MPI Europe Webinar


Rethinking and Restarting: What should the returns process look like post-pandemic?

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Date & Time: Thursday, 25 June 2020, 12:30 EEST (Athens, Bucharest) / 11:30 CEST (Brussels, Berlin) /
10:30 BST (London)


SPEAKERS
*Michael Kegels, Director of Operations, Fedasil (Belgium)

*Fabrice Blanchard, Director of Immigration, Return, Reintegration, and International Affairs, French Office of Immigration and Integration

*Laurence Hunzinger, Senior Regional Thematic Specialist for Migrant Protection and Assistance, International Organization for Migration (IOM)


MODERATOR: Hanne Beirens, Director, MPI Europe


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COVID-19-related border closures, travel restrictions, and uncertainties as to how to safeguard the health of returnees and their receiving communities have paralysed the migrant-return system across the globe. With a few notable exceptions, such as the United States and Sweden, most countries have halted the return of rejected asylum seekers and irregular migrants, including overstayers, to their countries of origin until further notice. Authorities have paused or postponed return or removal orders, shifted to automatic renewal of immigration permits and, in some cases, opted to release migrants awaiting their return from closed detention centres (e.g., in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom).

As countries move into different phases of reopening, the question of when and how to return migrants will become increasingly pressing. How feasible will the transfer of migrants be between countries that are at different points on the containment curve? How politically desirable is it to press certain countries to readmit their citizens when the coronavirus is already testing the limits of their infrastructure?

Furthermore, the return process was already plagued by problems of low return rates, controversial returns, and overly ambitious reintegration goals.

This summer, MPI Europe launches a webinar series to explore what the migrant-return and reintegration process might look like in the post-COVID period. The restart offers countries an opportunity to rethink and improve their return and reintegration operations. Before turning to the reintegration process later this summer, this first webinar will focus on the counselling of (potential) returnees to increase the uptake of voluntary return – a return option that is generally seen as more humanitarian, practical, less expensive, and sustainable. Join MPI Europe for this timely conversation.

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For more information
[email protected]
www.mpieurope.org

Migration Policy Institute Europe
Residence Palace 155 Rue de la Loi, 5th Floor 1040 Brussels

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