Spotlight

Action plans of protection sensitive entry systems was discussed at two UNHCR workshops

UNHCR conduted workshops on “Addressing Mixed Migration Flows in Central Asia: Protection-Sensitive Entry Systems” , under financial support of the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, in Astana, Kazakhstan on 23-24 of February and Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on 26-27 of February. The workshops aimed at addressing issues of enhancing the entry systems in the countries in the Central Asia Region in line with international protection standards. They allowed to review good practices of the countries, such as Belarus, Romania and Poland, to identify existing gaps in the host countries’ systems and resulted in developing action plans for each country. The topics included exploring basic protection principles including non-refoulement, non-penalization and access to fair asylum procedure, reception arrangements, referral and profiling mechanisms and differentiated processes and procedures.

During the two days of the workshop in Astana, the participants from the Border Guard Service and the Migration Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were able to discuss the reception arrangements and practices of referral and profiling mechanisms of Romania and Belarus and share the current achievements and gaps in the entry system of Kazakhstan. As follow-up to the workshop in Kazakhstan, recommendations to address the gaps in the asylum system will be developed. Action plan will address differentiated processes and procedures to ensure that different needs and profiles of arrivals are taken into account to prevent human trafficking and identify people with special needs.

The workshop in Kyrgyzstan was attended by representatives of the Office of the Government, State Border Service, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Ministry of Labor, Migration, and Youth, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the State Migration Service, who exchanged their experience and learnt from each other on mechanisms of profiling and referral, reception standards, and other protection issues. Colleagues from the State Border Committee of Belarus, and UNHCR offices in Romania and Poland conducted the presentations on their standards of reception of refugees and cooperation between government bodies and international organizations in the context of mixed migration flows. In sharing experience between the European and Central Asian systems, participants revealed a lot of perspectives for creating more efficient entry systems in their countries.

In Kyrgyzstan the workshop was concluded with development of the draft instruction and regulation on mass and individual arrival of refugees, which will be further, refined and presented for the approval of the Government. It will also be focused on the work with the Government to develop a practical guide for the identification, referral and treatment of asylum-seekers and other vulnerable groups, aiming to provide a simplified overview with step-by-step instructions for entry and other relevant officials.

According to the participants, both workshops served as a useful tool to reinforce cooperation among the governmental agencies, and developing ways forward. During the workshops, the officials from State Border Committee of Belarus underlined that “it is vital to be not only cooperative, but to have trustful relationships with international organizations. And these workshops, in my opinion, contributed to maintaining trust among the agencies themselves and international organizations. This will ensure that international standards are applied for the benefit of the countries”. All the participants from both countries underlined their readiness and willingness to collaborate further with State Border Committee of Belarus, Romania and Poland, and conduct the on-the-job trainings as a continuation of the experience sharing.