Democratization Olga Vladimirova Participants at a Moscow conference on new immigration legislation in the Russian Federation. In co-operation with the OSCE Presence in Albania, ODIHR assisted the Albanian Government with its planning of the modernization of the population registration and address systems. The resulting planning document provided the basis for a technical-assistance project by the OSCE Presence that started in 2007 and will continue into 2009. In Azerbaijan, ODIHR conducted an expert evaluation of the amendments to existing legislation and the concept for reforming the civil registration system and creating a civil registry database. While many newly independent states in the OSCE region have established national legislation on citizenship and related procedures, many governments are still addressing these issues, sometimes in such a way that people are left without proper identity and travel documents. In Kyrgyzstan, ODIHR continued providing assistance for the development of new legislation on citizenship. In 2006, the Office supported the establishment of a working group comprised of members of parliament, as well as lawyers from state institutions, parliament, civil society and the National University, to develop legislation on citizenship. The final draft of the law, developed by the working group, was adopted by the Parliament in May. The new law provides for a common, non-discriminatory, and simplified procedure for granting Kyrgyz citizenship and could contribute to reducing the number of stateless people in the country. Cross-border migration Promoting interstate co-operation on labour migration and integration of migrants into host societies Strong economic growth and changes to demographic structures have led to labour shortages in some OSCE participating States, while others are experiencing high levels of unemployment. As a result, migration has become a significant social and economic phenomenon in the OSCE region. There is a need for redoubled efforts on the part of both sending and receiving countries in order to reap the benefits of this process. In 2007, the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan continued to be the main destination countries in the post-Soviet area for migrant workers, mostly citizens of neighbouring countries, including a growing number from Central Asia. Many of these people are irregular migrants, unable to obtain registration and rights to legal employment due to existing regulations. Annual Report 2007 35