News

During 29-30 September, the ICMPD Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia paid a visit to Moldova with the view to learn about the country's new vision on migration and exchange views on top priorities for future programming. The visit comes after recent Parliamentary elections and the establishment of a new Cabinet, with subsequent changes in top management in areas related to migration, as well. In addition to meeting various stakeholders, the mission also took stock of ongoing projects' progress and explored follow-up options.

On 16 September 2021, the ICMPD Anti-Trafficking Programme launched the regional project “Developing Approaches for Enhancing the Functionality of the National Referral Mechanisms (NRMs) in the MARRI Participants”. The project implementation plan and timeline were presented and discussed during the kick-off online meeting together with the implementation partners from Migration, Asylum, Refugees Regional Initiative (MARRI) and German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ), who is the project donor.

From 22 – 24 September, ICMPD in the framework of the ReConnect project, held the Second Return Counselling Training for the stakeholders of the National Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration Programme (NAVRR), the Directorate General of Migration Management (DGMM), its provincial departments and the Turkish Red Crescent (TRC).

During 21-23 September, the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) delivered a Train of Trainers (ToT) on forced return monitoring for a number of interested professionals selected from among relevant Moldovan stakeholders. As part of the same FReMM project, on 24 September ICMPD held a workshop for developing the Guidelines for forced return monitoring, based on the best European practices. Both events gathered a mixed audience from the Moldovan Bureau for Migration and Asylum, the People's Advocates Office of Moldova, and the NGO Law Centre of Advocates. In light of on-going pandemic situation and given the highly interactive nature of the events, on-the spot rapid antigen testing has been arranged for all participants as additional safety measure.

From 14-16 September Members of the Ukrainian Parliament, EU officials as well as experts from several EU-funded projects visited a number of border crossing points on the common border between Ukraine and EU Member States. Its aim was to get acquainted with the available infrastructure and equipment, hear and discuss the needs and ways forward in addressing the current problems and challenges. This field visit was supported by the EU Advisory Mission and the EU4IBM project implemented by ICMPD.

From 20 – 24 September, the Migration City-to-City project is organising the MC2CM Days, a four-day conference opened by a high-level dialogue in Brussels. ICMPD Director General Michael Spindelegger opened the conference and emphasised the role of cities and local governments in the sphere of migration.

The signing ceremony of a partnership programme between ICMPD and the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) took place on 14^th September 2021 in Paris. The partnership programme was drawn up to further develop and strengthen the signatories’ long-standing partnership and institutionalise cooperation in the area of migration governance in a spirit of partnership and mutual trust, in order to create synergies between the activities of the signatories.

On 8 September 2021, ICMPD Director General Mr. Michael Spindelegger met with a high-level delegation of the Kyrgyz Republic led by Mr. Talant Mamytov, Speaker of the Parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic. Guided by the will to continue, deepen and extend cooperation, a Memorandum of understanding was signed by both parties to define the direction of joint efforts for the future.

On 17-20 August 2021, the official launch of the new project “Strengthen the National Observatory Capacity to Tackle Trafficking in Persons in Cabo Verde” (OBSERVE-CV) took place in Praia, Cabo Verde. This is the largest ICMPD bilateral programme implemented in Cabo Verde.

On 22 August, the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) signed a partnership agreement with the World Maritime University (WMU) to support the development of the Integrated Maritime Strategy of Lebanon. This agreement was signed in the framework of the European Union funded project “Strengthening Capability for Integrated Border Management in Lebanon” (EU IBM Lebanon Phase 3).

In collaboration with the Strengthening Border Security in Ghana (SBS Ghana) project, the Management of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) organised a series of Gender Sensitisation Workshops to champion gender parity within the Service. The European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF) funded SBS Ghana Project organised the first workshop in Accra for Management members in June while the second workshop was held in Aburi on August 23-24 for all eighteen (18) regional commanders of the Service.

A Seat Agreement between the Government of Ghana and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) was signed on the 25 August 2021 in the premises of the Embassy of Ghana in Vienna, Austria.

On 15 June, Dr Ayache Khellaf, Secretary General of the Moroccan High Commission for Planning (HCP) and Dr Mohamed Khachani, President of the Moroccan National Committee of the North African Migration Academic Network (NAMAN), signed a MoU to host the Moroccan NAMAN. The MoU will ensure its sustainability and scalability beyond the end of the eMGPP project in October 2021.

The Prague Process Training Academy is entering a new phase by launching the E-learning Platform.

The platform is meant to serve the Prague Process states and partners with educational material for self-paced independent remote learning on migration and asylum. In times when in-person learning is reduced, e-learning tools become a safe and effective alternative to face-to-face classroom settings offering a convenient way for busy professionals to gain, enrich or refresh knowledge on migration matters.

The platform currently hosts three online courses on labour migration, identification and profiling, and integrated border management (IBM). The first two courses feature a series of short videos, quizzes and further readings. Meanwhile, the IBM course comprises rich written material with quizzes. All courses are available in English and Russian and can be repeated multiple times and adjusted to individual schedules without the risk to lose progress. Upon completing a course, successful participants receive a certificate of completion.

In order to access courses, users should register on the platform and enrol in the courses of their choice. The registration process is simple and straightforward, and the enrolment is done in one click. You are invited to watch a short explainer video to get around.

On 03 - 06 August 2021, ICMPD trainers held the first Return Counselling Training for the National Stakeholders of the Turkish National Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration Programme. The training is carried out within the new ReConnect Project and marks the beginning of a training series.