DUSHANBE, April 16, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- A regional parliamentary seminar on labor migration - jointly organized by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA) and Tajikistan''s Parliament with the support of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan - took place in Dushanbe on April 16.

According to press release issued by the OSCE Office in Tajikistan, Legislators from several OSCE participating States, including Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Finland, Norway, Poland, France and Germany, took part in the seminar.

Discussions focused on the effects of the financial crisis on labor migration in the region, managing labor migration regionally and combating trafficking in human beings. The seminar also touched on other topics such as legislative reforms and regional frameworks, policies of host countries and protecting workers'' rights.

"The OSCE has a political potential for enhancing awareness, mobilizing resources and advocating stronger interaction between participating States and local political bodies to secure active co-operation in ensuring better social protection and better integration of the migrants into the labor market," said Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin, the Head of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan.

Kimmo Kiljunen, the OSCE PA Special Representative for Central Asia and a Member of the Finnish Parliament, added: "Parliamentary dialogue on issues like labor migration and other key topics in the OSCE region contributes transparency and raises awareness across the OSCE area of the challenges faced by some Central Asian states. As European parliamentarians, we are very glad to have had this opportunity to contribute to this important debate, together with parliamentarians from this region."

Experts estimate that the number of migrants from Tajikistan working aboard is more than one million, with an overwhelming majority going to the Russian Federation. Unofficial estimates say migrant remittances generate up to two-thirds of the Tajikistan''s GDP.