THE CONCEPT of State Migration Policy

Transcription

1 The Decree of the President of Ukraine, #622/2011 On the Concept of State Migration Policy With a purpose of creation of proper conditions for realization of state policy in the sphere of migration I hereby decide: 1. To approve the Concept of State Migration Policy (attached). 2. To the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to ensure realization of provisions of this Concept. President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych 30 May 2011 APPROVED by the Presidential Decree of Ukraine of 30 May 2011, #622/2011 THE CONCEPT of State Migration Policy This Concept defines the guidelines, strategic objectives of the state migration policy of Ukraine, principles and priorities of activity of public authorities in the field of migration, the areas of improvement of its legislative and institutional support and the mechanisms of its implementation. The concept is aimed at ensuring effective state management of migration processes, creating conditions for sustainable demographic and socio-economic development of the state, increasing the level of national security through the prevention of uncontrolled migration processes and elimination of their consequences, coordination of national legislation in the area of migration with the international standards, strengthening of social and legal protection of the citizens of Ukraine, who stay or work abroad, creating conditions for the unimpeded exercising of rights, freedoms, lawful interests of migrants and performance of their duties as foreseen by the legislation, support of the complete use of intellectual and labor potential of such persons and fulfillment of the principles of protection of the interests of Ukraine. The current state of migration processes One of the conditions of establishment of the rule-of-law state is identification of the areas of its migration policy and improvement of the system of the state management of migration processes in accordance with international standards in the field of human rights. The absence of legislative definition of the state migration policy, the principles of activity of public authorities in the field of migration, strategic objectives, tasks and standards to ensure the realization of human rights impairs efficient counteraction against phenomena that threaten national security of Ukraine the illegal migration, the escalation of demographic crisis and the outflow outside the territory of Ukraine of scholars and scientists, experts and skilled labor force. The need for improvement of the state management of migration processes is caused by the political and socio-economic factors, which influence Ukraine and the world, where the main ones are: 1

2 the integration of Ukraine into the international labor market accompanied by the outflow of labor force from Ukraine; the reduction in the number of population in Ukraine and other European countries; the active immigration policy of other states, aimed to attract foreign labor force; the incompliance of legislative acts of Ukraine on migration to the challenges of today, namely due to the lack of legislative acts in the field of protection of foreigners and stateless persons who were not granted the refugee status, although their return to their countries of nationality or last permanent residence is not possible given the need for Ukraine to fulfill its undertaken international commitments, as well as due to the impossibility for such persons to reside or stay on the territory of their respective countries of origin on account of environmental, anthropogenic or other force majeure; the lack of personnel and logistical support of the state authorities for the implementation of state migration policy of Ukraine, the lack of computer-aided systems of record keeping and registration of the citizens of Ukraine and also of foreigners and stateless persons who reside or temporarily stay in Ukraine on legal grounds; The strategic guidelines of the state migration policy of Ukraine and the mechanisms for their implementation The strategic guidelines of the implementation of the state migration policy are: the improvement of legislation on internal and external labor migration of the citizens of Ukraine, entry of foreigners and stateless persons into Ukraine, their departure from Ukraine and transit through its territory and combating illegal migration; the legislative implementation of the mechanism of supplementary and temporary protection of foreigners and stateless persons; the determination of reasonable immigration quotas according to current and future-oriented demographic environment and the situation on the labor market; the establishment of conditions for implementation of freedom of movement, free choice of residence, the right of free departure from Ukraine (with the exception of restrictions established by the law) for the citizens of Ukraine, foreigners and stateless persons who reside or temporarily stay in Ukraine on legal grounds; the combating of racism, xenophobia and religious intolerance, the promotion of tolerant attitude of population towards migrants; the encouragement of efficient territorial allocation of migrants, taking into account the socioeconomic and demographic environment in regions; the strengthening of social and legal protection of the citizens of Ukraine who work abroad, inter alia, by the activization of international cooperation, the conclusion of international agreements in the field of protection of rights of labor migrants, creating favorable conditions for crossing the national borders of Ukraine of labor migrants and their stay in the country of employment; the establishment of favorable conditions and mechanisms for return to Ukraine of its citizens who permanently reside on the territory of other states in order to reduce the immigration 2

