Tashkent hosted regional workshop on EU standards on identification, detention and return of irregular migrants

Regional workshop on EU standards on identification, detention and return of irregular migrants, organized by EU-funded Border Management Programme in Central Asia (BOMCA) in cooperation with International Organization for Migration (IOM), held in Tashkent, the press service of the organization reported.

The event discussed a mixture of a workshop and round-table discussions between the international experts on the one hand, and CA countries national experts working on the issue of identification, detention and return of irregular migrants, on the other hand. 

Main goal of the event was to introduce the best international and European practices of detention, accommodation and return of irregular migrants. CA participants reported on national procedures in the area of return, detention and readmission, European experts in their turn introduced international and European standards and approaches. Special attention was paid to cooperation between institutions in the fight against irregular migration at the state border and within the country, as well as to standards of detention procedure. Practical examples of identification of migrants with irregular status, including vulnerable groups was discussed and analyzed.

Based on discussions and exchange of views with the national experts, the EU experts developed recommendations to specific pieces of the national legislation in line with international best practices.

The first BOMCA operations in Central Asia began in 2003 and, since then, BOMCA has strengthened the partnership between Central Asian Governments in the field of border management. The European Union allocated a sum of €40, 1 million to BOMCA for the period of 2003 – 2019, out of which €6, 6 million were assigned to its 9th implementation phase (2015 - 2019).