An educational migration course for civil servants is being developed in CA

July 12, 2018

On June 13-15, 2018 a regional training workshop was held in Almaty (Kazakhstan) with the purpose to develop a course on international migration law and return migration within the context of Central Asia. The course was developed by working groups from five Central Asian countries and will be used to upgrade the skills of state and municipal employees in the region.

Working groups from each country included representatives from educational institutions and national centers for state and municipal employees’ professional development.

Under guidance and coordination by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Central Asia and the Tian-Shan Policy Center (TSPC) at AUCA, the participants developed the first draft for the concept of the course and its curriculum.  

The concept and the program of the course are planned to be finalized by September 15.

On the first day of the training, the participants listened to several presentations, which were prepared by staff of the IOM and TSPC. TSPC employees shared their experience with developing and piloting a migration course for AUCA students while IOM presented their experience in developing an electronic course on international migration law.

The topics discussed during these three days included terminology in the field of migration, migrants' rights, global and regional cooperation of states in the field of migration, assistance in the voluntary return and reintegration of migrant workers in their homeland, and how this practice is currently being implemented in European countries.

Once fully developed, the migration course for Central Asian civil servants will consist of 2 parts:

1) unified theoretical framework (basic concepts and terminology, global and regional cooperation of Central Asian states in the field of migration, return migration, assistance in the voluntary return and reintegration of migrant workers, government powers and responsibilities in the field of migration);

2) analysis of regional legal norms governing migration in each of the Central Asian countries, taking into account national legislation and management experience.

Future plans involve piloting the course in the national educational institutions as well as in public administration training centers and to develop a training manual for Central Asia countries on the basis of the course.

«IOM pays a lot of attention to building the capacity of civil servants to effectively manage migration in Central Asia. The results of the TSPC study on the training needs of state and municipal employees of the Kyrgyz Republic on migration showed that trainings for civil servants could be made more effective. These results are applicable to civil servants of all other Central Asian countries. Trainings need to be carried out through national professional education centers. Training should continue on an ongoing basis, in order to ensure sustainable results.

The complexity of the project is in bringing together all five Central Asian countries. It is one region, but the legal framework, educational systems, and management experiences are all different. And the final product - the training course - should be relevant for each country. We managed to gather competent specialists under one roof and the work is being actively carried out», said Damira Umetbaeva – the National program coordinator, IOM sub-regional office for Central Asia, Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Vasily Yuzhanin,  regional coordinator for the development of the IOM projects in the regional offices of South-Eastern Europe, Central Europe and Central Asia, Vienna, Austria, also stressed the importance of this kind of work. He noted that «international migration law and assistance in the voluntary return and reintegration of migrant workers in their homeland are main issues for Central Asian countries as they constitute the framework and integral mechanisms for managing and regulating migration in the region».

The regional workshop on the development of the course on international migration law and return migration to Central Asia was organized within the framework of the project "Responding to migration flows through capacity building in Central Asia", Phase IV, funded by the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration of the US Government.

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