Writtern by Marie Khoury
NNA - ICMPD’s Director General, Dr. Peter Widermann, plans to visit Lebanon on 9 October to meet key Lebanese officials relevant to the field of migration, reported Marie Khoury.
Promoting innovative policies aimed at addressing the complexities of migration, border management, asylum issues, and combating trafficking in human beings all comprise thework being done by ICMPD, an international organisation with headquarters in Vienna, Austria, and various field offices across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, including Lebanon. The organisation will hold an event commemorating 20 years since its establishmentat the Phoenicia Hotel in Beirut,on the evening of 9 October. This initiative reflects confidence in Lebanon during the complex situation that the region is going through. ICMPD comprises 15 member states and enjoys the status of Observer at the United Nations.
In an interview with the National Press Agency, the centre’s Regional Representative to the Middle East, Ambassador Abdel-Mawla El-Solh, considered that the holding of the commemoration event in Beirut has a great strategic value, and is an asset to Lebanon. El-Solh announced that ICMPD’s Director General, Dr. Peter Widermann, will conduct an official visit to Lebanon from 9 to 10October, during which he will meet various officials relevant to the work of ICMPD. He will meet the Minister of State responsible for the border management portfolio, His Excellency Minister Panos Manjian, the Chief Commander of Lebanese Army, Gen. Jean Kahwaji, the General Director of General Security, Major Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, the Acting General Director of Internal Security Forces (ISF), Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Basbous, the Acting General Director of Lebanese Customs, Mr. Chafik Merhi, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Ambassador Wafik Rahimi, and the Ambassador of the European Union Delegation to Lebanon, Ms.Angelina Eichhorst.
El-Solh added: we started our work in Lebanon in 2002, when ICMPD signed amemorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Lebanese General Directorate of General Security, and commenced to implement migration-related projects, a good example of which is the project “Training to Enhance Lebanese Anti-trafficking Effort (TELAE)”. We approached all state officials (ministries, agencies and civil society institutions) to assist in putting standard operating procedures in this field in Lebanon, and our hope, ultimately, is to support Lebanon in addressing the challenges related to migration. We held meetings with ministries relevant to the issue of Mediterranean transit migration, and the organisation has taken a lead, in cooperation with various national and international counterparts, including various European Union agencies, in designing an interactive map on the means by which migrants move in the region. Our ambition is to help Lebanon in the circumstances it is facing in receiving migrants, in line with international standards and principles.
ICMPD headquarters in Vienna has stressed that the organisation’s work in Lebanon includes the implementation of a major initiative financed by the European Union, entitled “Developing National Capability for Integrated Border Management in Lebanon” which started one year ago.
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