Baku - On 14-15 November 2022, IOM Azerbaijan, the State Migration Service (SMS), and UN Refugee Agency (UNCHR) within the Regional Training Center on Migration project (RTCM) organized a 2-day training on the Legal and Institutional Framework for Refugee Protection.

In his opening remarks, Vladimir Gjorgjiev, Chief of Mission for IOM Azerbaijan emphasized the importance of such joint training which provides an opportunity for participants to increase their knowledge and awareness in the field of refugee protection and increase the collaboration among agencies.

Emphasizing the effectiveness and perspective of organizing trainings at the regional level within the framework of the center, Mr. Gjorgjiev said that recently IOM conducted joint trainings in Turkiye and Uzbekistan. “These trainings contributed to the expansion of cooperation among regional countries, international and local organizations,” said Gjorgjiev.

Speaking at the opening session, the Chief of the State Migration Service, Vusal Huseynov emphasized the importance of the training and said Azerbaijan, as one of the first states that acceded to the document "Global Refugee Pact", attaches particular importance to establishing an effective dialogue between people, countries, and societies, as well as the fact the necessary measures have been taken to ensure rights and freedom of refugees at a high level in the country.

Then Guido Ambroso, Head of the Mission at UNHCR Azerbaijan expressed hope that the training would play an important role in ensuring the rights and freedoms of refugees and informing the participants about the main components of international protection.

During the training provided by the experts from IOM, SMS, and UNCHR, participants - representatives of relevant government agencies, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and academia broadened their knowledge on the content of International Refugee Protection and UNHCR’s Role; National Asylum Procedure in Azerbaijan; the relation between the 1951 Convention refugee definition and complementary protection; Migration and Human Trafficking.

At the end of the training, participants were awarded certificates.

The "Supporting the establishment of a Regional Training Center on Migration Management in Azerbaijan" project funded by the IOM Development Fund within which the training was conducted aims to enhance regional training capacities and cooperation on migration management in Azerbaijan, the region, 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.