Almaty – On 13-15 June 2018 International Organization for Migration/The UN Migration Agency in partnership with Tian Shan Policy Center – American University of Central Asia (TSPC - AUCA) organized a three-day training workshop on International Migration Law (IML) and Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVR(R)) for the faculty of national training centres and academic institutions in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The training workshop aimed to strengthen participants’ capacity and skills on IML and AVR(R) and to support the development of a course on IML and AVRR, which is intended to be taught subsequently for state and municipal officials in their respective countries. 

During the training workshop, participants formed national Working Groups (WG) and started working on development of one common regional course syllabus. It has been agreed that the course should be on International Migration Law and Return Migration, which will include AVR(R) and forced return migration. Upon return from the training workshop, WGs will continue working on the development of the course syllabus under IOM and the TSPC’s coordination. 

According to Vassiliy Yuzhanin, Regional Project Development Officer from IOM Regional Office for Southeastern Europe, Central Europe and Central Asia: “It is fascinating how different expertise, opinions and views from all five Central Asian countries were brought together to develop one common regional product.”He also noted that IML and AVR(R) of labor migrants in their home countries represent one of the most relevant issues for the countries of Central Asia as they are frameworks and integral mechanisms of migration management and regulation in the region. 

 Damira Umetbaeva, National Programme Officer, IOM Subregional Office for Central Asia in Almaty, Kazakhstan said that IOM pays a great attention to building capacity of civil servants in effective migration management. Considering that educating civil servants through national training institutions on a regular basis would be more effective and sustainable, IOM is launching this project. She also stressed that one of the main challenges of the project was bringing together all five Central Asian countries to create one course on IML and Return Migration. Even though they belong to the same region, legislations, education systems, migration trends and management experiences vary, whereas the final product, the course, needs to be relevant to each country. However, the participants through constructive discussions came to agreement on the title of the course and the first structure of the course syllabus. Thus, the work has started.

Regional training workshop and development of the course on International Migration Law and Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration is funded by the US Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, Government of the United States (PRM-PIM USA) within the framework of the Phase IV of the project called “Addressing Migration Movements through Capacity Building in Central Asia”.