3 flows; the strengthening of cooperation and coordination of the state and local government authorities and NGOs in the field of implementation of the state migration policy; the improvement of collection and processing of the statistical data on migration processes of the citizens of Ukraine, who reside or temporarily stay abroad, and also of the foreigners and stateless persons, who reside or temporarily stay on legal grounds in Ukraine; the prevention of human trafficking, the insuring of protection of the citizens of Ukraine abroad and of foreigners and stateless persons, who stay on the territory of Ukraine and who suffered owing to the human trafficking; the conducting of research activities in the sphere of migration and use of its results for the implementation of the state policy; the intensification of the state foreign policy with a view to the conclusion of international treaties on issues related to the regulation of process of the restoration and protection of rights of the persons deported on ethnic grounds and their descendants, the development and implementation of an effective mechanism for the implementation of such treaties; The main mechanisms for implementation of the state migration policy in the sphere of departure from Ukraine and entry into Ukraine of the citizens of Ukraine are: the establishment of proper conditions to minimize unsettled external labor migration of the citizens of Ukraine; the insuring of effective state control over the domestic labor market with the aim to balance demand and supply of the labor force on internal market; the establishment of favorable socio-economic conditions for the investment into national economy by labor migrants from Ukraine and Ukrainian expat community; the strengthening of legal and social protection of citizens of Ukraine abroad; the monitoring of external labor migration environment; the strengthening of international cooperation of Ukraine in the field of migration for the purpose of establishment of favorable conditions for the crossing of state borders by the labor migrants form Ukraine; The main mechanisms of state migration policy in the field of immigration are: the encouragement of immigration flows into Ukraine in terms of investment, scientific and cultural needs of the state, the establishment of favorable conditions for the immigration back to Ukraine of scientists and artists, skilled specialists and workers who are in significant demand for the national economy and their integration into Ukrainian society; the promoting of voluntary return to Ukraine of persons deported on ethnic grounds, their descendants and their integration into Ukrainian society; the insuring of implementation of the principles and rules of international law as to the protection of persons, who suffered from the human trafficking, their rehabilitation and return to their respective countries of origin; 3

4 the improvement of legislation with the purpose of protection of the rights of migrants, who stay in Ukraine, and the insuring of the access of all migrants, irrespective of their legal status, to the health protection programs. The main mechanisms of the implementation of state migration policy on temporary entry into Ukraine of foreigners and stateless persons are: the establishment of enabling environment for foreigners and stateless persons to enter Ukraine for tourism, study, business and etc.; the control over migrants entering Ukraine for employment and education; the combating illegal migration, inter alia, the improvement of the activity of state authorities targeted the suppression of illegal migration; the ensuring of implementation of universally recognized international principles and rules of international law relating to the protection of refugees and persons in need for supplementary or temporary protection or asylum in Ukraine, bearing in mind the principle of nonrefoulement; the support of voluntary repatriation of illegal migrants to their respective countries of origin, nationality in cooperation with international organizations and NGOs working in the field of migration; the strengthening responsibility for offenses related to illegal migration.. The tasks of governmental authorities in the reference to implementation of the Concept The implementation of the Concept provides for the execution by governmental authorities of the following tasks: the improvement of legislation on migration in accordance with the generally recognized principles and rules of international law, including, if necessary, the accession of Ukraine to multilateral international treaties related to the protection of rights of migrants; the conclusion of bilateral treaties on the issues related to protection of the rights of migrants, particularly labor migrants, the persons who suffered from human trafficking and also on the issues related to the combating illegal migration, human trafficking, acceptance and transfer of persons (readmission), prevention and reduction of the cases of statelessness; the participation in international cooperation with the purpose of insuring due regard being had to social, ethnic, religious and cultural distinctive features of migrants while providing them with medical services; the promotion of social protection of the citizens of Ukraine, who work abroad, including those, who suffered from human trafficking; the insuring of development and implementation of the state and regional programs in the field of migration while incorporating in them, inter alia, the socio-economic improvement of the migration environment; the conducting of measures for integration into Ukrainian society of foreigners and stateless persons, who permanently reside in Ukraine, and also foreigners and stateless persons who were granted refugee status in Ukraine; 4

