On 16 and 17 June 2021, 11 officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) gathered in Tbilisi to participate in a course on the management of alternative measures to the detention of foreigners, who reside in Georgia on an irregular basis and may be temporarily detained to secure their departure from Georgia.

Experts from the International Detention Coalition (IDC) and their counterparts in Cyprus and Poland joined IOM in raising awareness of officials of the MIA Migration Department on what types of alternative measures to the detention of migrants are effective and in how case management can be applied to reach solutions that are in the interests of both the migrants concerned and the state. The role of non-governmental organizations in supporting the protection of migrants’ rights and cooperation models between civil society and immigration authorities were subject to interactive group sessions and discussions.

IOM will continue working with the MIA Migration Department and build capacities in developing rights-based approaches in the area of immigration law enforcement as well as providing services to vulnerable migrants, such as assisted voluntary return from Georgia and facilitating their reintegration in countries of origin.

This activity is part of the multi-annual project funded by the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia called “Sustaining Border Management and Migration Governance in Georgia (SBMMG)”.

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