Recent Events
Briefing for Ambassadors, Astana, Kazakhstan (July 2015)
On July 14, 2015 UNHCR, IOM and Chairperson of the Almaty Process, H.E. B. Nurymbetov, Vice-Minister of Healthcare and Social Development, held a briefing for Ambassadors in Astana, Kazakhstan to discuss the Chairmanship of the Almaty process. The future Chair of the Process also attended the meeting, H.E. A. Asanbaev, Deputy Minister of Labour, Migration and Youth, Kyrgyz Republic. The tw o Vice-Ministers noted the important steps achieved during Kazakhstan’s Chairmanship, including the establishment of the Support Unit and the successful work on refugee protection and international migration at the national and regional levels. They highlighted the importance of the Almaty Process for the region, the commitment of their Governments to the future of the Process and expressed their gratitude to the Member States, UNHCR and IOM for their engagement, which has contributed to today’s achievements. The current and future Chairs also proposed to Member States an extended hand-over period between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, and for Kyrgyzstan to formally assume the Chairmanship in October 2016.
During the Briefing, the UNHCR Regional Representative for Central Asia, Mr. Doyle, and the IOM Sub-regional Coordinator for Central Asia, Mr. Keserovic provided an update on the activities of the Almaty Process on Refugee Protection and International Migration in Central Asia. The activities on refugee protection have resulted in the development of Standard Operating Procedures for the National Referral Mechanism of Asylum-Seekers in Tajikistan through which asylum-seekers arriving at the border are referred to the relevant agencies that process their asylum-claim. In Kyrgyzstan, the Government in coordination with UNHCR developed instructions on the reception and referral of asylum-seekers in case of individual, as well as mass arrival.
The participants also discussed the future of the Chairmanship and the proposal for the 2015 Senior Officials Meeting of the Almaty Process to take place in 22 September 2015, on the theme of ‘Labour Migration and Solutions for Refugees: Opportunities and Challenges in Central Asia’. Finally, the event provided the opportunity for Member and Observer States to raise proposals for the future of the Almaty Process. Participants also thanked the National Coordinator of the Republic of Turkey, H.E. Ambassador Ömer Burhan Tüzel for his very active and fruitful participation in the Almaty Process since its inception, and wished him all the best in his future assignment.
National Workshops on Protection-sensitive Entry Systems in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan (February-April 2015)
 The workshops were organized with the financial support of the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. The workshops aimed to identify gaps and agree on the necessary steps to establish border systems that are sensitive to managing population movements, while also protecting those in need.
The workshops were attended by Government Officials, representatives of international organizations and NGOs. Experts from the State Border Committee of the Republic of Belarus and UNHCR Offices in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Poland were invited to the workshops and shared with the participants their experiences in the area of border management, on non-refoulement, identification, reception arrangements, profiling and referral mechanisms and differentiated processes and procedures.
The outcomes of the workshops are as follows:
- National Workshop on Protection-sensitive Entry Systems in Astana, Kazakhstan on 23-24 February 2015.
The Government in coordination with UNHCR developed a draft Plan of Actions containing key proposals for improvement of the reception and referral mechanisms at the border.
- National Workshop on Protection-sensitive Entry Systems in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on 26-27 February 2015.
The Government in coordination with UNHCR developed draft instructions on the reception and referral of asylum-seekers in case of individual and mass arrival.
- National Workshop on Protection-sensitive Entry Systems in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on 23-25 April 2015.
The Expert Working Group on Refugee Protection in the Republic of Tajikistan approved draft Standard Operating Procedures for the National Referral Mechanism of Asylum-Seekers. It will further be considered by the Main Department of the Border Forces under the State Committee on National Security and the Passport Registration Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for promulgation as administrative directives.
- National Workshop on Protection-sensitive Entry Systems in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan on 29-30 April 2015.
A set of recommendations was developed as outcomes of the discussions in the workshop in Turkmenistan which will be further refined.
First Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) in Almaty, Kazakhstan (21 November 2014)
The Meeting was attended by the National Coordinators and Senior Officials of Member and Observer States the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Republic of Azerbaijan, People’s Republic o f China, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Republic of Turkey and Turkmenistan, as well as representatives from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Resource Persons from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA). The theme of the Meeting was 'Mixed Migration Movements from Afghanistan Post-2014' and aimed to review current analyses of the situation in Afghanistan, share good practices on profiling and referral of migrants and asylum-seekers, on border management and emergency preparedness, discuss regional cooperation on mixed migration flows and agree on the next steps in the Almaty Process.
The Senior Officials Meeting concluded with the Chair's Statement, available here in Russian and English.
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