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opinions and Recommendations

On the basis of a comprehensive study and its results set forth in the Special Report, the Commissioner deems it necessary to express a number of opinions and proposals.

As an integral part of observance of human rights and freedoms in Ukraine, the problem of observance and protection of the rights and freedoms of Ukrain­ian citizens abroad is increasingly attracting attention of the Ukrainian society and calls for the pursuance of a purpose-minded state policy in this area.

Among the growing number of Ukrainian citizens who annually have the opportunity to travel abroad for various reasons, the vast majority are people, who seek employment, illegal employment included.

The increasing dimensions of such migration during the past few years has become exceptionally topical and acute, thereby vitally affecting the socioeconomic situation in the state in general and in the regions in particular.

 The analysis by the Commissioner for Human Rights of the reasons influencing migration processes worldwide and in Ukraine gives grounds to assert that migration of Ukrainian workers abroad will for a long time yet remain one of the determining factors of the country’s public and economic life directly affecting the status of observance of the civic, economic, social and cultural rights of Ukrainian citizens.

Consequently, the processes of migration for employment abroad require profound study and understanding, above all by bodies of state authority and local self-government, as well the design of a corresponding government policy regulating the migration processes and providing more effectual protection to Ukrainian citizens traveling abroad as migrant workers.

The Commissioner’s analysis of operative national legislation, of a large body of statistical and other information, the opinions of experts as well as the practices of bodies of state authority and local self-government proved that there are serious problems in this area. The absence of a concept on national migration policy and a single government agency responsible for the design and implementation of such a policy denies the state control over this area. In consequence, migration for employment abroad is mostly sporadic or surrendered to the complete control of private agencies that bear no responsibility for their clients. Also inadequate are the mechanisms of government protection of Ukrainian migrant workers abroad. An effective system is lacking for collecting, processing and analyzing statistical and other information on migration issues.

In the opinion of the Commissioner for Human Rights, one of the important elements of such a concept is to align the government’s immigration policy concerned with control over the entry and stay of aliens in the country with its emigration policy, specifically the processes of migration of Ukrainian citizens for employment abroad.

Taking into consideration the aforesaid, the Commission for Human Rights proposes that:

The Parliament of Ukraine

§ ratify the European Convention on the Legal Status of Migrant Workers, 1977;

§ ratify the ILO Recruitment and Placement of Seafarers Convention No.179, 1996;

§ ratify the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime 2000 and its protocols to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons and against the smuggling of migrants;

§ expedite the consideration of the draft law On Enterprises Acting as Intermediaries for the Employment of Citizens Abroad registered with the Parliament on December 10, 2002;

§ consider and adopt the Law On the Concept of Ukraine’s Migration Policy.

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine

§ ensure implementation of the Comprehensive Program of the Strategy of Poverty Reduction, as approved by Presidential Edict of August 15, 2002, No.637/2001, in order to set up an effective system for the social protection of the population, reduction of the dimensions of poverty and elimination of its gravest manifestations;

§ develop a concept of Ukraine’s migration policy that would comprehensively combine its immigration and emigration components and submit to Parliament the draft law On the Concept of Ukraine’s Migration Policy;

§ identify a single agency responsible for the development and implementation of the government’s migration policy, clearly delimiting the competence of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Committee for Nationalities and Migration, and the State Committee for Guarding the State Border;

§ develop an effective system for collecting, processing and analyzing statistical or other data relating to the migration for employment abroad to be subsequently used during the implementation of the state migration policy;

§ continue improving the national legal framework governing transnational migration for employment and social protection of migrant workers;

§ expedite the ratification of the European Convention on the Legal Status of Migrant Workers, 1977 and submit it to Parliament for consideration;

§ submit to Parliament for ratification the ILO Recruitment and Placement of Seafarers Convention No. 179, 1996;

§ consider the issue of Ukraine’s accession to the ILO Convention concerning Migration for Employment No.97 (1949) and the ILO Convention concerning Migrations in Abusive Conditions and the Promotion of Equality of Opportunity and Treatment of Migrant Workers No.143 (1975) and forward a motion to have them ratified by the Ukrainian Parliament;

§ prepare proposals to the Ukrainian Parliament for the ratification of the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, 2000 and its additional protocols to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons and against the smuggling of migrants;

§ finalize ratification of the treaty on medical insurance of migrant workers between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Government of the Republic of Poland and initiate the conclusion of such treaties with other countries;

§ provide in the State Budget targeted funds to ensure legal protection of Ukrainian citizens deprived of liberty on the territory of foreign states;

§ design a set of measures for extensively explaining to Ukrainian citizens their rights and freedoms during their stay and employment abroad as well as the specifics of legislation of the receiving countries, including the provisions of respective intergovernmental and multilateral treaties.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

