Representatives of governments from Central, Southern and South-Asian regions and the Russian Federation are today gathering in Kyrgyzstan for technical consultations on return migration management as well as on negotiating and implementing readmission agreements.

The two-day consultations will bring together representatives of migration authorities and ministers of foreign affairs from the Russian Federation, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. Representatives of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, who will share information on the organization's activities to counter-act irregular migration, will also be attending as well as experts from the European Union (EU) and Albania bringing practical experience in organizing return procedures and implementing readmission agreements.

Readmission agreements negotiation and implementation are a relatively new area in the field of international cooperation, where common approaches towards organizational and legal aspects are still to be developed. Technical consultations, therefore, aim to promote an exchange of experience and best practices in the return management of irregular migrants.

With readmission agreements also being an instrument to guarantee returnees' key rights and freedoms, participants will also discuss practical issues such as identification and documentation and the development of necessary infrastructure to accommodate migrants on their way to their country of origin. Special attention will be given to the issue of voluntary return and its advantages over forced return as well as existing possibilities for states and the international community to work towards sustainable reintegration of returning migrants.

The consultations are being held as part of an EU, Finnish and German funded IOM programme that provides assistance to the Russian government to establish legal and administrative frameworks for readmission agreements.
 
Further information, please contact:

Nurbek Omurov
IOM Bishkek
Tel: +996 312 627 936
E-mail: nomurov@iom.int

or

Marina Manke
IOM Moscow
Tel: +7495 797 87 22
E-mail: mmanke@iom.int