News

EUROMED Migration V and Euromesco, the main network of research centres and think tanks in the Euro-Mediterranean area, release a survey of migration experts in the EU’s Southern Neighbourhood titled “Towards sustainable and mutually beneficial migration partnerships in the South Mediterranean”

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. 

On 25-26 July, the project “Supporting the Implementation and further Strengthening of Türkiye's National Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration System” (NAVRR) held an expert workshop in Ankara on developing visibility and outreach plans for Türkiye’s National Assisted Voluntary Return & Reintegration Programme.

The International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) has recently become the target of an external cyber-attack. The attackers managed to gain limited access to individual servers and to get hold of some of our data.

Immediately after discovering the attack ICMPD has taken all measures to limit the impact of this attack. In parallel, ICMPD reported the issue to the Austrian Data Protection Authorities in accordance with the regulations. The criminal investigation of this case is currently ongoing and ICMPD is cooperating with the authorities.

On 13 July 2022, ICMPD Director General Michael Spindelegger went on mission to Niger and met HE Hassoumi Massoudou, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Niger. They signed a Seat Agreement for ICMPD. Niger is the third country in West Africa in ICMPD’s expanding portfolio, and follows Nigeria and Ghana.

A new service of psychological counselling will be rendered to the residents of the Migrants Accommodation Centre in Chisinau. Such service has been a pressing need at the Centre ever since its setting-up over a decade ago. Psychological counselling of foreigners is an increasing priority especially now, amidst the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in neighbouring Ukraine.

On 5-8 July 2022, the MOBILAZE 2 project organised a study visit to Spain for relevant Azerbaijani authorities to learn about the legal regime and status of foreign domestic workers.

On 27 June, the Bureau for Migration and Asylum was introduced to the external expert on risk analysis. The expert has been hired upon Bureau’s request to help the institution streamline its in-house risk analysis function amidst the current humanitarian crisis.

On 1 July 2022, ICMPD Director General Michael Spindelegger welcomed Mr Farhod Salim, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan. Ongoing projects and cooperation, as well as current migration challenges, were the subject of the visit.

From 21-23 June, Ministerial representatives of EU Member States and Southern Partner Countries, as well as migration experts from international organisations and academia met in Jordan at the Conference ‘Capacity Partnerships: Responding to the Needs of Refugees by Developing Opportunities for Host Countries’. They explored ways in which international cooperation could strengthen national and regional capacities to mitigate the challenges and maximise the benefits arising from protracted displacement.

On 20 July, ICMPD in partnership with the Public Security Directorate and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, organised a “Lessons Learned Conference of the Document Security Project in Jordan” in Amman. The conference aimed to highlight the main achievements and success of this pilot project, in addition to presenting lessons learned and good practices in the field of document security.

During its first mission to Kenya and Ghana, the Inspire project team introduced the project to a variety of stakeholders in Mombasa, Nairobi and Accra.

Under the title ‘Migration and Society – A whole of government process with a whole-of society participation ‘representatives of ICMPD, the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) and the University College of Teacher Education Lower Austria (PH NÖ) met to discuss the results of the joint project ‘MIGRATION.DIGITAL.PEDAGOGY‘ (MiDiP). External experts were invited to join the discussion on social peace, diversity and public safety to provide an additional perspective.

The Anti-Trafficking Programme (ATP) of ICMPD held the final event of the regional project “Developing Approaches for Enhancing the Functionality of the National Referral Mechanisms in the MARRI Participants”. The team presented three practical guidelines developed in the framework of the project.

To support the volatile border regions, Akkar and Baalbeck, restore stability and establish stronger relations with border security agencies, the EU-funded Strengthening Capability for Integrated Border Management in Lebanon (EU IBM Lebanon Phase 3) Project signed a partnership agreement in the first quarter of 2021 with the NATO affiliate Multinational CIMIC Group (MNCG).

On 24 May 2022, ICMPD Director General Michael Spindelegger undertook a mission to Bratislava to discuss current migration issues with the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic as well as the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic. The mission was rounded up by a visit to the “Support and Information Centre” in Bratislava.

The Strengthening Border Security in Ghana project (SBS Ghana) together with the Strengthening Border and Migration Management in Ghana (SMMIG) supported the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) at a four day workshop in Koforidua-Ghana, to evaluate the implementation status of the 2018-2022 strategic plan of the Service. 

The Strengthening Border Security in Ghana (SBS Ghana)  project, funded by European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF), organised a welcome ceremony, for four beneficiary organisations. They received a four hundred thousand Euro (€400,000) grant to implement activities that will support and contribute to innovative approaches on mobility issues and border management, in Ghana. This grant follows the first grant of € 300,000 awarded to three Ghanaian CSOs in August 2021.

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. 

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.  

On 5 July 2022, a ceremony took place to officially hand over five patrol vessels and two surveillance vehicles to the Border and Migration Police of the Albanian State Police of the Ministry of Interior of Albania. The vehicles were procured within the framework of the project “EU Support for the Effective Management of Green and Blue Borders in Albania, (EU4SAFEALB). 

Representatives of the Albanian Ministry of Interior, the Delegation of the European Union, the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) and other national and international counterparts gathered for the Handover Ceremony. After the opening speeches guests were invited to visit the boats for plaque reveal and partake in the traditional ‘baptism’. 
 

On 23 June 2022 in Warsaw, Poland, the Polish Migration Forum Foundation (PFM), in collaboration with ICMPD and the Association for Legal Intervention (SIP), launched the first networking event as part of the ICMPD-led project on Comprehensive Support for People in a Vulnerable Situation in the Polish Migration Management System (KOMPLEKS). 

ICMPD and international organisations call on states to harness the opportunities presented by technology to counter trafficking in persons. On the occasion of 30 July, the International Day against Trafficking in Persons, a joint statement was published by the Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT), that ICMPD is co-chairing this year.

On 28 July 2022, the Federal Minister for Women, Family, Integration and Media of the Republic of Austria, organised a conference on ministerial and state levels to address current trends and challenges for integration in Europe. ICMPD’s Director General Michael Spindelegger, attended the conference and pointed out that both, refugee hosting countries as well as refugees need continued international support. 

On 17 November, ICMPD organised a workshop for Moldovan stakeholders as part of the project “Capacity for a Rights-Based Reception System for Moldova” (CareFor) to exchange experience on communicating on migration, including in times of crisis. The workshop gathered communication specialists from the project beneficiaries and partners, ICMPD experts and the project team.