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Regional Migration Programme
This programme concerns labour migration and is a logical continuation of Central Asia Regional Migration Programme (CARMP) implemented by IOM, UN Women and the World Bank with a support of UK Aid (DFID) between 2010 and 2013. As such RMP builds on the results of CARMP and is designed to ensure longer term sustainability of the CARMP/RMP intervention.
This programme aims to contribute to better protection of rights and enhancing social and economic opportunities of migrant men, women and their families. This is to be achieved through improving the capacity of government and other stakeholders for policy making and service implementation (Output 1 – implemented by IOM and the WB); Improving the services available for migrant workers and their families (Output 2 - implemented by IOM). Support to women and children left behind in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan (Output 3 - implemented by UN Women).
Labour migration is a widespread phenomenon in Central Asia when migrant workers from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan search for employment opportunities in Russia and Kazakhstan.
The majority of migrant workers working in the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan were forced to migrate because their income was not enough, even for basic needs. Facing the need to earn the means to ensure the survival of their families, migrant workers often see no alternative to working under irregular and exploitative conditions. Labour migration, in its turn, provides them a vital source of income and, in some cases, builds up their autonomy, self- confidence and social status.
Due to unregulated situation with management of labour migration processes, labour migration is overwhelmingly a spontaneous, irregular process with limited opportunities for legal employment. Because of this vast majority of migrant workers' rights are not protected and migrants being vulnerable and exposed to risk of labour exploitation, human trafficking.
Constantly changing migration policies in two target countries are a challenge and so is limited capacity of respective structures to manage migration. At the same time the potential of civil society and private sector is not utilized. There is a need to foster cooperation mechanism between state structures and civil society as well as to further develop an infrastructure in the field of labour migration, adaptation and integration of migrants, which included collaboration within tri-partite public-civic-private partnerships.
To maximize gains from migration, for development of CIS region, the governments acknowledge a need to develop common and agreed approaches to managing migration flows, facilitation of exchange of labour resources and enhancing effectiveness of inter-governmental cooperation in the field of migration management.
Overall Goal and Programme Purpose
Overall objective of the programme is to contribute to poverty reduction in Central Asia through the improved livelihoods of migrant men and women.
Specific programme purpose is to protect the rights and enhance the social and economic opportunities of migrant men, women and their families.
Examples of some of the key results to be delivered by this programme are:
Output 1: Improved capacity of government and other stakeholders to make policy and implement services in sending and receiving countries
Over 500 government officials and non-state partners in four countries increased understanding and skills on issues around labour migration and development and capacitated to work on policy improvements and provision of services to migrants;
At least 10 developments introduced pertaining to policy changes, new structures and referral mechanisms created amongst state, public and private stakeholders;
5 analytical pieces (policy outputs) produced.
Output 2: Improved services provided throughout the migration cycle to migrant workers in sending (Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan) and receiving countries (Russia, Kazakhstan).
Information/Support Centres for migrants in four countries provide effective legal and other specific advice to approximately 200 000 migrant workers ( 30% women) to enable them to make more informed decisions about their migration processes;
Over 100 migrant workers participated in a pilot organized recruitment and 25 supported with vocational training;
About 1 mln people, employers and migrants reached by publicity campaign in four countries to be equipped with the knowledge about how to migrate and work legally and where to turn for assistance.
Output 3: Improved services provided to vulnerable individuals and families in targeted communities in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan
2800 women gained access to legal aid assistance to protect their rights;
7600 vulnerable families assisted gained access to services that aim to improve their livelihoods and income in targeted communities in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
Number of households reporting generating income increased.
The following actions will be taken under each of the outputs to contribute to the overall objective and programme purpose:
Output 1: Enhancing capacity at the central and local level of key state institutions to make policies and provide services; strengthening multi-stakeholder cooperation between government and civil society on service delivery and policy development.
Output 2: Legal counseling and support to migrant workers and their families to increase awareness and knowledge on legal procedures of migration, risks, rights and responsibilities; Increasing the knowledge and skills of migrants; Facilitating and piloting organized recruitment and professional training; Increasing awareness of population on migration-related issues through information campaign and outreach
Output 3: Improving access of vulnerable women to free legal services; Empowering vulnerable local communities to improve their economic and social opportunity; Strengthening the capacity of civil society organizations and religious leaders to address and respond to the social consequences of labour migration on women's rights.
Expert support and policy advice
Regional networking
Technical cooperation and capacity building
Protection and direct assistance
Programme Partner Organizations
UNWOMEN
Government of Tajikistan
Government of Kyrgyzstan
Government of Kazakhstan
Government of Russia
NGOs and other service providers
Management Framework
The project will be administered by IOM Moscow, WB Moscow, UN WOMEN Almaty, DFID Dushanbe.
January 2014 - March 2015
Central Asia Regional Migration Programme
Central Asia Regional Migration Programme (CARMP) is a complex programme in the field of labour migration and joins the efforts of IOM, UN Women and the World Bank with financial support of UK Government (UKAID/DFID) to reduce poverty in Central Asia.
CARMP concerns labour migration, which has played a key part in reducing poverty levels in Central Asia. This is particularly so in the two poorest countries: the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Tajikistan. Most communities in rural areas in these countries are affected by migration, mainly to the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan.