5 the supplying of governmental authorities on migration with financial and logistical resources; the insuring of equal rights and opportunities for women and men, the elimination of gender discrimination; the strengthening of interaction of the governmental authorities which exercise their powers in the field of migration; the establishment of a system for registration of foreigners and stateless persons, who enter into the territory of Ukraine with the record of their biometric data and integration of such system into the European one; the establishment of drawing-up and issuance of passports with biometric datato the citizens of Ukraine; the establishment of the consolidated data base of passports of the citizens of Ukraine, foreigners and stateless persons, who legally stay on the territory of Ukraine, recording the data on issuance, loss and extinguishment of passports; the establishment of consolidated computer-aided system of record keeping and analysis of migration flows with ensuring the fulfillment of constitutional guarantees on prevention from the dissemination of personal confidential information on individual with his/her consent; the delivery of output related to the activization of cooperation with other states, international organizations and NGOs that carry out activities in the field of migration; the maintenance of negotiations with the Member States of the European Union on the use of simplified border crossing regime for the citizens of Ukraine living in the border regions; the designation of the list of circumstances under which a simplified border control might be applied; the activization of activity of the representatives of Ukraine to international organizations dealing with migration issues to reflect the national interests of Ukraine in the decisions of such organizations; the conducting of comprehensive scientific researches related to migration processes, forecasting their trends and implications for all spheres of public life; the inclusion of information element into statistic data based on the results of the situation of enforcement of the right of citizents to social security, health care, education, labor; the informing distribution to the citizens of Ukraine on the environment on labor market, including the legislation of other countries in this matter, risk factors, which people may face during their employment abroad, motivation for relocation and problems of migrants, the difficulties of adaptation; the formulation of information materials for the potential Ukrainian migrants on the distinctive features of countries of their destination; the information distribution of Ukrainian labor migrants and Ukrainian expat community on investment opportunities in Ukraine; the formation of programs for the targeted professional training, career development, support of Ukrainian labor migrants after their return to Ukraine with the purpose of their integration 5

6 into the local labor market. Activities for the implementation of the Concept Realization of the provisions of the Concept in the field of internal migration include: the improvement of legislation on freedom of movement and free choice of residence in Ukraine; the insuring of operation of the national database of vacancies provided by the State Employment Service; the prevention from excessive imbalance of the allocation of population of Ukraine. The implementation of the provisions of the Concept on the prevention from emigration of the citizens of Ukraine includes: the arrangement of proper conditions in Ukraine for the exercise of rights and freedoms of the citizens with the purpose of prevention them from mass exodus abroad; the conclusion of international treaties on issue related to the control of voluntary migration and protection of the rights of migrants; the further improvement of legislation in the matter of protection of the rights of children and cooperation in international adoption of children. The implementation of provisions of the Concept in the matter of exit of the citizens of Ukraine abroad for temporary stay with the purpose of employment, study, business, medical treatment and recreation: the improvement of legislation to ensure implementation of the constitutional right of citizens to social security regardless of residence; the strengthening of control over activity of business entities that provide agent services in employment of the citizens of Ukraine abroad; the improvement of the system of registration of information on the citizens of Ukraine who stay abroad for employment; the designation of the mechanism of detection on the territory of Ukraine of foreigners and stateless persons who suffered from human trafficking on the territory of other states as well as providing them with essential assistance; the increase in number of staff of consular missions of Ukraine to the states where the significant number of the citizens of Ukraine reside or temporarily stay, the identification in such institutions of officials responsible for labor migration issues, combating human trafficking, monitoring the labor market of the host countries, providing appropriate clarifications to the citizens of Ukraine staying abroad for employment and promotion of exercising of their rights in full; the development and implementation with the participation of non-governmental organizations, including the international ones, of the system of arrangements aimed at explaining to the citizens of Ukraine their rights and freedoms during employment abroad, 6

