OSCE workshop on Kazakhstan’s draft migration law
ASTANA, 19 May 2011 – Representatives of the government, parliament, civil society and the international organizations in Kazakstan discussed the new draft migration law at an OSCE workshop in Astana today.
Some 50 participants assessed the compatibility of the draft law with international law standards and best practices. Legal opinions and remarks on the draft law have been provided by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and UN Women at the request of the Kazakh authorities.
These assessments and the discussions touched on issues related to migrant rights protection, access to the labour market, gender equality, non-discrimination, and the integration, social protection, residential status, arrest and deportation of migrant workers. Participants noted recommendations for improvements to the draft law.
The workshop is organized by the OSCE Centre in Astana, ODIHR, the Majilis (Parliament), the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, the Migration Police Committee, the EU/ILO Project “Regulating labor migration as an instrument of development and regional cooperation in Central Asia”, and UN Women.
"Today’s meeting is aimed at supporting the development and adoption of modern and efficient national immigration legislation to become a major tool in implementing a comprehensive and thought-out policy for Kazakhstan in the field of migration and a step in the establishment of regional co-operation in this area," said Ambassador Alexander Keltchewsky, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Astana in his opening speech.
"State agencies, representatives of the International Organization for Migration, International Labour Organization, and the UN High Commissioner as well as non-governmental organizations actively participated in process of drafting the Law. The experience of 28 countries has been studied and comments of OSCE and ILO taken into account," said the Vice-Minister of Labour and Social Protection of Kazakhstan Birzhan Nurymbetov.
The Chairman of the Committee for Cultural Development of Majilis of Parliament of Kazakhstan Dinar Nuketayeva said: “The draft law on migration has already been approved by the Majilis on first reading, but we are still working on improvement of the rights of migrant workers and their families. This process requires a thoughtful approach from law-makers and government officials as the future prosperity of hundreds of thousands of people depends upon the quality of legislation."
Kazakhstan’s draft national legislation on migration regulation is scheduled to be voted into law by Parliament in August 2011.
The meeting follows a similar OSCE/ODIHR event in Astana in 2009. It is part of the OSCE Centre's continuing support for improvement and modernization of labour migration management in Kazakhstan.