DUSHANBE, December 18, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- Tajikistan is marking International Migrants Day today.

According to the Interior Ministry migrations service, a conference dedicated to this event is taking place at the Kokhi Vahdat State Complex in Dushanbe today.

According to the State Committee for Statistics, some 600,000 Tajik nationals are currently outside the country seeking better employment opportunities.  In the meantime, some international organizations report that the number of Tajik labor migrants working abroad exceeds 1 million people.

On December 4, 2000, the UN General Assembly, taking into account the large and increasing number of migrants in the world, proclaimed December 18 International Migrants Day.   On that day, in 1990, the Assembly adopted the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.

Member States, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations are invited to observe International Migrants Day through the dissemination of information on the human rights and fundamental freedoms of migrants, and through the sharing of experiences and the design of actions to ensure their protection.