Struga – Following the adoption of the Plan for Finalization of MARRI’s Basic Documents in April 2019 in Ohrid, MARRI RC under the Presidency-in-Office of Kosovo* with support of GIZ Office Skopje, organized the second meeting according to the Plan, dedicated to further revision of MARRI basic documents. The newly proposed documents which were the subject for discussion of the meeting, were drafted by the Integrated Expert Mr. Christoph von Hardsdorf who also moderated the event. In a course of

Gevgelija –  Delegation of MARRI Regional Centre led by RC Director Sashko Kocev visited the Temporary Transit Center “Vinojug” in Gevgelija for short briefing with representatives of the North Macedonia Regional Center for Border Affairs – South, regarding the latest developments and trends related to the irregular migration. Presenting the existing situation, the Manager of the Temporary Transit Center “Vinojug” Boban Antonovski informed that currently 34 migrants reside at the Center, some of whom since February 2019. He also gave an

Sarajevo – MARRI Regional Ministerial Forum marked the end of Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency-in-Office (June 2018 – June 2019) and the beginning of Kosovo* yearlong chairmanship over the Initiative (June 2019 – June 2020). The event was attended by delegations of MARRI Participants, representatives of international organizations, MARRI’s partners, donors and representatives of civil society organizations. In his opening remarks, the Assistant Minister of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Samir Rizvo stressed that the issues of migration, especially the

Sarajevo – Following the same agenda of the other workshops under “Strengthening regional migration governance” project, the event in Sarajevo provided an excellent opportunity for promoting the regional cooperation on migration among the professionals of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The topics concerning asylum, border management, trafficking in human beings, readmission and labour migration were discussed among the representatives of governmental institutions, international and civil society organisations, providing valuable input on how MARRI could support their efforts on strategic level. The event

Sarajevo – Following the initiative of MARRI Participants, MARRI under the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and IOM jointly organized the first Regional Meeting on Readmission in the Western Balkans, aimed at discussing readmission practices, challenges and opportunities at a regional level therefore fostering further regional cooperation and harmonization with EU standards and practices on readmission. While readmission in the Western Balkans is a broad topic that touches upon many aspects of migration management, the discussions at this regional meeting

Skopje – The fourth in the series of workshops under “Strengthening regional migration governance” project gathered more than 60 professionals working in different areas of migration management in North Macedonia. Representatives of governmental institutions, international organizations, research/academic institutions and civil society discussed the topics of border management, asylum, trafficking in human beings, readmission, return and labour migration, in terms of objectives, challenges and opportunities but also to provided ideas, best practices and recommendations for strengthening the migration governance in the Western Balkans.

Tirana – As part of the ‘Regional Support to Protection-Sensitive Migration Management in the Western Balkans and Turkey’ project, on 24 April 2019, IOM organised a Regional experience-sharing and discussion workshop in Tirana. The aim of this workshop was to present the final version of the Regional Platform for Non-Personal Data Exchange in the Western Balkans (WB – MIDEX) and discuss the development of the national Road Maps on Migration Statistics. The workshop gathered migration statistics experts from the Western Balkan

Ohrid – The meeting was organized by MARRI RC under the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the support of GIZ as a follow up on the Second meeting of the Ad hoc Working Group which took place on 22-23 November 2018 in Sarajevo. The main purpose of the meeting was to present draft plan and to agree on the future steps for finalization of the MARRI’s legal framework reform but also, to continue the work on the revised and

Sarajevo – Representatives from the Sector for Asylum at the Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina attended training on the Use of the Interpreter-Scheduling Platform, launched as part of the MARRI Regional Remote Interpretation Service (RRIS). The MARRI RRIS Platform has been fully developed by IOM, within the EU-funded IPA II project ‘Regional Support to Protection-Sensitive Migration Management in the Western Balkans and Turkey’. Ms. Milica Trpevska, IOM IPA II Project Assistant seconded to MARRI RC, demonstrated the workflow of

Podgorica – The third in the series of workshops in the framework of “Strengthening regional migration governance” project gathered Montenegrin professionals working in the areas of asylum, border management, trafficking in human beings, readmission and labour migration.  In a lively and inspiring atmosphere, representatives from governmental institutions, international organisations and civil society discussed the challenges and priorities by topic and provided input on how MARRI could support their activities on strategic level. On behalf of the Ministry of Interior of