UNDP supported the workshop titled "Improving social protection of women, involved in labour migration" through project "Promotion of the rights of women migrant workers". The project directed at improving the protection of human rights of the women involved in labour migration in Uzbekistan and to increase the quality of services provided by relevant government and nongovernmental bodies to women migrant workers and the victims of human trafficking.

Over 40 people, representing state agencies, non-governmental organizations, civic society and international organizations, participated in the workshop. The workshop participants considered such issues as migration tendencies in the post-Soviet space and Uzbekistan, monitoring and regulation of the labour migration processes and others.

Representatives of "Promotion of the rights of women migrant workers" presented the results and the outputs of the project and the results of the research on women, participating in migration process.

Sherzod Shermatov, the Head of Good Governance Unit of UNDP Uzbekistan, said: "The project carried out complex social research, seminars, prepared a series of radio progerammes and conducted other events. The aim of the current seminar is not only to sum up the results of the project, but to discuss the results and preliminary recommendations, received during social research and seminars in the regions, to improve social protection of women migrants."

The collapse of the Soviet Union and its centralized employment system and development of market economy in the new independent states of Central Asia caused significant changes in the labour markets. Shrinking job opportunities in rural areas led to internal and external labour migration. Labour migration in the region gradually came to include all strata of the population, including all ages, sexes, professions, and social groups.

Labour migration within and outside the countries among women results in many positive, as well as negative consequences. Rural women remain the main vulnerable group of labour migrants, due to their lower labour skills, existing gender stereotypes and the danger of sexual coercion. Many of them have suffered human and labour rights’ abuses, especially in the cases of illegal migration and human trafficking.

In this regard, UNDP will assist the Government to meet its commitments on human rights, including the rights of women migrant workers, through support to the Women’s Committee in the promotion of the rights of women migrant workers and the reintegration of migrant women/trafficked returnees into the society.