DUSHANBE, September 9, 2008, Asia-Plus  -- A draft convention on the legal status of labor migrants and members of their families will be discussed at a regular session of the council of heads of the CIS migration bodies that is opening in Kyrgyzstan’s resort Cholpon-Ata today.

According to Ms. Maria Gutsalo, a spokeswoman for the CIS Executive Committee, the session will consider 16 issues, including the draft convention on the legal status of labor migrants and members of their families and the program of cooperation within the CIS area on countering illegal migration designed for 2009-2011.  

The main objective of the convention is in providing equal living and labor opportunities for labor migrants and their families and citizens of the receiving country.  Adoption of the document will open the new stage of cooperation on protection of rights and interests of migrants within the CIS area, the spokeswoman said.  

The program for cooperation in countering the illegal migration is aimed at expanding interaction between the CIS states in this sphere and will promote development of international-legal foundation of cooperation in countering the illegal migration and harmonization of national border and migration control laws.  

The council members will also discuss measures to regulate cross-border labor migration, work out common approaches to formation of migration and visa policy, and counter illegal migration within the CIS and CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) areas, as well as will consider issues related to readmission and expansion of cooperation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), etc.

The first organizational session of the council of heads of the CIS migration bodies was held in Minsk, Belarus on January 29-30, 2008.  The participants of the Minsk session exchanged opinions concerning the activity of the council, considered issues relating to giving the General Trade Union Confederation an observer’s status in the council of heads of the CIS migration bodies.

The council of heads of the CIS migration bodies was set up in line with the resolution passed by the CIS council of heads of state in October 2007 in Dushanbe.

The council of heads of the CIS migration bodies determines priority areas of cooperation in regulating migration processes aimed at pursuing an agreed policy within the CIS framework, developing single approaches to the harmonization of the CIS migration legislations, ensuring the protection of rights and legal interests of migrants, integrating databases of information about foreign citizens and persons without citizenship registered in the CIS countries and implementing the CIS migration interstate and intergovernmental documents.