May 18 - May 20, 2009 the Vice-President of NGO "Sana Sezim", Shakhnoza Khassanova, took part in the second part of the 17-th Economic and Environmental Forum of the OSCE, "Managing migration and its relation to economic, social and environmental policies for the stability and security of the OSCE region", in Athens, Greece.

   The following issues were discussed:

1. Managing migration in the context of global environmental changes.
   • Mitigating the negative effects of the global financial/economic crisis on international migration and development.
   • Developing a comprehensive, coordinated approach to promote economic development and stability.
   • Protecting migrants' rights, human dignity, and the right to equality, and combating discrimination and xenophobia, serious threats to security and stability of the OSCE region.
2. Review of the implementation of OSCE economic and environmental commitments, with special emphasis on problems of migration.
3. Gender and politics in relation to labor migration.
   • Presentation of the OSCE Handbook on gender policies in relation to migration.
   • Gender issues in the policies related to permanent or temporary participation in the labor market - the main problems, methods, and tools of research.
   • Exchange of experiences regarding measures that have been taken to create legal channels for migration of foreign workers in domestic work, regarding the prevention of irregular employment, and on improving safety in all sectors of the economy.
   • Improvement of policies relating to migration and of support services in order to attract more women migrant workers to the high-skill labor.
   • Create gender-sensitive support services in the countries of destination and origin, in order to facilitate integration and reintegration upon return, as well as reducing the social costs of migration on the "left in the country".
4. Enhancing the impact of migration on development.
   • Increasing the positive contribution of migrants to economic and social development by ensuring coherence between migration policies and economic development policies.
   • Countering growing unemployment among the local population and migrants, return migration, declining remittances, as well as reducing opportunities for seasonal migration by supporting initiatives that promote job creation; in particular, creating more favorable conditions for investment, development, and self-employment.
   • Strengthening the collective responsibility and cooperation between countries of origin and destination through co-development, more effective use of remittances, migrants' investments, and capacity development.
5. Addressing environmental aspects of migration.
   • Discuss scenarios and raise awareness about the possible impact of climate change on future migration.
   • Improving early warning systems, preparedness, and response of the public safety police through research and the collection of scientific data.
   • Addressing common environmental problems that have a potential impact on migration and regional security.
6. Strengthening regional and interstate cooperation in managing migration for stability and security.
   • Cooperation in standardizing and harmonizing migration databases in order to develop policies based on specific data.
   • Establishment of effective institutions and governance structures for migration, which include all stakeholders, as well as promote regional cooperation and economic development.
   • Strengthen collaborative action to support the implementation of labor rights, social welfare, and social adaptation, in order to avoid exploitation and abuse of migrant workers on the job and in society.
   • Improve the legal channels of migration on the basis of an assessment of the state's labor market and through closer cooperation between the employment agencies in the countries of destination and origin.
   • Cooperation between countries to combat illegal migration and related criminal activities, as well as to strengthen border controls.
7. The contribution of the OSCE and the follow-up to the Forum.
   • Addresses by the Greek Chair and the Coordinator of the EED on possible follow-up activities to the Forum.