Throughout human history, migration has been a courageous expression of the individual’s will to overcome adversity and to live a better life. Today, globalization, together with advances in communications and transportation, has greatly increased the number of people who have the desire and the capacity to move to other places.

UN declares 18 December as International Migrants Day. 

Today, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Azerbaijan held an event for International Migrants Day and the closure of the “Consolidation of Migration and Border Management Capacities in Azerbaijan (CMBA)” project implemented by IOM.

The ceremony started with an opening speech of Vusal Huseynov, Chief of the State Migration Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan. He emphasized successful migration policy pursued by Azerbaijan. Vusal Huseynov supported enhancing attention to the issues concerning migration.

Commissioner for Human Rights of the Republic of Azerbaijan Elmira Suleymanova and UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan Ghulam Isaczai talked about migration problems in the world and regulation of migration processes in Azerbaijan.

"This year we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Azerbaijani parliament, first democratic Parliament in the Eastern Muslim world, which played an important role in the history of Azerbaijan and the region as a whole. Women received the right to elect and be elected for the first time in the Muslim East and it played a significant role in the social development of Azerbaijan," she said. 

Elmira Suleymanova also stated that Azerbaijan creates equal opportunities for all nations living within the borders of the country. 

"During the spread of xenophobia all around the world, Azerbaijan shows ultimate respect to all peoples living here". 

Commissioner for Human Rights of the Republic of Azerbaijan also reminded about more than one million of internally displaced persons and refugees appeared in Azerbaijan as a result of the occupation of Karabakh for almost 30 years.

"Migrants are welcomed in our country in terms of tolerance and rule of law. The government pays special attention to this issue by giving permission to reside and protecting the rights of these people. Improvement of socio-economic situation and mutual respect will simplify the migrations process and welfare the migrants. Azerbaijan Republic State Migration Service is a state body, which regulates the migration process in the country. It implements the protection of migrants' rights. At the same time, increasing the level of skills and abilities of the government officials on migration through additional courses and trainingis also an important factor". 

Elmira Suleymanova said that Ombudsman focuses not only on internal migrants but also foreign Azerbaijani migrants. Azerbaijan holds agreements with 5 states for the protection of the rights of Azerbaijani migrants and increases collaboration with them on migration issue. 

UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan Ghulam Isaczai emphasized the global importance of migrant problems and challenges. He highlighted the importance of the International Migration Compact, intergovernmentally negotiated agreement.

"The International Migration Compact is the first intergovernmentally negotiated agreement, prepared under the auspices of the United Nations, to cover all dimensions of international migration in a holistic and comprehensive manner. Migration provides immense opportunity and benefits – for the migrants, host communities and communities of origin. However, when poorly regulated, it can create significant challenges. These challenges include overwhelming social infrastructures with the unexpected arrival of large numbers of people and the deaths of migrants undertaking dangerous journeys".

Ghulam Isaczai noted the existence of challenges to migration and emphasized that people seek for a better life for migrants. He stated that in this regard, all states have to unite powers for dealing with this issue.

Head of Immigration and Border Management Unit, IOM Azerbaijan, Meltem Ersan congratulated all migrants on the occasion of the International Migrants Day.

"It is a great pleasure for us to share our achievements under the project “Consolidation of Migration and Border Management Capacities in Azerbaijan (CMBA)” funded by the European Union (EU), co-funded by BP and co-venturers, the United States Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) and State Migration Service of Azerbaijan at this special day while celebrating the International Migrants Day. This year, we are celebrating the International Migrants Day following the Marrakech Conference on Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM). The Intergovernmental Conference to adopt the GCM concluded 11 December 2018 following the adoption of the Global Compact". 

She also stated that the government of Azerbaijan has actively involved in the GCM process and has already organized six consultation meetings on different aspects of migration in 2017 in cooperation with IOM and shared its recommendations at the global level.  

"Recently on 21 November 2018, a multi-stakeholder consultation was held about cooperation between and among governments, international and intergovernmental organizations and civil society to formulation and implementation of Migration Strategy of the government of Azerbaijan in line with the Global Compact provisions. International Migrants Day is the occasion when we reaffirm that migration is a driving force for progress and development and highlight the importance of governments cooperating to ensure migration that is safe, orderly and dignified" Meltem Ersan said.

Head of Immigration and Border Management Unit called on all Member States and international organizations to join the IOM in commemorating International Migrants Day on 18 December 2018, and advocating for safe, orderly and dignified migration for all.