On September 22-23 Moscow hosted the II International Conference “Migration Crisis: International Cooperation and National Strategies,” organized by the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) and the Russian Federation Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA). The conference was attended by more than 100 leading Russian and foreign experts on migration, human capital and security, representatives of Russian ministries and agencies, as well as international organizations.
On September 22-23 Moscow hosted the II International Conference “Migration Crisis: International Cooperation and National Strategies,” organized by the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) and the Russian Federation Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA). The conference was attended by more than 100 leading Russian and foreign experts on migration, human capital and security, representatives of Russian ministries and agencies, as well as international organizations.
During the two days of the Conference its participants could share their insight on such problems, as the interrelatedness of migration and security issues. The migration crisis and the influx of refugees led to grave adverse consequences, including the ensued trend towards “securitization” of migration, the growing perception of migration as a threat to security of the host society, which contributed to the spread of terrorism and radicalism. Much attention at the Conference was paid to the problems of international cooperation on migration issues.
Russia is already involved in the international regulation of migration, and a large number of international agreements with Russia’s participation, its membership in international organizations, as well as cooperation with the International Organization of Migration (IOM), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and others lend evidence to it. However, a lot of problems (readmission, information exchange, data collection on migration routes and flows, border control, granting asylum, etc.) remain unresolved and require a joint resolution by many states. The participants discussed in detail the legislative regulation of migration issues within the EEU, and the achieved results in the field of labor migration over the period, starting from January 1, 2015. It was noted that a fairly broad range of issues, relating to social security, delivery of healthcare and education services to migrants, were still the concerns to be addressed.
In a separate session, organized by RIAC together with the International Committee of the Red Cross, the participants discussed the humanitarian aspects of international migration, namely the major factors of migrants’ vulnerability, key mechanisms and tools to assist migrants, the necessity of “humanizing” migration and of individualized approach to migrants’ problems.
The speakers at the plenary session of the Conference included: RIAC Program Director Ivan Timofeev; Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the Russian Federation Ambassador Vygaudas Ušackas; UNHCR Representative in the Russian Federation Vladimir Tsyurko, Head of the ICRC’s Regional Delegation for the Russian Federation, Belarus and Moldova Magne Barth; Head of Regional Representative Office of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Russia Dr. Davron Muhamadiev; and Ilya Shershnev, Deputy Head of the National Policy and Interregional Relations Directorate, Head of National Policy Department of Moscow Government.
In follow-up of the Conference, it is planned to prepare a policy brief for relevant agencies, as well as a collection of reports, submitted at it. Video recording and presentations will be posted on RIAC website.
