Vienna, Austria: The Swiss journal on Asylum Rights and Practices featured an article “The Humanitarian Situation in Afghanistan” (page 21), which paints a picture of the rapidly evolving humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, outlining its proximate causes and the risks facing the Afghan people in the short to medium term. The article has been authored by *Samim Ahmadi and Khyber Farahi.
Dushanbe, Tajikistan: Our Migrant Resource Centres (MRCs), run in close collaboration with partner countries in the Silk Routes region, help people to make informed decisions when considering whether to migrate. MRCs therefore play an important role in providing outgoing, intending and potential migrants with information on a broad range of migration-related challenges and opportunities. This initiative is implemented under the EU-funded project “Improving migration management in the Silk Routes countries”.
Islamabad, Pakistan: One of the projects that ICMPD implements in the Silk Routes region covers awareness raising and information campaigns on the risks of irregular migration in Pakistan (PARIM).
With this initiative, the European Union - with co-funding from the Ministry of the Interior of Austria and the Ministry of the Interior of Bulgaria - co-fund awareness-raising actions in Pakistan aiming to reduce the vulnerabilities and challenges faced by migrants. The objective is to provide them with adequate, timely and reliable information and guidance on all matters related to migration. The project furthermore aims to build sustainable networks and platforms among different groups of stakeholders to enhance their capacity in raising awareness, providing balanced information and promoting legal pathways.
Vienna, Austria: A Study Visit to Switzerland was organised by the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) under the project “Developing the Iraqi Government’s Knowledge & Expertise in Migration Management” (Project IMED) on 14-18th March 2022. The visit was supported and facilitated by ICMPD, whereby a senior delegation from the Government of Iraq, led by the Deputy Minister from the Ministry of Migration and Displaced, travelled to Zurich, Bern and Geneva for meetings with Swiss counterparts and international organisations. The Iraqi delegation, consisting of 7 officials, was represented by 5 core ministries working on migration management in Iraq – namely the Ministries of Migration, Labour & Social Affairs, Planning, Interior and Foreign Affairs.
Islamabad, Pakistan: The Integrated Border Management (IBM) concept originated two decades ago as a solution designed to address the management of the external borders of the European Union. Since then it has evolved into a globally recognised standard in ensuring coordination and cooperation among all relevant authorities involved in border security and trade facilitation. One of the six fields covered within IBM is Human Resources and Training. Within this context, on 7-11th March 2022, ICMPD conducted a training workshop on Document Security Basic Level and an Introduction to Integrated Border Management (IBM) and Leadership for Assistant Directors of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) of Pakistan.
Vienna, Austria: Following the release of our ICMPD Migration Outlook Silk Routes, South and West Asia, we used the opportunity to deepen our focus on the main issues addressed in a new episode of the ICMPD Migration Outlook Podcast. Mr Naozad Hodiwala, Senior Project Manager, and Ms Maegan Hendow, Research Officer - the authors behind the recent ICMPD report - answered the questions of political journalist Martina Bachler. The podcast is moderated and hosted by Elisabeth Minkow, ICMPD Communications Officer.
Islamabad, Pakistan: The Federal Investigation Agency, Anti-Narcotics Force, Pakistan Customs and Police united on the occasion of International Women’s Day 2022 to highlight the role of gender equality and awareness in national border management agencies in Pakistan.
Vienna, Austria: The ICMPD Migration Outlook Silk Routes (South and West Asia region) is available now. Although urgent action is warranted at the Eastern borders of the EU, the South and West Asia region remains a key zone of instability and displacement. We review the main developments in 2021 as well as highlight the Top 5 Migration Issues to look out for in the Silk Routes region in 2022:
Vienna, Austria: Our study highlights that people smugglers and intermediaries who exploit and profit from Bangladeshi and Pakistani citizens are actively trying to promote irregular migration as an attractive option. Furthermore, research findings show that regional political instability will also act as a catalyst for irregular migration.
Vienna, Austria: Over the medium to long term migration trends are likely to revert to normal: this will manifest itself in Pakistan migration flows heading to the Arab states of the Gulf and Bangladeshis also looking to North Africa. In addition, research and on the ground findings show that reintegration schemes need to improve. While this is a new area for Bangladesh and Pakistan, the possibilities and opportunities need to be understood by all stakeholders.
Vienna, Austria: What effect has the COVID-19 pandemic had on migration flows from the Silk Routes region? Has there been an increase in irregular migration to Europe?
On 1st March we will be releasing our trend assessment report which looks at evidence from Bangladesh and Pakistan. This study will be able to answer these questions as well as a selection of others.
Vienna, Austria: The ICMPD Migration Outlook Silk Routes 2022 South and West Asia has just been released and this highlights five migration issues to look out for in 2022.
Islamabad, Pakistan: Following a series of online consultations with Pakistani media in November and December 2020, ICMPD in collaboration with Ethical Journalism Network (EJN) has developed a set of guidelines for reporting on migration issues in addition to a journalists’ toolkit for migration reporting for the Pakistani media. This initiative is funded under the project “Awareness Raising on Migration in Pakistan (MARIP- II)”, by the German Federal Foreign Office.
Vienna, Austria: Paying greater attention to women’s voices is critical to understanding the issues that they face. Their views need to be harnessed through gender-transformative policy and programming approaches when it comes to climate change.
Baghdad, Iraq: The ICMPD Regional Coordination Office for the Silk Routes Region is dedicated to working with all actors involved in migration management - and related service provisions - in Iraq, including local and national authorities, civil society organisations, and international stakeholders. With the aim of coordinating efforts among the national and international partners, an ICMPD Delegation from the Silk Routes (SR) Regional Coordination Office (RCO) in Vienna visited Baghdad, Iraq, from 31st January to 1st February 2022. The visit formed part of the SR-RCO’s continued implementation of a range of projects and activities in the country and combined overviews of the ongoing activities with forward-looking, open and visionary discussions.