What are the durable solutions for persons in need of international protection: integration, voluntary return or resettlement? These are the topics to be addressed at the workshop, hosted by the Government of Ukraine on 18-19 March 2008 in Kyiv.
For over a decade the governments of Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine have worked to develop their legislation on refugee protection. Now it is time to focus on the welfare and well being of refugees, search for possibilities of refugee integration into host societies which will benefit the refugees and the Governments of Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine.
The workshop on Durable Solutions for Refugees will be held within the framework of the Söderköping process. The Söderköping process is an initiative launched in 2001 by Sweden, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to support Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine in shaping asylum, migration and border management systems pursuant to international standards. It involves EU Member States (Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Romania) which share their experience in aligning asylum/migration policies and practices with Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine.
The participants of the workshop on Durable Solutions for Refugees will discuss possible solutions for refugees and in particular will touch upon refugee. The Study on Local Integration of Refugees in Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine will be presented at the workshop. The study has been recently finalised by a group of independent experts, and highlights core legal and social challenges in integrating refugees. It also lists a detailed set of recommendations for governments to address in designing national legislation and practices on refugee integration.
The participants of the workshop are governmental experts in refugee integration, refugee assisting NGOs and refugee from Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, UNHCR, IOM, EU Member States and EC Delegation to Ukraine.
All media are invited to the opening session of the workshop on 18 March from 9:00 to 9:30 a.m. at Rus Hotel, 4 Hospitalna Str., Kyiv, Ukraine http://www.hotelrus.kiev.ua/en/information/contacts.php
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For further information please contact Ms. Victoria Schmidt, at the State Committee for Nationalities and Religion of Ukraine, tel. +380-44-279-0520 or Ms. Olena Gorova at the Secretariat of the Söderköping process, tel. +380-44-254-53-46 e-mail:
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For more information about the Söderköping process and for download of the Study on Local Integration of Refugees in Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova please visit the web site www.soderkoping.org.ua
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