OHRID, Macedonia – National coordinators of the respective governments of the Migration, Asylum and Refugees Regional Initiative Member States met in Ohrid on 22 November 2005 at a side meeting, in the framework of the regional CARDS project Enhance the Implementation Strategies for National Anti-trafficking Action Plans in the SAp countries, implemented by the ICMPD. During the meeting the respective national coordinators agreed on further enhancement of their regional cooperation through the regional platform of anti-trafficking in Human Beings in

SKOPJE, Macedonia – The session on Establishment of Temporary Residence Permits (TRP) for Victims of Trafficking was held in the MARRI Regional Centre in Skopje on 3 November 2005. This project is financed by the Government of Finland and implemented by IOM as part of the Regional- Counter Trafficking Prevention and Capacity Building Activities in Kosovo and Macedonia- Project. This session was used to present international obligations for implementation of the TRP (Palermo Protocol and Council Directive of 29 April

SKOPJE, Macedonia – A meeting on Incorporation of Asylum Issues into Integrated Border Management was held in Skopje on 2 November 2005.  It gathered Heads of Asylum Departments and senior officials from Border Police units from MARRI Member States. The overall objective of the meeting was the discussion on incorporation of asylum matters into integrated border management in order to increase awareness for these kind of obligations among border officials and to strengthen capacities of the border authorities for dealing with

SKOPJE, Macedonia – Parliamentarians from the Council of Europe and OSCE as well as members of the European Parliament participated in a seminar on the situation of refugees and displaced persons in the region of the Stability Pact for South-East Europe, which took place in Skopje on 17 and 18 October 2005 (further information also available at  http://assembly.coe.int) Participants discussed the problems of re-integrating internally displaced persons and refugees, the danger of explosive devices and the fate of missing persons.

SKOPJE, Macedonia – IOM Skopje organised the “National Roundtable and Visit of Experts: The EU and Regional Perspective” on the premises of the MARRI Regional Centre in Skopje on 14 October 2005. The round table was organised in the framework of IOM Programme on Temporary Residence Permits (TRP) for Victims of Trafficking in cooperation with the MARRI Regional Centre in Skopje. Its target group was the Macedonian state administration dealing with the issue of temporary residence permits, middle and high

SKOPJE, Macedonia – A Regional CARDS Seminar on Applied Integrated Asylum, Migration and Visa Management was held in MARRI Regional Centre in Skopje on 5-6 October 2005. The seminar was organised by the Swedish Migration Board, in cooperation with the MARRI Regional Centre in Skopje. The target group of this seminar were the middle and high level officials from the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as civil servants in SAP countries. The objective of the

SKOPJE, Macedonia – A Regional Workshop on Integration Issues, under the organisation of AtR Programme, was held in the MARRI Regional Centre in Skopje on 29 September 2005. The invited participants from all MARRI Member States exchanged their views and experiences on integration issues, further strengthening regional cooperation in that area. View gallery

SKOPJE, Macedonia – The MARRI Regional Centre in Skopje organised a meeting of Heads of Consular Departments of MARRI Member States in Skopje on 13 -14 September 2005. The overall objective of the meeting was the establishment of a Regional Working Group on Consular Cooperation (RWGCC), adoption of its internal rules and a tentative plan of activities for 2005-2006.

BELGRADE, Serbia – A combined Donor Conference and Meeting of the Friends of the Migration, Asylum, Refugees Regional Initiative (MARRI) was held in Belgrade on 13-14 June 2005 under the Serbia and Montenegro MARRI Presidency. The purpose of the Conference was to seek funding from the donor community for the ongoing and planned activities of MARRI in the issues of asylum, migration and visa policies under the framework of regional ownership and cooperation. The participants included representatives of MARRI Member

SKOPJE, Macedonia -The meeting was the first gathering of the heads of asylum units from the region organized by the MARRI Regional Centre in Skopje. The participants exchanged views on information and data exchange on issues of asylum and refugees. As it was apparent that the network of regular data exchange among five MARRI Member States was lacking, the aim of the meeting was to take concrete steps towards establishment, for the first time, of a mechanism for gathering and