partnership Against Forced Labour.

This work also informs Amazon's approach to responsible recruitment in other migration corridors and is part of our continuing efforts to strengthen human rights due diligence across our value chain.

“This initiative reflects our commitment to respecting human rights across our value chain,” said Leigh Anne DeWine, Amazon’s director of human rights and social impact. “Every journey in search of opportunity should begin with hope, not risk. When people can pursue opportunities with dignity, the benefits ripple far beyond one individual. Families grow stronger, communities become resilient, and migration becomes what it was always meant to be: a pathway to possibility.”

Learn more about Amazon’s human rights work.

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