News

The 3rd International Border Management Conference took place on 23-24 November, 2020. Organised by ICMPD, sponsored by the European Union via several EU-financed projects, the event welcomed numerous high-level speakers. More than 250 participants from over 50 countries followed the two-day conference remotely in four different languages.

On 17-19 November 2020, ICMPD organised two trainings on the important topics of consular crisis management and migration governance. Respectively the two events took place under the framework of the EU-funded project "Strategic and Institutional Management of Migration in Libya".

On 24 November 2020, ICMPD organised the fourth project steering group (PSG) meeting in the framework of the EU-funded project Forced-Return Monitoring III (FReM III).

On 20 November 2020, the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) and State Customs Service (SCS) of Ukraine completed two-day training on "Monitoring, evaluation and quality management" organized under the EU-funded project "EU Support to Strengthening Integrated Border Management (IBM) in Ukraine (EU4IBM)" implemented by ICMPD.

The Forced-Return Monitoring III (FReM III) project just released a report on the Assessment of the Day-to-Day Operations and Management of the Pool of Forced-Return Monitors at Frontex. The assessment was based on a multi-method study.

The signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Mixed Migration Centre (MMC) and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) took place in a virtual meeting on 19 November 2020. This step will contribute to strengthening the ongoing cooperation.

A new cooperation framework between ICMPD and the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) enhances and facilitates effective cooperation on matters related to asylum and migration management between the two long-standing partners.

On 10-11 November 2020, the 3rd Euro-Mediterranean Communicator’s Workshop was held in the framework of the DG NEAR flagship initiative EUROMED Migration IV (EMM4). The event was organized in collaboration with the Club of Venice and follows the success of the previous editions held in Tunis in 2018 and Athens in 2019. This year, the event took place in an online format due to the travel restrictions imposed by the current COVID-19 pandemic.

On Monday 9 November, the Embassy of Switzerland in Lebanon, the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), and ICMPD, launched a cycle of gender awareness sessions at the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) Military Academy in Beirut for the second year cadets enrolled in 2020. This is the first promotion in which women and men train together as officers at the Academy.

On 5th November, the State Secretariat for Migration of Switzerland and ICMPD held a meeting on recent approaches in addressing radicalisation. This was the latest in a series of virtual meetings as part of ICMPD’s Annual Policy Initiative 2020 (API).

"Schengen, asylum reform and Europe’s migration diplomacy: Has COVID-19 changed everything?" Now in its fifth year, the Vienna Migration Conference organised by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), will for the first time take place online, in a production adapted specially for the pandemic on 16-19 November 2020.

A ceremony for the signing of Country Cooperation Agreement between Pakistan and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) took place at the Embassy of Pakistan, Vienna, Austria on 10 November 2020.

ICMPD has released the "Study on Libyans living abroad: Profiling of Libyans living abroad to develop a roadmap for strategic and institutional engagement", which was developed within the framework of the EU-funded "Strategic and institutional management of migration in Libya" project. The Financial Times observed in an editorial in January 2015 that "(T)the Libyan diaspora, a repository of enormous talent, remains largely untapped ". The aim of this research is hence to shed light on this little explored community and on the current institutional framework for their engagement. This study is designed to serve as first step towards developing Libya’s engagement strategy towards Libyans living abroad.

ICMPD’s SUMMIT Project organised a meeting titled "Policy Recommendations to Increase the Participation of Syrian Migrants in Şanlıurfa into the Labour Markets and Inclusive Investment Incentive and Support Strategy at the Regional Level" on 3 November 2020 with the participation of Turkish and Syrian business owners.

In the framework of its mandate, the EUROMED Migration IV (EMM4) project held on 4 November 2020 a webinar titled "Migrant Vulnerabilities along the Mediterranean Migration Routes: A Perspective on Structural Challenges and Current Developments", at the request of the EMM4 national focal points.

From 28 to 29 October 2020, European Union experts jointly with the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) and the State Customs Service (SCS) of Ukraine completed the first field assessment mission to the border crossing point (BCP) Yahodyn–Dorohusk at the Ukrainian–Polish border.

On 20 October 2020 ICMPD completed a mission to Afghanistan where fruitful meetings were held with His Excellency First Vice President Amrullah Saleh as well as the Ministers and Deputy-Ministers responsible for Foreign Affairs, Labour & Social Affairs, Refugees & Repatriation, and Peace. Moreover, ICMPD met with the Afghan Border Police, the EU Delegation in Kabul, the Aga Khan Development Network as well as the Danish, Dutch and German representations to Afghanistan.

On 23 October 2020, the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) organised a webinar in the framework of the EU-funded Forced-Return Monitoring III (FReM III) project. During the webinar, the FReM III project team at ICMPD presented the main results and recommendations of the assessment of how the pool of forced-return monitors (Pool) currently functions.

On 17 March 2021, the ICMPD Director General Mr. Michael Spindelegger and the Chief of the State Migration Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Vusal Huseynov signed the Seat Agreement between ICMPD and the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

On 17-18 March 2021, the representatives of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (SBGS) completed a two-day training on enhancing presentation and effective communication skills organised under the EU-funded project "EU Support to Strengthening Integrated Border Management in Ukraine (EU4IBM)" implemented by ICMPD.

The aim of the project "Youth work in the context of integration" (YRMA) is to bring youth workers and practitioners working in the field of integration closer together and create synergies between these two fields. Policy recommendations to foster this inter-sectoral cooperation have been developed in the course of the project and have now been validated during workshops in the four participating Federal Provinces, namely Vienna, Upper Austria, Vorarlberg and Salzburg.

2020 is a year of reflection, marked by the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC). To mark the EU Anti-Trafficking Day 2020, ICMPD takes the opportunity to reflect upon the past years. Twenty years ago, the adoption of UNTOC was the first major step in the fight against transnational organised crime. Its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children provided the first legally binding modern definition of trafficking in persons (TIP) and an impetus to develop national anti-trafficking legislation.

Within the EU-funded "TALENTAS" project, ICMPD organised a virtual study tour for Lithuanian participants to Denmark. Due to Covid-19, the study tour took place in a digital from 5-9 October 2020, allowing participants to get insights from the decennial and frontrunner experience of Denmark in public-led talent attraction management, strategy and operations.

The intention of the EU’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum is to offer a "fresh start" for a system that manages and "normalises" migration. In the introduction, migration is framed as a "feature of human history" that brings growth, innovation and social dynamism, a vision fully embraced and promoted by the Global Initiatives Programme at ICMPD.

In December 2020, ICMPD within the framework of the "Strategic and institutional management of migration in Libya" project held fruitful meetings in Tripoli with Mr Al-Shaibani, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Directors for European Affairs, International Organisations and International Cooperation; the Ministry of Labour; the Prime Minister’s Office; and the National Team for Border Security and Management.