International Organisation for Migration (IOM) director-general Brunson McKinley is attending a conference on Assisted Voluntary Returns (AVRs), that opens tomorrow in Valletta.

The one-day conference, which is supported by the European Refugee Fund, the Government of Malta and the 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. The conference also coincides with International Migrants Day.

Participants will consider initiatives that have been put in place to introduce the option of AVRs for asylum seekers, failed asylum seekers, refugees and people having 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 returns is one of the core components of migration management policies, and it needs to be addressed in a thorough manner,” said Mr McKinley.

Speakers will include Malta’s Deputy Prime Minister and Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg and Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo,as well as represent-atives from UNHCR, the European Commission and the Italian Government.

Dr Borg emphasised that “the conference marks an important land-mark in the development of increased cooperation with the organisation, which will be further consolidated through the formal signing of the status agreement.”