On 20-28 May, IOM organized intercultural communication training course for a total of 48 staff of the Community Police, Patrol Police, and the staff of Human Rights Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The seminar, which took place in-person in Tbilisi, was conducted by Mr. Calin Rus, international expert and facilitated by Mr. Giorgi Chkheidze, national expert.  

The training gathered 32 staff of Human Rights Department, 40 Community Police and 12 Patrol Police Officers and focused on rights-based approach in addressing cultural diversity in police work, understanding cultural differences, cultural profiles of migrants in Georgia and discussing empathy in intercultural situations. Throughout the course the participants had a chance to learn about international examples of the patrol police and community police practices in multicultural settings and in urban areas.

The training was implemented by IOM in response to the request of the Ministry of Internal Affairs under the EMERGE project (Promoting migrants’ rights and good governance in Georgia and Armenia), funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway. Additional training courses on this important topic are planned in June and in September for the Migration Department and Patrol Police in cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. IOM values the efforts of the Government of Georgia to ensure protection of the rights of migrants as Georgia becomes more and more a country of destination, rather than only transit.