Baghdad, Iraq- Under the Swiss funded project IMAG, the 2nd Workshop on Whole of Government Approach (WGA) to Migration Management in Iraq was organised by ICMPD’s project implementation team in Baghdad on 11-12 September. The workshop, conducted by two international experts, was designed to explore practical ways for the application and implementation of a WGA in the Iraqi context, particularly in regard to reintegration of returning Iraqi migrants and internally displaced persons. Participants included senior officials from migration-relevant ministries and institutions of the Government of Iraq, with a substantial delegation of officials attending from the Kurdish Regional Government.
The workshop focused on – a) exploring ways to improve data collection, analysis and referral of returning migrants; b) understanding/mapping and improving current reintegration pathways and timelines. The workshop provided several opportunities for group work where participants had open discussions on existing challenges and were prompted to generate ideas/solutions to solve those challenges. As per the feedback gathered from the participants, the workshop was able to enhance their knowledge and skills not only in regard to the primary topics of the workshop but also in regard to their understanding of horizontal and vertical inter-ministerial/governmental coordination and collaboration.
The next step will be for the experts to produce a guiding document that encapsulates the valuable ideas and solutions that emerged from the two intensive days of the workshop. ICMPD’s project implementation team would then aim to support the relevant government counterparts with the implementation of the suggested solutions.