§ enhance the personnel of Ukrainian diplomatic missions and consular posts in the countries with the largest number of Ukrainian migrant workers, and also extend the practice of staffing the consular posts with officers who have a proper legal education;

§ among the personnel of diplomatic missions in the countries receiving Ukrainian migrant workers identify employees who would be responsible for monitoring the labor market of the host countries and explain and promote the exercise by Ukrainian migrant workers of their rights in full;

§ extend the practice of consular officers participating in court hearings, especially in cases where there is evidence of prejudiced attitudes to and discrimination against Ukrainian citizens;

§ ensure prompt and systematic notification of relatives of Ukrainian citizens abroad about facts of their detention (arrest) as well as the progress of investigation of criminal charges against them and their judicial review, and set out clearly defined procedures for the provision of such information;

§ strengthen control over and responses to cases of irregular investigation of cases of death of Ukrainian citizens abroad;

§ ensure timely execution of documents related to the death of Ukrainian citizens abroad in order to protect the rights and interests of their relatives in Ukraine;

§ continue the practice of providing government assistance for transporting the bodies of Ukrainians who died abroad when their families and relatives cannot cover such costs. To this end, provide corresponding expenditures in the State Budget and set out the procedure for providing such assistance;

§ generalize international practice in government policy of migration for employment from the sending countries to the receiving countries;

§ facilitate self-organization of migrant workers in the host countries and use the opportunities of the Ukrainian Diaspora for enhancing the effectiveness of protection of the migrant workers’ rights and freedoms;

§ respond without delay to facts of abuse by foreign lawyers in the discharge of their duties of providing legal assistance in civil and criminal cases, and set up a network of legal firms specializing in the protection of the rights of aliens for defending the interests of Ukrainian citizens;

§ formulate principles of interaction and all-round support of Ukrainian and foreign lawyers and law firms that can ensure real and effective protection of the rights and interests of Ukrainian citizens abroad;

§ speed up the process of concluding treaties on employment and social protection jointly with the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy of Ukraine, above all with those countries that have the largest number of Ukrainian migrant workers, in particular with Spain, Italy and Greece. Concurrently, draft treaties on reciprocal recognition of professional education to retain and upgrade the qualification of national specialists during their temporary stay abroad.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy of Ukraine

§ strengthen control over compliance with operative Ukrainian legislation and conditions of licensing of business entities involved in recruiting Ukrainian citizens for employment abroad;

§ constantly monitor the execution of operative bilateral and multilateral treaties on employment in order to raise their effectiveness;

§ develop mechanisms for recording cash transfers of Ukrainian migrant workers within the structure of incomes of families in order to plan and ensure their subsistence minimum;

§ expedite the conclusion of bilateral treaties on social security, specifically pension provision, of Ukrainian citizens who travel abroad, above all to Canada, Germany, the US, and Israel;

§ expand the powers of regional government agencies during the drafting and conclusion of foreign economic agreements (contracts) with foreign business entities for employment of Ukrainian citizens;

§ jointly with the State Committee for Tourism strengthen control over tourist firms that under the guise of tourist services illegally recruit Ukrainian citizens for work abroad.

The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

§ submit justified proposals to the Cabinet of Ministers for increasing funds to develop science and ensure necessary conditions of work for the country’s scientists and scientific institutions in order to prevent the outflow of highly qualified scientific personnel abroad;

§ constantly monitor emigration of Ukrainian scientists and, proceeding from the results, submit corresponding recommendations to the Cabinet of Ministers;

§ draft and submit to the Cabinet of Ministers for consideration long-term comprehensive measures of international cooperation in science as well as the participation of Ukrainian scientists in international programs in order to employ more effectively Ukraine’s scientific potential;

§ study the issue of host countries compensating the Ukrainian state for the training of scientists who emigrated for permanent residence.

The National Bank of Ukraine

Proceeding from a regulatory framework, devise a simplified system for Ukrainian migrant workers abroad remitting money to our citizens, providing for favorable terms of payment for the banks’ remittance services.

The Office of the Attorney General of Ukraine

Speed up the process of concluding bilateral treaties – first of all with Russia, Belarus and Moldova – on the transfer of convicts to serve out their sentences in Ukraine.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine

Broaden international cooperation of Ukrainian law enforcement bodies with similar foreign agencies to strengthen the effectiveness of combating organized and transnational crime directed against Ukrainian migrant workers. To this end, increase the number of Ministry of Internal Affairs personnel within Ukrainian diplomatic missions abroad.

Regional State Administrations and Oblast Radas

At the local level systematically collect and analyze information pertaining to migration processes and at the regional level take appropriate measures to deal with the problems related to migration for employment.

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