IOM Director General Brunson McKinley will attend a one-day conference on Assisted Voluntary Returns (AVRs) in Valletta on Monday.

The conference, which is supported by the European Refugee Fund, the Government of Malta and IOM, will bring together representatives of the European Commission, the Governments of Malta and Italy, IOM and UNHCR to look at pilot initiatives in the field of AVRs in Malta.
 
Participants will take stock of initiatives that have been put in place to introduce the option of AVR for asylum seekers, failed asylum seekers, refugees and people holding temporary protection in Malta.

They will also discuss return policies in the perspective of a comprehensive approach to migration management. 

"It is now generally acknowledged that an effective approach to managing returns is one of the core policy components of migration management," says Director General McKinley.

Speakers will include Malta’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Michael Frendo and Malta’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Justice and Home Affairs, Dr. Tonio Borg as well as representatives from UNHCR, European Commission and the Italian Government.
 
For more information, please contact:

Maria Pisani
Tel +356.7961836

Anna Giustiniani/Giulia Falzoi
IOM Rome
Tel +39.3351346768