MARRI Regional Centre is announcing an open call for engagement of an expert for conducting a research on the state of play of women in border police authorities in the Western Balkans. Strengthening Border Police Capacities through Empowerment of Policewomen in the Western Balkans is a project that MARRI RC developed to increase the participation of women in border police as one of the important prerequisites for achieving gender equality within the gender mainstreaming process. This project is co-financed by

The North Macedonia Presidency-in-Office of MARRI organized the traditional presentation of annual results and future plans – MARRI Friends Meeting, at the premises of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of North Macedonia.  The event gathered representatives of diplomatic corps, MARRI partners and donors, representatives of governmental institutions and civil sector to discuss past achievements and consider possibilities for joint efforts in the area of migration management in the Western Balkans. The audience was addressed by the Minister

The 2023 World Border Security Congress kicked off on 25 April in Skopje, North Macedonia, gathering border protection policy-makers, management and practitioners together with security industry professionals, to discuss current issues and future possibilities towards safe and secure border and migration management. Among other key note speakers, MARRI RC Director Sashko Kocev welcomed the audience. In his address, Director Kocev said that Western Balkan region must be proud of the achievements in the area of border management for which, the region

The challenges of effectively countering the smuggling of migrants and trafficking in human beings in the Western Balkans as well as the available solutions were the main topics of discussion at the Regional Practitioners Dialogue on Smuggling of Migrants by Air, Sea/Water, Land and Trafficking in Human Beings in the Western Balkans which took place on 30 – 31 March 2023 in Durres, Albania. The event, which is co-organised by MARRI and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in the framework

The regular session of the MARRI Permanent Working Group on Migration Statistics (PWG MS) gathered migration data experts from MARRI Participants’ Statistical Agencies and Ministries of Interior/Security to review the progress in implementation of group tasks in accordance with the agreed timeline. Following the briefing about the exchange of migration statistics through WB-MIDEX platform by Jordan Simonov, MARRI RC Migration Data and Policy Analyst, the delegations presented the state of affairs regarding the availability of data in their respective institutions, and

Skopje – In line with the Committee’s conclusions from 21 December 2022, the MARRI Presidency-in-Office by North Macedonia organized the Extraordinary Committee Meeting to continue the discussions on remaining open issues and ongoing initiatives. The possibilities being assessed, the Committee acknowledged and commended the measures proposed by the MARRI RC Director. The Committee thanked the German government for the continuous support through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and encouraged Secretariat’s further engagement in expanding its project activities. The

The North Macedonia Presidency-in-Office of MARRI wishes to appoint an experienced person to serve as Director of MARRI Regional Centre in Skopje, with staring date of August 1, 2023.  The post is offered to the MARRI Participants on a secondment basis. The vacancy is opened from 1 February until 31 March 2023 and the applications should be submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia – Directorate for European Union, and MARRI Regional Centre via diplomatic channels.   

Skopje – MARRI Participants’ delegations composed of Committee members, Coordinators and/or delegated representatives as well as MARRI Participants’ Representatives to the Regional Centre attended the regular mid-term Committee meeting under the Presidency-in-Office by North Macedonia to take stock and reflect on the ongoing activities and Initiative’s priorities for 2023. Following the opening remarks by the Chairperson Dzenk Sejfula in which he summarized the current state of affairs in context of regional cooperation, MARRI RC Director Sashko Kocev briefed about Centre’s

Tirana – The 7th PaCT Steering Group Meeting (SGM) provided an opportunity for the MARRI Anti-trafficking Coordinators, PaCT project partners and experts to discuss the project’s most recent activities, challenges and results as well as to exchange information on the latest developments about trafficking in humans in the region. The event was opened by MARRI RC Director Sashko Kocev and the Coordinator for Trafficking in Human Beings of Albania Silvana Banushi, followed by the welcoming remarks by PaCT Project Leader

“The possible solution to the irregular migration could be harnessing the potential of migrants arriving in the Western Balkans”. This is what Sashko Kocev, Director of the Migration, Asylum, Refugees Regional Initiative (MARRI) Regional Centre said at the Ministerial Conference “Sustainable Migration Governance in the Western Balkans” organized by IOM, and co-hosted by the Ministry of Interior of North Macedonia and the Czech Ministry of the Interior, under the auspices of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European