DUSHANBE, 14.05.2019. (NIAT Khovar) – The second meeting of the technical expert group of the Almaty process, a regional interstate initiative on migration will be held om May 14-15 in Dushanbe.

Government officials from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, as well as UN experts will exchange information on various issues related to migration flows, including refugee protection problems in Central Asia and the region as a whole.

The Almaty process for the protection of refugees and international migration is a regional consultative platform aimed at jointly addressing the challenges arising from the complex dynamics of migration in the region. This meeting will be held under the chairmanship of Tajikistan.

Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan are currently members of the Almaty process, and Iran and Pakistan are observer states.

Migration is a rapidly changing phenomenon, and the Almaty process offers the right platform to discuss the appropriate response to new challenges, according to Saidasror Saidov, head of the Department for Migration of the Ministry of Labor, Migration and Employment of the Population of Tajikistan.

The states have the sovereign right to control their borders and regulate the conditions for the entry and stay of any persons in their territory. Also, the humanitarian principle of protecting those in need should not be ignored. The obligation of states is of paramount importance for the effective management of mixed migration flows and the maintenance of space for humanitarian asylum.

Over the two days, legislative practices will be presented that regulate refugee and asylum issues in Central Asian countries, as well as the importance of data management.

The participants will be briefed on the first Global Forum on Refugees, which will be held at the ministerial level in Geneva in December. An overview of the migration situation and migrant registration systems in the member countries of the Almaty process will be presented by government representatives.

The Almaty process brings together specialists to develop coordinated actions to ensure safe migration.