All Contents

ICMPD Director General Michael Spindelegger met with Ireland’s Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Jim O’Callaghan, and Minister of State for Migration Colm Brophy to discuss strengthening work together on the country’s migration priorities. On 14-15 May 2025, Mr Spindelegger and Deputy Director General Sedef Dearing were joined by senior ICMPD staff as part of their first official visit to Dublin, following Ireland’s accession as ICMPD Member State last year.

ICMPD Director General Michael Spindelegger and Deputy Director General Sedef Dearing met with His Excellency Rachid Meddah, Director General of Migration Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and National Community Abroad of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria on 17 June 2025.

ICMPD Director General Michael Spindelegger met with Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Innovation and Growth, His Excellency Tomislav Donchev on 24 June 2025.

Former Austrian Minister for Women, Family, Integration and Media will take office at ICMPD as of 1 January 2026

The 4th EU Global Diaspora Facility’s Future Forum brought diaspora organisations together with public institutions and policymakers from four continents to share practices and explore how inclusive partnerships make diaspora contributions to development in countries of origin more effective and sustainable.

Two high-level side events held in Addis Ababa highlight African-led efforts to operationalise migration frameworks and promote regional integration.

The Network of Anti-Trafficking Coordinators of South-East Europe (NATC-SEE)¹ gathered to develop and exchange solutions on human trafficking, migrant smuggling, and labour exploitation including of foreign nationals in the region. At the meeting in Sarajevo on 13-14 November 2025, members of the network provided updates on their recent and upcoming regional collaborations to support victims of human trafficking; as well as case studies on identifying and prosecuting trafficking cases.

Director General elect Susanne Raab stressed the need for genuine alternatives for migrants to ensure access to legal pathways, to protect them from human traffickers and migrant smugglers. Ms Raab emphasised this at the second International Conference of the Global Alliance to Counter Migrant Smuggling in Brussels on 10 December; which opened with a Keynote Speech by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Three regional migration Dialogues are further strengthening the responses to human trafficking and migrant smuggling across African and European routes. The Khartoum, Rabat, and Niamey Processes marked an important milestone in interregional cooperation to enhance policies and cooperation to align with realities on the ground, ensuring that responses to these crimes remain fit for purpose.

Susanne Raab joins the International Centre for Migration Policy Development as Director General, effective 1 January 2026.

ICMPD Director General Susanne Raab met with HE Minister of Interior of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Mr Rebar Ahmad, to sign a Cooperation Agreement in strengthening strategic engagement in the areas of migration management, reintegration, and capacity building.

The fraudulent use of identity and travel documents can facilitate transnational criminal activities, including human trafficking and migrant smuggling – particularly when people move across borders undetected. This has been endemic and poses a persistent threat to regional security across West Africa.

European Union and international partners, government representatives, civil society organisations, gathered in Dushanbe in December for a high-level briefing to strengthen long-term reintegration support systems for returning migrants in Tajikistan. Discussions centred on the multifaceted reintegration landscape in Tajikistan, highlighting the need for more coherent, predictable, and sustainable support for returning Tajik nationals.

ICMPD Director General Susanne Raab met with Poland’s Secretary of State, Mr Czesław Mroczek, on 27 January 2026 in Warsaw. The meetings focused on current national and regional migration dynamics, including external EU border and security-linked pressures; the situation of Ukrainians in Poland; and ways to elevate ICMPD–Poland cooperation. This was also Ms Raab’s first visit to an ICMPD Member State, since assuming office as new Director General this month. 

The 2026 Café Kyiv opened on Tuesday with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz calling for continued support for Ukraine. “We have supported Ukraine financially, politically, and also militarily. We have been doing so for four years, and we will continue to do so. [We need] peace in Europe that is not dictated to Ukrainians and Europeans, but one that we shape together,” Chancellor Merz said.

The first fully operational Unity Hub in the European Union opened this week in the Czech Republic. Opened on 2 March 2026, the Ukrainian Consultation and Community Centre in Prague (UCCC) will serve as a unique model for EU states planning for establishing such facilities in support of Ukrainians and Ukrainian state authorities.

ICMPD Director General Susanne Raab welcomed Ambassadors and senior members of the diplomatic corps in Vienna, representing countries of origin and countries along migration routes towards Europe with which ICMPD closely cooperates. Amidst the current conflict in the Middle East, Ms Raab expressed the organisation’s commitment to strong partnerships and the crucial role of diplomacy in conflict resolution, and international cooperation on migration governance.

ICMPD, in partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), organised a two-day State Engagement Programme in Guwahati, Assam on 12-13 February 2026. Titled Linking India-EU Migration Opportunities and the Northeast Corridor, the dialogue strengthens cooperation on safe, orderly, and regular migration and mobility between India and the European Union and its Member States.

The Republic of Poland assumes the Chairmanship of the ICMPD Steering Group 2026. On 4 March 2026, Mr Paweł Dąbrowski, Plenipotentiary of the Polish Ministry of the Interior and Administration for International Cooperation, accepted the handover of the Chairmanship from Ms Eva Åkerman Börje, Director of the International Migration Department of Sweden’s Ministry of Justice; joined by ICMPD Director General Susanne Raab.

ICMPD welcomed Ukrainian diaspora organisations to the newly opened Ukrainian Community and Consultations Centre (UCCC) in Prague, the first fully operational Unity Hub in the European Union. 

ICMPD Director General Susanne Raab welcomed Kari Johnstone, Special Representative for Combatting Human Trafficking for the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and Deputy Co-ordinator Jean-Benoit Manhes.

ICMPD Deputy Director General and Director of Migration Dialogues and Cooperation Sedef Dearing met with officials from Moldova’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Internal Affairs, General Inspectorate of Border Police, Ombudsman Office, the European Union Delegation to Moldova, Embassy of Ukraine, and the Diaspora Relations Bureau at the State Chancellery. Representing Director General Susanne Raab, Ms Dearing discussed last week ICMPD’s ongoing support and future cooperation for Moldova’s migration governance efforts, EU accession preparations, security challenges, border management, and diaspora engagement.

Between 23–25 March 2026, ICMPD organised three self‑evaluation workshops in Edineț, Chișinău and Cahul for the Border Police Regional Directorates, supporting the launch of the new IBM Programme 2026–2030 and Moldova’s preparations for future evaluation missions.

On 26 March, border-management authorities from Moldova and Ukraine convened at the Palanca–Maiaki-Udobnoe Border Crossing Point for a one‑day meeting of Moldova’s National Joint Risk Analysis Working Group.