News

The sixth edition of the Vienna Migration Conference (VMC) took place on 19-20 October 2021. It provided an indispensable opportunity for thought leaders, decision-makers and practitioners in the migration sphere to convene, connect and engage in strategic discussions on migration. 

The CADRE project, implemented by ICMPD within the framework of the European Return and Reintegration Network (ERRIN programme), organised its 3rd “Train-the-Trainers” session for return counsellors in Austria. The face-to-face training took place on 29-31 March, 2022

On 29 March 2022, ICMPD, as part of the TRAFIG and SPRING projects, held a webinar focused on the labour market inclusion of people fleeing war in Ukraine. The panel featured a diverse range of experts and practitioners working in the field of the EU and ICMPD Member States.

On 24 March 2022, the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) and ICMPD signed an MoU for the implementation of the second phase of the SMMIG project, funded by the Denmark Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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.

Within the framework of the EU and Swiss Confederation co-funded LIBMITAF project, ICMPD organised a preparatory session and accompanied the Libyan Delegation to the Khartoum Process Senior Officials’ Meeting in Kampala, Uganda.

On 17 March 2022, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Moldova Ana Revenco met with ICMPD and its Member States. They discussed the challenges and needs related to the current unprecedented influx to the Republic of Moldova of Ukrainians and third country nationals from Ukraine in reaction to the Russian invasion.

The “Strengthening Border Security in Ghana” (SBS Ghana) project, funded by the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF), donated 100 books and 20 bookshelves to furnish the library of the Ghana Immigration Service Training School and Academy, at Assin Fosu. 
The books donated comprise a comprehensive list of books on some crosscutting issues on immigration, international border management, borders security leadership, teamwork, international law and management. 

The Ministry of Justice of Cabo Verde held an extended meeting of the National Anti-Trafficking Observatory to discuss future actions. They want to enhance the institutional coordination mechanism in order to prevent and combat trafficking in persons as well as the national policy response.

The Antalya Diplomacy Forum invited ICMPD to participate in the panel on “Addressing irregular migration: A holistic approach” on 11 March 2022. ICMPD was represented by the Director Migration Dialogues and Cooperation, Martijn Pluim.

On 9 March, ICMPD Director General Michael Spindelegger met with Hungarian State Secretary Péter Sztáray at the Hungarian-Ukrainian border. His visit was aimed at understanding the realities of mass displacement from Ukraine and supporting ICMPD member states impacted by the conflict.  

On 01 March 2022, ICMPD and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ) officially launched the Inspire project in an online event gathering key German, European and regional stakeholders as well as potential partners. The event aimed at familiarising prospective partners with the project objectives and approach while stimulating exchanges on promising practices and challenges related to private sector engagement in development-oriented skills partnerships.

ICMPD has a long-standing cooperation with Ukraine dating back to 1995. Numerous joint projects were implemented, cooperation is ongoing on multilateral and bilateral levels and in 2021 the ICMPD Kyiv Office was established. ICMPD is thus closely monitoring the developments in Ukraine. Due to the security situation, the ICMPD office has been temporarily closed. The project teams continue their work from other duty stations whenever possible. Below, we are gathering our policy, research, and capacity-building activities to reflect ICMPD's ongoing engagement in Ukraine.

The Federal Investigation Agency Pakistan, the Anti-Narcotics Force, the Pakistan Customs and the Police united on the occasion of International Women’s Day 2022. They highlighted the role of gender equality and awareness in national border management agencies in Pakistan. On 7-9 March 2022, an inter-agency workshop was held in Islamabad for female officers exclusively by the involved services aimed at raising gender awareness as well as collecting feedback on their working experiences and challenges at Pakistan’s borders.

In collaboration with the SBS Ghana project, the Gender Mainstreaming Unit of the Management of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) organised a sensitisation and awareness creation workshop in Accra, Ghana, to mark the 2022 International Women’s Day Celebration.