IOM Azerbaijan and the State Migration Service organized consultations for government representatives on Migration Governance Indicators

On 21 June 2023, IOM Azerbaijan in close collaboration with the State Migration Service (SMS) organized the interministerial consultation meeting on the Migration Governance Indicators process in Azerbaijan.

The event started with the opening session where the participants were welcomed by Ms Amela Mujagic, Chief of Mission for IOM Azerbaijan, and Mr Vahid Gahramanov, Head of the Migration Policy and Legal Support General Department of the State Migration Service.

In her opening remarks, Ms Amela Mujagic highlighted the importance of the consultation meeting which gathered the relative government agencies and non-governmental organizations. She noted that Migration Governance Indicators is an IOM tool comprising a standard set of approximately 90 indicators, which can offer insights on the policy levers that countries can use to develop their migration governance structures. “In Azerbaijan, the process started on 8 December 2022, with the organization of an introductory meeting to brief the relevant Government Agencies about the process. IOM in close collaboration with SMS organized interviews with the relevant government agencies during December 2022 and March 2023 to collect data on the main indicators and based on this data, a draft Migration Governance Profile summarizing the most important findings has been produced and shared with the government of Azerbaijan,” said Ms Mujagic.

Mr Vahid Gahramanov expressed his confidence that the final document, which will be prepared as a result of the joint efforts of representatives of international organizations, the relevant state agencies, and civil society organizations, will contribute to migration management in Azerbaijan, and therefore called on the participants to actively participate in the consultations.

After opening speeches, presentations on MGI, its tool, and process, and links with national and international processes, the MGI report findings, the Migration policy of the Republic of Azerbaijan and MGI, and linkages of the MGI with the Global Compact for Migration were delivered to national government officials from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, SMS, Ministry of Interior Affairs, Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Science and Education, Ministry of Emergency, State Committee on Refugees and IDPs, State Committee on Work with Diaspora, and representatives of local NGOs.

During the consultation meeting, the participants discussed the good practices and main gaps identified in the draft Migration Governance Profile. This consultation meeting was an opportunity for participants to comment on the draft profile so that it reflects the challenges specific to their context as well as their priorities in terms of migration governance.

Most importantly, the consultation is an opportunity for the government to discuss how it would like to address some of the areas for potential development identified.

The MGI assessment process in Azerbaijan will be finalized based on the comments received during today’s consultation on the draft MGI report. This report will then be uploaded to IOM’s Global Migration Data Portal where it can easily be accessed.

Migration Governance Indicators (MGI) is an IOM tool comprising a standard set of approximately 90 indicators, which helps countries identify good practices as well as areas with potential for further development. It can offer insights on the policy levers that countries can use to develop their migration governance structures. MGI assessments are conducted upon government request, and the profiles are published with their consent. It is a consultative process and governments are engaged through all stages of this process. Currently, over 90 countries worldwide participated in the MGI assessment process.