7 specificity of host country s legislation and the rules of international law in the field of labor migration; the insuring of implementation of bilateral international agreements on labor migration of the citizens and their social security. The realization of the provisions of the Concept in the sphere of returning of emigrants to Ukraine includes: the preparation of draft laws aimed at facilitation of conditions and procedures for the return to Ukraine of foreign Ukrainians, individuals deported on ethnic grounds; the conclusion of international treaties with states from which the persons, deported on ethnic grounds, return for permanent residence in Ukraine, ensuring the implementation of rights of such persons and facilitation of the procedure of acquisition and termination of their citizenship; the assistance in the return to Ukraine and integration into the society of foreign Ukrainians, persons deported on ethnic grounds, and use of their intellectual and professional potential. Realization of the provisions of the Concept on entering Ukraine of foreigners and stateless persons includes: the drafting of new edition of the Law of Ukraine "On Legal Status of Foreigners and Stateless Persons" considering provisions of international treaties which regulate the combating illegal migration and ensuring the implementation of human rights and freedoms; the improvement of legislation on refugees and the drafting and adoption of laws on provision of supplementary or temporary protection of foreigners and stateless persons in Ukraine; the development and implementation of legal and normative acts to protect the national labor market; the establishment of a consolidated computer-aided system of registration and identification of refugees, persons in need for supplementary or temporary protection or asylum in Ukraine, and computer-aided systems of registration of information on foreigners and stateless persons who enter Ukraine, especially those exiting from states that are not covered by the visa-free regime; the implementation of issuance of visa documents with biometric data; the settlement of issues related to translation into the official language of refugee applications and providing refugees with legal assistance; the assistance in integration to Ukrainian society to the persons who were granted refugee status, who are in need for supplementary or temporary protection or asylum in Ukraine; the combating racism and xenophobia; the increasing awareness of law enforcement officials about Ukraine's international commitments on human rights; the assistance for persons who were granted the refugee status in Ukraine, supplementary or temporary protection or asylum in Ukraine in voluntary repatriation to the states of their nationality or the previous habitual residence if the circumstances which forced them to 7

8 migrate no longer exist; the development and implementation of an effective mechanism for monitoring the availability of means to stay in Ukraine, and depart from its territory among foreigners and stateless persons who arrive to Ukraine. The realization of the provisions of the Concept in the sphere of counteraction to illegal migration includes: the strengthening of responsibility for violations related to illegal migration, and if necessary, make appropriate legislative proposals; the intensification of negotiation process on issues of conclusion of international treaties on readmission with the countries featuring the risk of migration; the development and implementation of the plan of activities in order to prevent human trafficking and providing assistance to persons, namely to women and children, who have become victims of trafficking; the continuation of work for creation and ensuring activity of the network of temporary (migrants) accommodation centers, according to international standards, for foreigners and stateless persons who stay in Ukraine illegally; the increasing the effectiveness of border and domestic migration control; the attraction of funds of international organizations to settle the issues related to illegal migration. Information support of implementation of the state migration policy is based upon the principles of objectivity, reality, accessibility and openness and is implemented on the basis of the results of continuous analysis of migration processes in Ukraine and abroad. Anticipated results Realization of the Concept will allow the following: to increase effectiveness of the state management of the migration processes in Ukraine; to increase the level of national security; to harmonize the legislation of Ukraine on migration with international, namely European, standards; to use in a proper manner the potential of migration processes; to prevent emergence of new and minimize existent negative consequences of uncontrolled migration flows; to prevent from human trafficking and minimize its existing negative consequences of such; to minimize the negative impact of migration on the health of migrants through the insuring of the right of migrants to health care and the prevention of inequality in migrant status and their access to medical services; 8

9 to optimize migration flows aiming at effective use of labor resources, return of emigrants to Ukraine. Sources of financing Funding activity for implementation of the state migration policy is accomplished at the expense of the state and local budgets and other sources foreseen by the law. The Chief of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine S. Lyovochkin 9