In recent years, Belarus has found itself and its development pathway shaped by incoming and – to a greater extent – outgoing migration flows, both presenting an opportunity to address demographic and labour market challenges the country is faced with. Proper migration governance would not only generate gains for the country’s economy but would also serve as a safeguard of migrant workers’ human rights who are vulnerable to human trafficking and forced labor.

When people move to new countries to work, they bring their experience, knowledge, skills and investments, but one also do not forget about their families back home by sending remittances. This contributes not only to the well-being of the migrants themselves and their relatives, but also, in general, to the economic growth of both countries. 

This link is promoted by the project launched by the International Organization for migration in Belarus in 2022 - "Maximizing the Impact of Migration and Labour Mobility in the Sustainable Development of Belarus".

This week, IOM met with project partners at the Coordination Council to discuss the work done and plans for the future, among them:

• holistic assessment of the current economic development strategies and their integration of labour migration issues and the current situation with labour migration flows and remittances in Belarus, including gender aspects.
• capacity-building activities on labour migration and remittances.
• interactive online course on labour migration governance and countering human trafficking.
• study visit to Uzbekistan.
• information campaign. 

The project is supported by the IOM Development Fund and helps to ensure that an effective labour migration system functions for the benefit of socio-economic development, meets the labour needs of the economy and provides a comprehensive approach to the protection and assistance of labour migrants.