IOM in collaboration with the Indonesian Migrant Worker Protection Agency, held a series of training on Migration and Local Development in three cities: Mataram (23-25 May), Semarang (29-31 May), and Makassar (13-14 June). The training was participated by local government officials and other civil societies.

The Director of Systems and Strategy for the Placement and Protection of the Asian-African Region, Indonesian Migrant Worker Protection Agency (BP2MI), Lismia Elita, highlighted the importance of collaboration between stakeholders to ensure safe migration during her opening remarks in Mataram. “Undocumented migrant workers returning from several placement countries through deportation/repatriation are mostly vulnerable. They include the sick, elderly, indicated victims of the Crime of Trafficking in Persons (TPPO), children and unaccompanied children. Our data reported that during 2022, there were a total of 12,818 undocumented migrant workers returned to their place of origin where 90% were female. To strengthen migration governance and promote and implement safe migartion routes, collaboration between the Central Government, Regional Governments and Civil Society is needed,” Lismia explained.

IOM Programme Officer, Zena van Bemmel-Faulkner, in her remark said, “The Joint Migration and Development Initiative training aims at strengthening the capacities of local authorities to plan, develop and implement effective migration and development policies. It reinforces the attention and focus on the local dimension: drivers and impacts of migration are often most strongly felt at the local level where local authorities are at the frontline in providing services to migrants and returnees, as you may have experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The training introduced the JMDI Toolbox to participants as a guide for managing migration and maximizing the potential of migration at the local level, provided inventory of best practices and local leadership to support migration management and facilitated local stakeholders to learn from each other about best practices in managing migration issues. The training is expected to increase government and non-government stakeholders’ capacity so that they can formulate local responsive migration policy and implement evidence-based policies related to migration to address the risks and vulnerability of migrants. This way, development benefit of human mobility can be harnessed for Indonesian migrants, their households, and their host and home communities, while ensuring their protection throughout the migration cycles.

The training was part of the Migration Governance for Sustainable Development in Indonesia (2022-2023), implemented by IOM, together with UN Women and UNDP that aim to enhanced government stakeholders’ capacity at sub-national level to maximize migration’s development potential.