Labour migration is a core pillar of economic development in Central Asia, particularly for Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, where remittances play a major macroeconomic and household-level role but also create vulnerability to external shocks. Slow job creation amid rapid demographic growth has made migration a key labour-market adjustment mechanism. While the Russian Federation remains the main destination for labour migration in numbers, geopolitical tensions, economic decline, and tighter migration controls have reduced its attractiveness, prompting governments to diversify labour migration destinations. An expanding private recruitment sector offers opportunities but heightens risks of fraud due to weak regulations. At the same time, migration patterns are becoming more complex, with rising return migration, emerging migration from South Asia and growing feminisation, exposing protection risks for women migrants. Central Asia is thus moving from a relatively predictable corridor model towards a diversified, more regulation-intensive mobility landscape.

Responding to this, Phase 2 of the programme takes a more tailored, gender-responsive and locally led approach with four mutually reinforcing pillars: regional cooperation, national systems strengthening, private sector engagement and empowering women’s voices. 

Central Asian countries move towards a more balanced, resilient, and forward-looking labour migration system, one that not only expands opportunities for migrants, but ensures those opportunities are safe, fair, and sustainable.

Development Objective: Estimated 1.5 Mio labour migrants in Central Asia benefit from safer, more regular, and well-governed labour migration pathways enabled by evidence-based policies and strengthened regional and national cooperation, leading to improved protection and decent work opportunities, and sustainable livelihoods.

Ultimate beneficiaries are an estimated 1.5 mio migrant women, men and their families across Central Asia benefitting from more regular pathways with adequate protection of their rights and useful information facilitating their migration choices.

As a governance programme, direct target groups within the programme are key national stakeholders responsible for labour migration policies, such as national labour migration agencies, state- and private recruiters benefitting from enhanced professional capacities. CSO actors, in particular women’s CSO’s, will gain knowledge, voice and influence.

Outcome 1: Regional cooperation for labour migration governance in Central Asia is strengthened, enabling participating countries to advance coordinated, evidence-based approaches and expand safe and regular migration pathways.

Outcome 2: Governments and national stakeholders strengthen inclusive and rights-based labour migration governance and implement fair and ethical recruitment practices that protect and empower their migrant workers.

Outcome 3: Private sector actors promote safe and regular labour migration by scaling up rights-based, gender-responsive practices ensuring fair recruitment, decent work, and migrant empowerment.

Outcome 4: Women migrant’s voices and representation are strengthened and women-led CSO’s can influence gender-responsive migration governance.

Principaux résultats attendus:  

- Strengthened Regional Coordination Mechanism for sustained regional cooperation, knowledge exchange, and policy dialogue on labour mobility

- Improved government capacity to negotiate, implement, and monitor labour migration agreements, supported by longitudinal Central Asia MTM database

- At least two joint regional initiatives involving at least three countries to expand regional partnerships for migration pathways

- Recruitment agencies apply fair, transparent standards and scale ethical recruitment models benefiting women and men migrants alike

- Min four migrant-centred initiatives promote safe migration, protection, and socio-economic well-being of at least 400 labour migrants and their families

- 16 private sector employers adopt rights-based, gender-responsive practices ensuring fair recruitment, decent work, and regular labour mobility

- 5-10 women-led CSO’s successfully implement regionally pilot initiatives for gender-responsive labour migration practices

Principaux résultats antérieurs:  

- National and regional coordination mechanism as multi-stakeholder platforms with high ownership established for policy dialogue and knowledge sharing

- All Central Asian governments adopted new strategic frameworks guiding their migration policies, as a result of demand driven policy advise for the fast-evolving labour mobility dynamics

- Improved labour migration protection systems for more than 650’000 migrants through innovative digital applications, tailored pre-departure orientation incl. financial literacy, fraudulent recruitment prevention

- Investments in labour mobility data systems (Mobility Tracking Matrix MTM) generated exclusive and granular data on mobility patterns, return migration, women in migration, with critical data for evidence-based policymaking and advocacy 

- State and private recruiters enhanced awareness and capacities on fair recruitment, work on standards and certification was initiated