Concept of CIS Common Migration Area Discussed at Tavricheskiy Palace

The document will reflectthe interests of all Commonwealth countries and changes in the structure of the employment market for labour migrants and the characteristics of migration flows in the region.

Within the framework of the VIII St. Petersburg International Labour Forumthe headquarters of the IPA CIS hosted the international conference ”The Concept of Common Migration Areaof the CIS Member Nations: Common Principles and National Interests“.

The conference brought together MPs, representatives of relevant ministries and agencies of the CIS countries, academia, politicians, as well as representatives of international organizations and experts in the field of migration. The main issues for discussion were the main changes that are planned to be introduced into the Concept of Common Migration Area щf the CIS Member Nations, adopted by the IPA CIS in 2012.

The event was opened by Chair of the St. Petersburg Committee for Labour and Employment Dmitriy Cherneiko.

Secretary General of the IPA CIS Council Dmitriy Kobitskiy welcomed the participants.

Chair of the IPA CIS Permanent Commission on Social Policy and Human Rights, member of the Committees of the Milli Majlis of the Azerbaijan Republic for Law Policy and State-Building and on Defense, Security and Counter-Corruption Nizami Safarov emphasized in his video address the CIS countries have accumulated great experience in regulating migration processes.

WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge also sent a video message and said that promoting safe and dignified migration requires interregional cooperation and commitment to effective migration management.

Director of the Office of the International Organization for Migration in Moscow Marina Schramm stressedthat the UN Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Legal Migration had become an important development in international cooperation on migration management.

Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to the Russian Federation Karim Atassi noted that a space with a visa-free regime and the possibility of obtaining various legal statuses for citizens of the CIS Member Nations certainly contributes to the inflow of labour resources and is in the interests of all CIS Member Nations.

Minister of State of Burkina Faso, Minister of Civil Service, Labour and Social Security of Burkina Faso Bassolma Bazie, thanked the organizers for invitation to participate in the forum.

Member of the Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Issues of Nationalities, Head of the Working Group on Legal Regulation, Social and Cultural Adaptation and Integration of Migrants, Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons in the Russian Federation under the Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Issues of Nationalities Anastasia Udaltsova made proposals on the need for legal regulation of the processes of recruiting and attracting workers.

Minister of Labour, Migration and Employment of Population of the Republic of Tajikistan Gulnora Khasanzoda presented the problems and prospects of regulating migration processes in the Republic of Tajikistan. According to the minister, the country is in constant cooperation with the Commonwealth Member Nationsto ensure social protection of migrants.

Deputy Chair of the IPA CIS Permanent Commission on Legal Issues, Chair of the Standing Commission of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus on Legislation and State Administration Sergey Sivets presented the migration policy of the Republic of Belarus and legal aspects of its implementation.

Head of the Regional Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross for the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus Boris Michel informed what humanitarian assistance the ICRC provides to vulnerable migrants and called on the conference participants to support these efforts.

Deputy Chair of the Committee of the Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic on International Affairs, Defense, Security and Migration Eldar Sulaimanov made a report on External Migration Processes in Kyrgyzstan in the Context of Eurasian integration via video-conferencing.

At the plenary session of the conference Dmitry Kobitsky awarded the IPA CIS Council honorary certificate and the anniversary medal “IPA CIS.30 years” to Dmitriy Cherneiko. Nikolai Kurdyumov also received the anniversary medal “IPA CIS.30 years”.

At the end of the event Dmitriy Kobitskiy and Dmitriy Cherneiko awarded the winners of the regional competition “The Best Employer of St. Petersburg in the Field of Labour Migration”.