On 9-12th December 2019, ICMPD organised a four day long National Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration Governance and Operational Settings Workshop in Ankara.
During the workshop, participants from the Directorate General of Migration Management (DGMM), Turkish Red Crescent (KIZILAY), Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs discussed the priorities and needs of the National Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (N-AVRR) mechanism. The participants were presented with the examples of Switzerland’s programme, followed by a simulation of an AVR operation in Switzerland.
The representatives from the Belgian Federal Agency for Reception of Asylum Seekers (FEDASIL) and the Municipality of Antwerp presented examples of outreach as well as an AVR case simulation in Belgium.
Experts from the European Return and Reintegration Network (ERRIN) and the Turkish N-AVRR stakeholders discussed requirements for a successful N-AVRR mechanism, including design, planning, implementation and monitoring requirements for the national mechanism.
The participants discussed and identified operational structures for each step of the process, followed by case studies in compliance with the identified operational structure. The participants then looked forward to the future and the coordination of steps towards the pilot implementation of the N-AVRR mechanism with ICMPD’s support.
The workshop is implemented under ICMPD’s SUPREME project "Strengthening Utilization of Additional Policies and Measures for Reinforcing Migration Management in Turkey", which is funded by the United Kingdom. The projects aims at further strengthening migration management in Turkey in a complementary manner through focusing on strengthening the development of policies and operational strategies, enhancing cooperation with countries of origin, supporting the well-functioning of the national assisted voluntary return operations and exploring possibilities for introducing reintegration policies and programmes.