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Almaty Process: Achievements and Way Forward

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 two 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.