IOM is today hosting a three-day workshop in Ulaanbaatar for 25 public officials, academics, trade union members and staff from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to strengthen labour migration management and promote a more coordinated response between stakeholders.

The workshop, attended by officials from the Mongolian Immigration Agency, the Ministries of Justice and Home Affairs, Labour and Social Welfare, Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the General Registration Office, addresses the challenge of managing the country's increasing numbers of in-bound and out-bound labour migrants.

"As Mongolia continues to enhance the protection of migrant rights and combat irregular migration, there is a need for all stakeholders to improve coordination, share  expertise and discuss best practices," says Kieran Best, who manages IOM's "Capacity Building for Migration Management (CBMM) in Mongolia" project.

The CBMM project is a broad cooperation initiative comprising of border assessments, trainings and study tours.

The Ulaanbaatar training, facilitated by experts from IOM, the Mongolian government, academia and the NGO community, is funded by IOM through its 1035 Facility for Member States.

"The workshop will contribute greatly to labour migration management at a time when the government of Mongolia is making efforts to improve labour emigration and immigration management policies and legislation. We need to enhance protection of Mongolian migrant workers' rights and to better regulate the employment status of foreign workers in Mongolia," said Davaa Nyamkhuu, Vice Minister for Labour and Social Welfare speaking at the opening of the workshop.

"This training in response to identified government needs will strengthen the capacity of staff to harmonize our labour admission, cross-border migration and recruitment agency systems with international legal norms and best practice," said Dashdorj Muren, Director-General of the Mongolian Immigration Agency.

Since 2007 IOM has also implemented a series of counter-trafficking initiatives, including trainings for public officials, NGO staff and social workers, as well as direct assistance to victims of trafficking, in Mongolia.

For more information please contact:

Kieran Best
IOM Beijing
Tel: +86 10 8532 5303, Ext. 203
E-mail: kgormanbest@iom.int