News

From 26 to 28 January 2021, ICMPD organised a workshop in Tripoli with four local networks of Libyan CSOs working on migration, focused on strengthening and operationalizing the networks. The activity took place under the framework of the EU-funded project "Strategic and Institutional Management of Migration in Libya".

Despite the difficult circumstances brought about by COVID-19, a series of two advanced level trainings on document security were delivered to officers of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) of Pakistan by a Border Management and Security Senior Advisor of ICMPD and an external expert. The trainings were conducted under the framework of the European Union-funded project Integrated Border Management in the Silk Routes Countries (IBM Silk Routes).

While the COVID19 pandemic affected all countries, cities and societies, it particularly took a toll on vulnerable populations, people on the move, migrants and refugees. It put into question the central objective of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as the Global Compacts for Migration and Refugees to "leave no one behind". Along the same lines, COVID19 demonstrated the significance of adopting whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches to achieve the Global Compacts’ goals, especially as the pandemic exacerbated pre-existing difficulties, such as homelessness, poverty, unemployment, and inequalities of all sorts.

A new cooperation framework between the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) and the European University Institute (EUI) to enhance effective cooperation in the area of migration governance between the long-term partners.

At the end of 2020, with the support of a team of regional experts, EUDiF completed a global mapping of diaspora engagement, producing over 100 country factsheets spanning 6 regions: Africa, Asia, Central Asia & Easter Europe, Latin America & the Caribbean, and the Pacific. The research gathered information on different policy frameworks, approaches and priorities in diaspora engagement and identified many opportunities for further research, discussion and peer-to-peer learning. A recurring question from both this research and diaspora-related research and dialogue over the years is: What is the role of the homeland government in diaspora engagement? And, linked to this, how do institutional frameworks relate to effectiveness of government-diaspora engagement?

One of the innovative tools proposed by the EU’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum is the Talent Partnerships conceived as a single framework aiming to "offer cooperation with partner countries and help boost mutually-beneficial international mobility". In this expert voice series, ICMPD explores how Talent Partnerships could be shaped, put in motion and brought to fruition by sharing experience, research findings and practices. In this first article, reflections are made on the lessons learnt from the implementation of several Pilot Projects on Legal Migration, within the framework of ICMPD’s Mobility Partnership Facility (MPF), funded by the European Commission, Directorate General Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME).

This study is issued by the Center for Migration and Refugee Studies on behalf of EUROMED Migration IV, a programme committed to establishing a constructive framework for dialogue and technical exchange on migration policy 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 first Project Steering Committee meeting took place on 12 January 2021.

ENHANCER Project Expanded to Include Employment Activities - Final contracts under FRIT II funds have been officially signed on December 17, 2020, including the expansion of ENHANCER Project to cover job creation activities.

Under the guidance of ICMPD Director General Michael Spindelegger, the organisation saw a significant growth in staff, projects and financing. ICMPD was also able to gain three new member states and increase its presence in the field.

The joint EU-ICMPD Migration EU eXpertise Initiative has released a new publication ‘Building Bridges – Capacity Building on Migration and the MIgration EU eXpertise (MIEUX) 2009 – 2019’ offering concrete examples of the impact and value of capacity building on migration during its first ten years of implementation. The publication is available in English, French and Spanish.

Preventing irregular migration and addressing the smuggling of migrants and trafficking in human beings, as outlined in the India-EU Common Agenda on Migration and Mobility (CAMM) is a priority area. Equally important is facilitating Indian migration to meet the needs of European companies and the EU economy as a whole.

Within the framework of the EU-funded "Strategic and institutional management of migration in Libya" project, ICMPD has published a briefing note entitled "Libya and COVID-19: How the pandemic has affected migrants, refugees and internally displaced persons".

This study is issued by the Center for Migration and Refugee Studies at the American University in Cairo on behalf of EUROMED Migration IV, a programme committed to establishing a constructive framework for dialogue and technical exchange on migration policy in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

On 6 October 2020, ICMPD Director General was a keynote speaker at an event organised by the German Embassy in Sofia. German Ambassador Christoph Eichhorn underlined that Germany wants to use the remaining time of Germany’s Council Presidency to push forward rapidly the negotiations of the "New Pact on Migration and Asylum" and invited the ICMPD Director General to share his views on the Pact with more than 20 state representatives and representatives of international organisations.

On Monday 5 October, a ceremony took place at the Lebanese Ministry of Defense, to officially handover search and rescue equipment to a range of Lebanese safety and security agencies. The equipment is a donation from the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), as part of the technical assistance project Swiss Support to Integrated Border Management (IBM) in Lebanon (Phase 2).

With COVID-19 the second external shock to asylum systems in 5 years, ICMPD held a virtual meeting on 1 October on strengthening asylum procedures to promote human and public security. This was the latest in a series of virtual Member State meetings as part of ICMPD’s Annual Policy Initiative 2020.

Few topics have divided Europe as much in recent years as migration and asylum. The new pact on Migration and Asylum puts migration back on the EU agenda, writes Michael Spindelegger.

While Europe is holding its breath in anticipation of another COVID-19 related lockdown, with people still adapting to closed borders and movement restrictions, the people of Afghanistan are all too familiar with this situation. For Afghans, the pandemic is merely one additional threat to health and life to cope with. Taking a holistic approach, this article will look at how COVID-19 might affect the migration patterns of Afghans, and which new threats and opportunities will develop.

The "Migration.Communication.Schools" (MIKS) project partners from ICMPD, the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the University of Education of Lower Austria met in Vienna on 17 September 2020 to record the interim status of the migration communication project within the initiative "MAKING A CHANGE.TOGETHER" after three years.

The Von der Leyen Commission plans to crack down on widespread abuse of Europe’s asylum system whilst doubling down on relocation as the solution to irregular boat arrivals in the Mediterranean. Can the Schengen area learn the lessons of the 2015-2016 crisis?

Today, the world celebrates the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. The day marks 71 years from the adoption of the United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (resolution 317(IV) from 2 December 1949).

Free movement in the Schengen area is a key achievement of EU integration. The Schengen evaluation and monitoring mechanism (SEMM) is important to ensuring the trust among Member States that is fundamental for the removal of internal borders. ICMPD has assessed the current approach in a new report.

From 16-19 November 2020, ICMPD hosted the Vienna Migration Conference entitled "Schengen, asylum reform and Europe’s migration diplomacy: Has COVID-19 changed everything?" The conference took place in an online production adapted especially for the pandemic and hosted a record number of participants.

From 23 to 27 November 2020, European Union experts jointly with the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) and the State Customs Service (SCS) of Ukraine completed the second field assessment mission to the border crossing points (BCPs) in Ukraine. The mission is the second activity on the spot to analyse the control processes and procedures at BCPs and is a part of wider activities of the EU-funded project "EU Support to Strengthening Integrated Border Management in Ukraine (EU4IBM)" implemented by ICMPD.