The CSTO Coordination Council on Combating Nelegal Migration found it expedient to make Operation Nelegal the status of a permanently operating CSTO regional operation

The CSTO Coordination Council on Combating Illegal Migration found it expedient to make Operation Illegal the status of a permanent regional CSTO operation

On March 31, 2017 in Moscow at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia chaired by the First Deputy Minister of the Interior of the Russian Federation, Police Colonel General Alexander Gorovoy, the 20th regular meeting of the Coordinating Council of the heads of the competent authorities of the CSTO member states on combating illegal migration. He addressed the participants of the meeting with a welcoming speech: “In the conditions of ever-opening borders, both economic and political, we record the increase in migration. This once again confirms the correctness of the decision taken 10 years ago to establish a coordination council. Today, we are ready for any dialogue in order to minimize the risks for citizens of some states to stay on the territory of another state. ”

Acting Secretary General of the CSTO Valery Semerikov took part in the meeting of the Coordination Council. In his speech, he focused the attention of the Coordination Coincil of the Heads of the CSTO Competent Bodies on Combating Illegal Migration  members on the role and place of combating illegal migration in the general system of counteracting the challenges and threats to the security of the CSTO member states. “It is necessary to concentrate the main efforts in the joint fight against criminal groups engaged in illegal migration, including trafficking in human beings, as well as on issues of training specialists for the migration services of the Organization’s member states, ”said V. Semerikov.

Valery Semerikov declared the readiness of the CSTO in collaboration with interested ministries and departments to work related to refugees from conflict zones. The mechanism for receiving a large number of refugees was practically worked out last year at the exercises of the CSTO Peacekeeping Forces “The Indestructible Brotherhood 2016” on the territory of the Republic of Belarus and now it will be improved.

The Acting Secretary General of the CSTO stressed the importance and importance of Operation Illegal, which is held annually in the CSTO format. He noted that since 2008, over 1 million violations of immigration laws had been identified during Operation Nelegal, more than 400 criminal cases involving human trafficking had been initiated, and more than 1,600 people were on the international wanted list.

Coordination Coincil of the Heads of the CSTO Competent Bodies on Combating Illegal Migration  recognized the proposal of the CSTO Secretariat to give annual preventive measures to counter illegal migration, under the code name Nelegal, the status of a permanently operating regional CSTO operation, and also approved the plan of Operation Nelegal 2017. “For the formalization of this work, members of the Coordination Coincil of the Heads of the CSTO Competent Bodies on Combating Illegal Migration  recommended the CSTO Secretariat to prepare an Agreement between the CSTO member states on joint work on combating illegal migration and submit it to the statutory bodies,” Valery Semerikov said.

The meeting participants positively evaluated the measures taken by the competent authorities of the CSTO member states to control migration issues and strengthen the fight against illegal migration. The Coordination Coincil of the Heads of the CSTO Competent Bodies on Combating Illegal Migration  meeting reviewed the results of training and advanced training of specialists in combating illegal migration in the basic educational institution of the CSTO - the All-Russian Institute of Advanced Training of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and the results of the implementation of decisions taken at previous meetings of the Coordination Council.

Delegations of the CSTO member states, representatives of the Executive Committee of the CIS, the Eurasian Economic Commission, the Coordination Service of the Council of Commanders of the Border Troops of the CIS, the Bureau for the Coordination of Combating Organized Crime and Other Dangerous Crime on the Territories of the CIS Member States attended the meeting. , as well as UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

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