On 9 June, a training on human rights pertaining to forced return operations has been delivered to relevant actors in Moldova. The training was organised by ICMPD, in partnership with the Moldovan Ombudsman Office, within the framework of the project “Capacity for a Rights-Based Reception System for Moldova” (CareFor).
The training was mainly aimed at Moldovan escort officers of the newly established Inspectorate-General for Migration, with the view to raise their awareness about the human rights most at risk during forced return operations. The activity also gathered representatives of adjacent professions such as physicians, interpreters, border police and lawyers – all of whom are involved with forced returns.
The training was practice-oriented with a real-life case-study approach, including the first-ever forced return monitoring mission in Moldova. It equipped participants with an overall understanding of forced return monitoring in accordance with international and regional human rights law. The curricula covered relevant topics such as fundamental rights at risk in forced-return operations, mandates, roles, and responsibilities of various actors involved, as well as reporting and follow-up.
The training was facilitated by the representative of the Moldovan Ombudsman Office – the human rights authority in charge of forced return monitoring. The trainer is the head of Torture Prevention Department and a reputed national expert who benefitted earlier from training on forced return monitoring and training of trainers activities in previous ICMPD projects. Thus, this activity allowed to tap into national training capacities by rolling out the established training curricula and hence ensure sustainability of project efforts for a self-sufficient forced return monitoring system in Moldova.
The CareFor project, funded by the Polish Ministry of the Interior and Administration, aims to contribute to a functioning and human-rights-compliant migration management system in Moldova while also addressing some of the more immediate needs caused by the unprecedented inflow of displaced people from Ukraine.