Baku - On 17-18 February 2022, IOM Azerbaijan jointly with the State Migration Service (SMS) organized a two-day regional hybrid course on “International Migration Law” (IML) for the civil servants of migration agencies and other state bodies of 10 regional countries, including Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tadjikistan, and Azerbaijan.

The event held at the Regional Training center on Migration (RTCM) dedicated to the Migration Week 2022 in the framework of the first International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) began with the official opening session where the participants were welcomed by Mr Vladimir Gjorgjiev, Chief of Mission for IOM Azerbaijan and Mr Vusal Huseynov, Chief of the State Migration Service.

In his opening remarks, Mr Gjorgjiev highlighted the importance of providing an opportunity to migration civil servants from region countries to take part in lectures and discussions on IML provided by leading experts in order to advance the quality of service delivery of state migrant agencies in the region and beyond.

Chief of the State Migration Service (SMS) Vusal Huseynov greeted the participants and wished them success and talked about the importance of the training on IML as one of the main subjects taught at RTCM.

The online training delivered within the framework of the "Supporting the establishment of a Regional Training center on Migration Management in Azerbaijan" project funded by the IOM Development Fund, has been conducted by experts of IOM’s IML Unit and local specialists. The training course covered subjects, such as History of International Migration Law (IML), General framework of IML, its main instruments and principles, the rights and obligations of migrants and States at borders, Introduction to displacement and human trafficking, Labour migration, and the rights of migrant workers, the Rights of Children, Women and Stateless persons in the Context of Migration and etc.

At the end of the training, certificates to participants were distributed by Mr Vladimir Gjorgjiev, the Chief of IOM Mission.

The above-mentioned project aims to enhance regional training capacities and cooperation on migration management in Azerbaijan, CIS countries, and beyond via the Regional Training Centre on Migration that will serve as a hub for knowledge sharing, research, and policy dialogue with governments and a broad range of stakeholders in the field of migration in the region.