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The Protection of the Rights of Migrants Workers in the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS and Perspectives of Joining the 1990 UN Convention

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The Protection of the Rights of Migrants Workers in the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS and Perspectives of Joining the 1990 UN Convention SHS/2004/MC/6/ REV. International Migration and Multicultural Policies Section UNESCO Series of Country Reports on the Ratification of the UN Convention on Migrants The Protection of the Rights of Migrants Workers in the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS and Perspectives of Joining the 1990 UN Convention By : Z.H A. Zayonchkovskaya 1 July 2004 The ideas and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of UNESCO. The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout the publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning its frontiers or boundaries. Unauthorized translation, not for quotation. Preface This report is based on the analysis of the situation of individual countries of Eastern Europe and the CIS. Its main goal is to answer the question: why most of this states, did not accede to the 1990 UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families The research study was based on the analysis of eleven countries’ policies in the field of labour migration, as well as relevant legislation and law-enforcement practices. Some 15 experts were interviewed in each of these countries. The interviews’ data was used to examine the following issues: the level of awareness of both authorities and migrants on the 1990 UN Convention; if the process has been launched on matching the national legislation with the Convention’s requirements; the assistance a country needs in order to launch the process of access to the UN Convention (and for countries that have acceded to the UN Convention – the problems they face in the area of protection of the rights of migrant workers); and finally, the reasons for non-alignment of their countries to the UN Convention. The report has been prepared under supervision of T. Saory, UNESCO, Section International Migrations, Social Sciences, Research and Policy Division, Sector for Social and Human Sciences; Zhanna Zayonchkovskaya, Candidate of Geographic Sciences, Director, Migration Research Center, and with the assistance of research experts from each country. Acknowledgements The country chapters are based upon contributions by: ♦ Liana Baljan, bachelor of sociology, a member of research group, faculty of sociology on labour migrations, Yerevan State University (Armenia) ♦ Arif Seyfullaevich Yunusov, Head, Department of Conflict Studies and Migration, Institute of Peace and Democracy (Azerbaijan) ♦ Dita Cermakova, Post-graduate student, Prague University (Cheque Republic) ♦ Luule Sakkeus, Head of the project 2015 " Well-being of Estonia " (Estonia) ♦ Irina Molodikova, Head of programs on migration, Central European university (Hungary) Nandor Zettish, President of the International Association "Dialogues" (Hungary) ♦ Elena Yur’evna Sadovskaya, President of the Center for Conflict Management (Kazakhstan) ♦ Aiynura Bekkulovna Elebaeva, Vice-president of the Science, International University, Director of the Etnologii Institute, International University of Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyzstan) ♦ Valeriy Georgievich Moshnyaga, Head of the Department for Political SciencChisinau University (Republic of Moldova) ♦ Elena Vladimirovna Tjurjukanova, Leading Scientific Employee, Institute of Social and Economic Problems of the Population, Russian Academy of Science (Russian Federation) ♦ Irina Mikhaylovna Pribytkova, Leading Scientific Employee, Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences, Ukraine, Chairwoman of the Research Committee on Population Sociology and Demographic Education problems at the Ukrainian Sociologic Association (Ukraine) ♦ Lyudmila Petrovna Maksakova, Head or the Department of Demography and the Labour Market, Institute of Macroeconomic and Social Research (Uzbekistan) The country chapters were compelled by Zhanna Antonovna Zayonchkovskaya, Director, Migration Research Center*, Head, Laboratory for Analysis and Forecasting of Migration, Institute for Economic Forecasting, Russian Academy of Sciences. Coordination and data work were carried out by Kirillova Elena Kimovna, Secretary of the Migration Research Center. * Till January, 2004 - CIS Research Center on Forced Migration CONTENTS Preface Acknowledgements Executive summary Armenia State regulation of labour migration in Armenia Azerbaijan Legal aspects of labour migration in Azerbaijan Czech Republic The status of migrant workers in the Czech Republic in the light of 1990 UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families Estonia Estonia: problems linked with joining the UN Convention 1990 Hungary International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and the needs of the Hungarian labour market Kazakhstan Rights of migrant workers and perspectives of the joining to the UN Convention concerning their protection of 1990 in the Republic of Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan in the process of joining the 1990 UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families Moldova The Republic of Moldova: the protection of migrant workers in the context of the 1990 UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families Russia Protection of the rights of migrant workers in Russia and prospects for joining the 1990 UN Convention Ukraine Legal status of the Ukrainian migrant workers and protection of their rights and freedoms Uzbekistan Labour migration in Uzbekistan and the protection of migrants' rights Zhanna Zayonchkovskaya Elena Tjurjukanova Executive Summary Labour migration, which is an important component of globalization and development, is at the same time a serious challenge for human rights, the principles of social justice and an adequate level of living standards. Most groups of migrant workers find themselves in a vulnerable and marginal situation, because the legal space of labour migration is very limited, while the existing demand for migrants' labour is not supported with adequate measures in the sphere of migration management. It leads to a situation when there are jobs for migrant workers in the recipient countries, but no legal possibilities for employment. The inefficiency of state management of migration becomes apparent in the growth of illegal and criminal displacements and illegal employment of migrants. State usually respond by strengthening the police measures against illegal migration. This exclusive circle leads to the mass marginalization of migrants and the violation of their fundamental rights. Central and Eastern Europe including the countries of the CIS and the Baltic (CEE) have become a large region of international labour migration from the beginning of the 21st century. According to the estimates this type of migration only in the CIS involves around 10 million people annually, including internal labour migration1. According to the IOM, the number of illegal migrants from the third countries, who are resident in the CEE, comprised 3-4 million people. According to OSCE by the end of 1990s, around 175 thousand women annually move illegally from the region to the OSCE countries with the purpose of labour and sexual exploitation2. Western vector of labour migration is the prevailing one in Europe. Labour emigration from the countries of Central Europe is directed to the West. In their turn, the western countries accept migrant workers from the western part of the CIS – Moldova, Belarus, Ukraine and Russia. Labour flows in the CIS are mainly oriented to Russia, however the Central-European and Mediterranean countries are the equal partners for Ukraine and Moldova. The peculiarity of the Transcaucasian countries is a more distinct orientation to Russia, USA and the Western-European countries. Russia remains the main direction of labour flows also from the countries of the Central-Asian region, though the Eastern-Asian vector also has a high importance for these countries – trips to China, South Korea, as well as 1 Estimates of the Independent Research Council for Migration in the countries of the CIS and the Baltic. /Trends in the sphere of migration in the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Review of 2001-2002. IOM, 2002, p.17. 2 Bureau for investigation and research. State Department of the United States, Smuggling women and children in the world: estimation of the dimensions. Quoted from: The problem of smuggling people: OSCE tasks. OSCE Survey conference, September 1999. Information document of the Bureau of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, 1999/3. P.8. Turkey and the Arab Emirates. Russians often leave to China and Turkey, but the sphere of their interests comprises almost all the countries of Europe and USA. It can be stated that migrant workers from CEE have settled all around the world. Labour migration from the region creates: "brain drain" (mainly to Western Europe and USA, and within the CIS – to Russia), "shuttle" trading (mainly with China, Turkey, Poland, etc.), individual building services (unskilled workers and specialists), household services (governesses, housemaids, gardeners, etc.), wide range of show- and sex-business (including trafficking people), tourism sphere, work at agricultural plantations, etc. The majority of migrant workers do not have any legal basis for their activities and, being faced with the violation
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