News

On 25 August 2020, the project "Strengthening Border and Migration Management in Ghana" (SMMIG), funded by the Danish Embassy in Accra and implemented by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), donated 30 computers, 2 multifunction printers, a 4x4 vehicle, a camera, 2 high-level document verification devices, 3 forensic magnifiers and 320 3-in-1 magnifiers (for examining travel and source documents at the borders) to the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS).

Kabul: Afghanistan’s capacity to strategically manage its national borders in an effective and efficient manner was bolstered through technical support provided to senior government officials in two events held from 23 – 26 August 2020 in Kabul, with international experts and trainers connecting online

Lack of access to services and information, including changed border processes, repatriations, poor health care, among other factors, place South Asian migrants at risk. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the vulnerability of Afghan, Pakistani and Bangladeshi migrants, and rendered accurate information even more necessary. ICMPD’s Migrant Resource Centres reach out and provide reliable information to empower migrants in an effort to address this challenge.

The project "Strengthening Border Security in Ghana" (SBS Ghana), funded by the EU through the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF), provided emergency relief equipment to the Ghana Immigration Service, to help curb the spread of COVID-19 and enhance GIS capacity to better respond to future emergencies.

On 3 August 2020, ICMPD handed over two stationary thermal fever screening systems worth around EUR 30,000 to the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (SBGS) working on the front-line of pandemic, processing travels to and from Ukraine.

The EU-funded Integrated Border Management in the Silk Routes (IBM Silk Routes) project has provided Iraq’s border agencies with personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical supplies to help combat the spread of coronavirus.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic many organisations sounded the alarm for protecting the rights of the most vulnerable categories of population, including victims of human trafficking. With little tangible data available at the time of the outbreak, now is the right time to take stock of the impact and plan the next steps.

The widespread national lockdowns witnessed since March 2020 unveiled the fragility of international cooperation. As Secretariat to four major Migration Dialogues, ICMPD and their respective Chairs mobilised Dialogues’ rich experience, knowledge and networks to counter fragmented responses to a crisis that goes beyond health and the economy.

Within the framework of the EU-funded ENIGMMA 2 project, an online Presentation of the "Guideline on Migration Legislation in Italy" was held as a live-stream event on the official Facebook page of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia on 8 July 2020.

In the framework of the EUROMED Migration IV programme, ICMPD has released, together with the Observatory of Public Attitudes to Migration (OPAM - EUI), the third and last chapter of the report entitled "Impact of Public Attitudes to migration on the political environment in the Euro-Mediterranean Region".

In the framework of the EU funded project EU Support for the effective management of green and blue borders in Albania (EU4SAFEALB) implemented by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), the assessment mission took place in Albania between 6 to 17 July 2020. 

Dhaka and Cumilla: Within the framework of EU-funded projects, ICMPD has facilitated the procurement and delivery of personal protective equipment (PPE) to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh

The EU-funded Integrated Border Management in the Silk Routes (IBM Silk Routes) project has provided Afghanistan’s border agencies with personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical supplies to help combat the spread of coronavirus.

The project "ATENÇÃO Brasil: enhancing the capacity of the Brazilian government to tackle TIP" has published two guides to prevent and combat trafficking in persons as well as to protect victims of trafficking. These guides seek to support professionals of the justice system and the assistance and protection networks in Brazil to better identify, protect and refer TIP victims as well as to investigate and prosecute this crime.

On 8th July, State Secretariat for Migration of Switzerland and International Centre for Migration Policy Development, organised an expert meeting for Member States in the framework of its Annual Policy Initiative 2020 (API). This expert meeting was part of a series of events under the API that delves into different aspects of the increasingly complex relationship between migration and security - including border management, protection, security along migration routes and integration.

On 9 July 2020 ICMPD hosted a high-level public webinar on "the future of the AU-EU partnership on migration and mobility in light of the COVID-19 pandemic". Distinguished panellists discussed the key issues related to the effects of COVID-19 on migration, mobility and displacement in Africa as well as its implications for the AU-EU Migration Partnership.

Within the framework of the EU-funded project IBM Phase II in Lebanon, ICMPD facilitated the procurement and delivery of personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Lebanese border and security agencies in response to COVID-19 pandemic on 12 June 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon.

On June 19, 2020, ICMPD has completed the delivery of two week-long training sessions for the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) and the State Customs Service (SCS) of Ukraine on business process reengineering.

Between 15 and 18 June 2020, the Mediterranean City-to-City Migration project (MC2CM) hosted a 4-day peer-learning event titled" Communication on Migration: Rebalancing the Narrative to Strengthen Local Governance" with over 50 participants from 22 local administrations across the Euromediterranean region and beyond.

By 1 July, free movement should once again be a reality within the EU’s passport-free zone, more or less. The Union is re-opening the single market just in time to secure this year’s agricultural production and the tourist season. The big question now is whether and how to re-open to the rest of the world.

On September 19th an ICMPD delegation led by DG Michael Spindelegger took part in the UN high-level summit to address large movements of refugees and migrants.

Speech held by Martijn Pluim, ICMPD Director of Eastern Dimension, on 25 July 2016 on the occasion of Vienna Human Trafficking Event at the UNODC.

On 15 September 2020, the European Union-funded Programme on Border Management in Central Asia (BOMCA) gathered more than 100 high-level stakeholders online to summarise the achievements of thematic work from the five years of the project’s 9th Phase. During the final event, BOMCA presented and disseminated project results and tools for the further strengthening of border management, migration governance, and trade facilitation measures in the Central Asian region.

One of the most significant political summits on migration took place in Valletta, Malta in November 2015, bringing together leaders from a wide range of European and African States and international organisations. Faced with the dramatic increase in irregular migration with all its downsides, the time was ripe to take concrete measures to tackle its root causes. The Rabat- and Khartoum Processes, both implemented by ICMPD, had been assigned the role of monitoring these measures. At the follow-up Senior Officials’ Meeting in February 2017, ICMPD presented the findings of the Rabat and Khartoum Process, providing ground for discussion. The central question now is, if the taken measures have and will continue to have the desired impact. In this article, we’ve summarised the steps taken up until now.

Since 2009, Mobility Partnerships between the EU and partner countries have not only brought concrete benefits to people but also enabled result-driven cooperation and dialogue between states. The Mobility Partnership Facility (MPF) is a programme that started in 2016 aimed at supporting the implementation of Mobility Partnerships (MPs). This article provides, in a nutshell, practical examples for MPs and summarizes the actions available to further realize the full potential of this framework.