2023 set off as a year of reforms in the area of migration. With the support of the CareFor project, the newly established Inspectorate-General for Migration initiated the revision of the legislative framework pertaining to migrants’ custody, among others.
Moldovan Government has recently approved a new strategic Programme on Managing Migration Flows, Asylum and Integration of Foreigners. As part of this Programme, a series of institutional and regulatory changes are envisaged until 2025. Among many others, it includes the revision of the normative framework for the public custody of migrants. This concerns foreigners hosted temporarily at the Migrant Accommodation Centre who are either ordered to be returned, expulsed or declared undesirable. The legislative revision is called to eliminate some of the outdated and contradicting provisions, while also taking the chance to better align it to the European and international human rights standards.
On 9 February a dedicated working group session was held. It gathered practitioners from the various divisions of the Inspectorate-General for Migration and the Ministry of Interior, including from the regions. This is the first in a series of such meetings throughout the next months with the view to compiling the amendment proposal. The working sessions are facilitated by a legal expert provided within the CareFor project who will help with the drafting process and inter-agency coordination, as well as will ensure that due consideration to migrants’ rights is paid.
ICMPD has been working towards improving the human rights and overall well-being of the foreigners at the Migrant Accommodation Centre. The foreigners often spend months in the Centre before their actual release for return, mainly because of difficulties related to acquiring proper travel documentation. Thanks to the CareFor project, the Centre’s residents benefit now from primary medical care and regular psychological counselling. The legislative review of the public custody of foreigners is to continue improving their condition further down the road.
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.