CARMP's view is that voluntary migration brings positive benefits to the developing countries because it can provide better economic and social opportunities for migrants: whether it is high skilled migration or internal one where rural population moves to urban territories. Furthermore, CARMP shares the view that migration should be viewed more as an important part of the development agenda. The main focus is to allow migrants to maximize the benefits and not make migration the only choice to survive.
Due to the complex nature of the labour migration this programme takes on comprehensive and holistic measures to promote policies and institutional procedures to respect, protect and fulfil labour migrants' rights throughout the migration cycle.
The overall goal of CARMP is to contribute to poverty reduction in Central Asia through the improved livelihoods of migrant men and women.
CARMP purpose is to protect the rights and enhance the social and economic opportunities of migrant men, women and their families.
The CARMP programmatic intervention focuses on the following five Outputs:
Output 1: Policies for managing labour migration are evidence-based and effectively implemented. Support for the consistent collection of and sharing of gender disaggregated data is one of the key steps towards proper management of migration.
Output 2: Improved regional partnerships, dialogue and coordination on selected migration issues. An effective way to address the developmental aspects of labour migration, including poverty reduction and gender issues, is better policy coordination and implementation of relevant policies across all countries. Read more...
Output 3: Labour migrants and their families benefit from a broader range of gender sensitive services provided throughout migration cycle. This will result in a reduction of irregular (illegal) migration and for foreign labour to end up working in less exploitative conditions.
Output 4: Families of labour migrants in the sending countries enhance their skills and knowledge to improve their livelihoods. Families of poor labour migrants will see their economic and social status improved and will have a direct impact on poverty reduction.
Output 5: Increased capacity of civil society organisations to support measures to increase social tolerance of labour migrants and reduce xenophobia in destination countries. Media organizations will develop a more positive image of labour migrants, and the NGOs will ensure governments lead in developing social integration strategies for labour migrants.
The main programme partners all have extensive experience of migration issues in the region and the programme has been designed following thorough consultations with stakeholders at all levels, governmental, non-governmental and migrants themselves.
The programme works closely with the regional organization - the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) - which coordinates regional dialogue on labour migration matters at high levels of government.
Examples of some key expected results of the CARMP are:
Output 1: Policies for managing migration are evidence-based and effectively implemented in the four countries:
Gender-disaggregated data on migration is collected and shared between national stakeholders on a regular basis. Government officials are trained in data collection and use.
Target government officials are trained on the links between gender, migration and poverty, plus are up to date on new policies and laws.
A lower number of irregular and exploited workers through the training of 50 employers in the Russia Federation on the application of regulations and best practices on recruitment of foreign labour.
Output 2: Improved regional partnerships, dialogue and coordination on selected migration issues:
Better dialogue and coordination between the governments of the region on key regional issues of migration (data sharing; gender; access to health and social protection) produces better inter-governmental agreements.
Senior government officials and Parliamentarians from the four countries have an increased understanding and skill level on issues around labour migration, and are able to have a more informative discussion at regional level.
Existing bilateral agreements are effectively implemented and feed experiences into regional dialogue (between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan; and Tajikistan and Russia).
Output 3: Target labour migrants and their families benefit from broader range of gender sensitive services provided throughout the migration cycle:
Information Centres run by NGOs in four countries (new and currently running) provide effective legal and specific advice to 50,000 labour migrants (30% women) to enable them to make more informed decisions about their migration processes.
674,000 people, employers, and potential migrants reached in the four countries and equipped with knowledge about how to migrate legally and hence how to avoid exploitation and discrimination.
Output 4: Families of target labour migrants in the sending countries enhance their skills and knowledge to improve their livelihoods:
3,000 families of poorest labour migrants in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan received information and gain skills and knowledge on agro-businesses and to get access to micro-credits facilities.
Religious leaders, local government officials and community based organizations equipped with increased knowledge about women human's rights which results in increased support for abandoned wives and their children in labour migrant families.
Output 5: Increase capacity of civil society organizations to support measures to increase social tolerance of labour migrants in destination countries:
Social integration strategies for labour migrants are in place in four pilot oblast (regional) governments in Kazakhstan and Russia.
Increase in positive media portraits of women and men labour migrants. This should include the promotion of integration and respect for their rights.
Labour Migration in Central Asia and the Russian Federation and Studies Conducted by IOM in the Labour Migration Area
This project is designed to assist the RF Government to develop necessary policy and legislative frames, to establish administrative and operational systems, as well as the basis for the administrative capacity building required for the solution of problems in the labour migration area. The successful labour migration management is subject to joint effective interstate management in the CA region and the RF. The project also strives to facilitate the development of transparent and well-coordinated approaches and mechanisms of labour migration management to be applied to all countries sharing a common migration space.
The key activities in the RF are as follows:
improvement of the labour migration legislation of the RF;
strengthening of the labour migration management system in CA countries to the RF;
assistance to the labour migrants through information campaigns and the capacity building for the NGOs providing service to labour migrants;
organization of expert consultations on migration legislation and policy development and institutional frameworks;
improving the management of labour migration into Russian Federation;
development and implementation of labour migration programs;
exchange of experts in the field of labour migration;
monitoring of the migration situation and the Russian migration legislation enforcement practices;
strengthening of migration data collection systems in the Russian Federation;
conducting research and exchange of public information on migration, in particular, on irregular migration and smuggling of migrants;
increasing the availability of information on the conditions of immigration to the Russian Federation in foreign countries.
The project is funded by the European Commission and the International Organization for Migration.
Project duration: June 2007 – December 2009