Social Policy and Human Rights Discussed at Tavricheskiy Palace

The Tavricheskiy Palace – the headquarters of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States – hosted a meeting of the IPA CIS Permanent Commission on Social Policy and Human Rights.

The event was opened by member of the Committee of the Milli Majlis of the Azerbaijan Republic for Law Policy and State-Building, member of the Committee of the Milli Majlis of the Azerbaijan Republic on Culture Nizami Safarov. He was unanimously elected Chair of the Commission.

Member of Standing Committee of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus for Education, Science, Culture and Social Development Igor Lutsky became Deputy Chair.

The meeting was continued by Deputy Chair of the Committee of the Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic on Social Policy Vinera Raimbachaeva

Representatives of the parliaments of Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, international organizations and the expert community took part.

Regional Coordinator for Legal Affairs in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Regional Delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus Zhala Azizova presented information on the special emergency travel document to the meeting participants. The commission members proposed the ICRC to prepare a draft concept of the document’s recommendations for the next meeting.

Deputy Chair of the St Petersburg Regional Branch of the Russian Red Cross Natalia Zaibert told the meeting participants about the organization’s activities in the field of assistance to refugees and migrants. The meeting mainly approved the draft Recommendations on the Protection and Social Rehabilitation of Victims of Human Trafficking in the CIS countries, which she presented. It regulates measures to support and compensate victims, as well as the specifics of their safe return to their country.

The document will be sent to the parliaments of the Commonwealth for comments, proposals and expert opinions.

Special attention at the meeting was paid to the draft Recommendations on the Formation of a Model List of Types of Work in which the use of labor by women and persons under the age of eighteen is prohibited or restricted, taking into account the types of economic activity in the CIS countries. The list of work prohibited for minors includes physically demanding activities such as drilling, climbing, explosive, underground, underwater and welding work. Women are prohibited from activities related to chemical production, metalworking, well drilling, oil and gas extraction, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, shipbuilding, railway transport, as well as underground and mining work.

The participants were informed in detail about the content of the documents by Head of the Department of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Republic of Belarus on Protection and State Expertise Ivan Karchevskiy and Deputy Director of the Department of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Russian Federation on Labour Conditions and Safety Tatyana Zhigastova.

The members of the Commission decided to appeal to the IPA CIS Council to include these Recommendations in the agenda of the next plenary session of the Assembly.

Deputy Director of the Department of Humanitarian Cooperation, General Political and Social Problems Khalmurat Rashidov informed the members of the Commission about the cooperation of the states of the region in the field of labor rationing and the activities of the CIS Executive Committee in this area.

Among the documents considered by the Commission are the draft Model Law on Medical Supplies in the CIS Member Nations; draft Recommendations on Legislative Regulation of Migration Processes During Pandemics; draft Recommendations on the Establishment of Professional Training Procedures for Workers and Specialists Involved in External Labour Migration.

Work on the documents is ongoing.

At the end of the meeting, the MPs were presented with a draft Glossary of Terms and Concepts in the Field of Youth Policy. It was initiated by the Youth Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States. It covers various spheres and areas, such as education, culture, social rehabilitation, health protection and physical culture, support for young families and entrepreneurs.

The Commission members also heard information about the upcoming IX St. Petersburg International Labor Forum.

The event is scheduled for April 2025. The Forum participants will focus on the issues of forming human resources potential for the new economy, overcoming the shortage of personnel, increasing labor productivity and modernizing the system of professional training of specialists. MPs noted the importance of participation in this event.

The Commission is scheduled to meet again in the spring of 2025.