The International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) in collaboration with the Presidency of Migration Management (PMM) of Turkey and the financial support of the governments of Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway launched a three-year project titled “Supporting the implementation and further strengthening of Turkey’s National Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration System (NAVRR Project)” on 28 March 2022.
The Project supports the effective implementation and further development of Turkey’s NAVRR system, through capacity-building of the national stakeholders and financial and in-kind assistance for the operational aspects of voluntary returns and the reintegration of returnees. Other features of the project include, supporting policy and strategy development efforts, awareness raising and outreach, training of Civil Society Organizations, strengthening dialogue with countries of origin, capitalizing on the experience gained by stakeholders on effective reintegration and post-arrival assistance delivery.
The inaugural meeting of the project was held in Ankara with the participation of representatives from the NAVRR stakeholders (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Presidency of Migration Management, Turkish Cooperation & Coordination Agency and Turkish Red Crescent), donor countries, international organizations, diplomatic missions, NGOs and government agencies as well as the ICMPD.
In his opening statement, ICMPD’s Director for Migration Dialogues and Cooperation, Mr. Martijn Pluim, pointed out that “ICMPD has been supporting the debate, establishment and implementation of Turkey’s National Assisted Voluntary Return & Reintegration system, which is an indispensable element of sustainable migration management”.
The Director General of Combatting Irregular Migration of the Presidency of Migration Management of Turkey, Mr. Ramazan Seçilmiş, emphasized in his speech that “the establishment of Turkey’s National Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration system is considered as a milestone and thanked the donor countries for supporting Turkey’s Migration Management System and ICMPD for implementing this important project”.
Lastly, Deputy Minister of Interior of Republic of Turkey, “Mr. Ismail Çataklı underlined in his opening speech that “the National Assisted Voluntary Return Mechanism, established in 2019 with the cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency, and the Turkish Red Crescent under the coordination of our Presidency of Migration Management, which will increase the effectiveness in combatting against irregular migration and end the migration at its source, will benefit both the country and the country of origin. Mr. Çataklı also stated that irregular migration cannot be prevented but can be managed, the NAVRR Project is an important step in understanding migration management, which aims to address the source causes of irregular migration.”
The representatives of the governments of Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway expressed their appreciation to Turkey for hosting the largest number of refugees in the world. They reiterated the importance of cooperation, burden sharing and adopting a holistic and rights-based approach on migration management and stressed their continued engagement for contributing to Turkey’s noteworthy efforts to put in place an effective and sustainable migration management system.
The NAVRR Project started on 1 September 2021 and will be completed on 30 August 2024. The International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) is responsible for its implementation and the Presidency of Migration Management is the main beneficiary.