OSCE presents third study on migration data in Bishkek, discusses steps to harmonize regional data collection

BISHKEK, 31 March 2011 – The preliminary findings and recommendations from an assessment of Kyrgyzstan’s collection of migration data by the OSCE and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) were presented to government officials and policymakers dealing with migration data at a meeting in Bishkek today.

This is the third such study in Central Asia and follows assessments in Tajikistan and Kazakhstan in January and February respectively. The assessments are part of a larger project supporting the establishment of a harmonized data collection process in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. This project is a follow-up of the 2009 OSCE Ministerial Council Decision on Migration Management calling for improved collection of comparable data on migration, which is essential to facilitating dialogue and exchange of best practices at the OSCE level.

The event was organized by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities and the OSCE Centre in Bishkek in co-operation with the IOM. Government officials and policymakers discussed issues including internal and external migration data needs and the steps needed to harmonize data collection between Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Mairambek Beishenov, the Head of the Directorate on Migration Management at Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Labour, Employment and Migration, said: “Migration is not just simple movement of people from one place to another, but a complicated social process, affecting many sides of the social, economic and cultural life of people. Our task is therefore to adopt laws that ensure the best possible protection of the Kyrgyz labour migrants, including the creation of a legal base for their legitimate employment abroad. The collection of objective data and information would help us implement more efficient migration policies.”

Ambassador Andrew Tesoriere, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, said: "Migration patterns in Central Asia remain dynamic. Migration carries significant individual and national economic advantages, and to maximize them, while mitigating any inefficiencies and abuses, we need to develop a system of collaborative management based on the collection of reliable data. This is the essence of this series of meetings, which will culminate in recommendations for collection of reliable and comparable data by the authorities of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.”

Bermet Moldobaeva, the IOM Chief of Mission in the Kyrgyz Republic, said: “Reliable and accurate data help to track migration trends, therefore enabling States to develop sound migration management policies. Even though migration management in Kyrgyzstan is in its early stages of development, the State has already established a basic migration management system in the country.”

To ensure synergy with other data collection processes, activities are being co-ordinated with other international organizations including the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the International Labour Organization and the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

The findings of the three country assessments, a template for data collection and general conclusions and recommendations will be compiled in a handbook, which will be presented at a regional conference in Vienna in June.