News

On 23 – 27 May, representatives nominated by the Jordanian Borders and Residency  Department (BRD), the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands as donor and ICMPD  gathered for the first basic training on document security. The event was organised at the Forensic Science Training Center in Amman.

On 27 May, representatives of the European Union Delegation to Lebanon, Lebanese and international academics in the field of maritime governance, local practitioners in the shipping industry, and representatives of ICMPD held a 2-hour webinar as a first activity in a series of webinars on Lebanon’s maritime domain.

ICMPD, under the framework of the MIgration EU expertise+ (MIEUX+) Initiative organised the High-Level Panel ‘Human capital and mobility at the service of the green economy’ as part of the official programme of the 14th edition of the ‘European Development Days.

On 2 June 2021, ICMPD held a virtual senior expert roundtable to discuss means of addressing irregular migration along migration routes. The meeting brought together senior experts from EU and ICMPD Member States, international organisations, EU institutions and other relevant bodies. Participants zoomed in on ways that partnerships and policies can better address irregular migration by looking along entire migration routes and considering the perspectives of countries of origin, transit and destination.

On 26 May 2021, ICMPD, in the framework of the project Libya’s Migration Technical Assistance Facility (LIBMITAF), took part in a mission to the southern city of Sabha, Libya. The mission was organised by the World Food Programme (WFP) Libya in order to discuss the needs and priorities of the Municipality together with Libyan and international stakeholders, including the mayor of Sabha, the EU Ambassador to Libya, and several UN representatives.

2020 will go down as a year that upended lives, systems and the modus operandi of the entire world. This past year saw severe public health and economic crises coupled with unprecedented changes in global mobility. Borders were closed, visa processes frozen and exceptional travel restrictions imposed – all overnight. The exponential loss of resources and livelihoods suddenly suffered by tens of millions of migrant workers has impacted well-being across the board.

The Ghana Immigration Service made an important step towards a new accountability system, in order to improve internal ethics and transparency with staff and citizens. The draft Code of Conduct for the Service was prepared during a workshop held between 14 and 18 June, in Accra.

To celebrate the World’s Day against Child Labour (12 June) and the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour (2021), ICMPD joins the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Action Pledge 2021 to eliminate child labour. 

On 11 June 2021, ICMPD completed the delivery of two-day training sessions for the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) and the State Customs Service (SCS) of Ukraine on business process reengineering.

The Strengthening Border Security in Ghana (SBS Ghana) project, funded by European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF), has launched its second Demand Driven Facility (DDF) Call for Proposals - Support to innovative approaches and best practices on mobility and border management.

The MOBILAZE 2 project started in Azerbaijan in June 2021 to support the implementation of the Mobility Partnership with the EU. The project is funded by the EU and supports the implementation of an evidence-based migration and border management policy agenda in Azerbaijan, and will run for 36 months.

On 23 June 2021, a webinar was convened within the framework of the C2CMMD to launch the study on Return, Readmission and Reintegration (RRR) Programmes in Africa. In their opening remarks, the AU Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, HE Amira El Fadil, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ms. Ylva Johansson, and ICMPD’s Director General, Mr. Michael Spindelegger reiterated the importance of strengthening cooperation in line with respective agendas and priorities, reinforced by contributions from Managing Director at the European External Action Service, Ms. Rita Laranjinha, and Mme. Mariama Cisse, Director for  Social Affairs of the African Union Commission.

On 13 July, ICMPD organised a workshop for Moldovan stakeholders as part of the project “Development of a Forced-Return Monitoring System in the Republic of Moldova” (FReMM) to discuss the key elements of a management framework for the country’s emerging system of forced-return monitoring. The workshop gathered management-level representatives from the Moldovan Bureau for Migration and Asylum, People’s Advocates Office of Moldova, the NGO Law Centre of Advocates, as well as ICMPD project and expert team.

ICMPD’s ENHANCER Project held a press conference in Ankara to announce three different grant calls for proposals to support entrepreneurship and job creation through various means. The press conference once again markets the excellent collaboration among ICMPD, EUD and the Ministry of Industry and Technology.

On 8 July 2021, ICMPD held a virtual senior expert roundtable to discuss how migrants and policymakers can make better use of information in the context of irregular migration. The meeting brought together a diverse range of senior experts from EU and ICMPD Member States, international organisations, research centres and other relevant bodies for a lively conversation on this evolving and increasingly popular topic within migration management. Participants discussed the role of ICT and social media in particular for migrants’ decision-making as well as for governments’ monitoring and forecasting.

On 22-25 June 2021, the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) organised a training for the recently appointed forced-return monitors from the Republic of Moldova. This activity took place as part of joint efforts of the EU funded project “Forced-Return Monitoring III” (FReM III) and the project “Development of a Forced-Return Monitoring System in the Republic of Moldova” (FReMM) funded by the Polish Ministry of the Interior and Administration.

The EUROMED Migration V project in cooperation with the Observatory of Public Attitudes to Migration (OPAM) just released a new study on migration narratives titled “Immigration narratives in the Euro-Mediterranean region: what people believe and why.” The publication is authored by the Head of OPAM, Dr. James Dennison.

In 2013, during the UN General Assembly, the Member States adopted the resolution A/RES/68/192 and designated July 30 as the World Day against Trafficking in Persons (TIP). The day is dedicated to “raise awareness of the situation of victims of human trafficking and for the promotion and protection of their rights.” To mark the day, the ICMPD Anti-Trafficking Programme highlights the importance of effective transnational and cross-border cooperation as an essential tool for successful counter-trafficking actions, including timely and adequate identification and support to the victims.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.