The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Belarus hosted multistakeholder consultations on the Migration Governance Indicators (MGI), bringing together national and international partners to review key findings from Belarus’s MGI assessment.

The MGI is a tool based on policy inputs, which offers insights on policy levers that countries can use to develop their migration governance. Following its launch in Belarus in April 2024, the MGI process included extensive interviews with stakeholders, desk research, and discussions on migration policy priorities.  

This week’s consultations gathered relevant national governmental partners, UN agencies and non-governmental organizations to discuss the draft MGI report. Participants exchanged ideas and proposed actionable recommendations to align Belarus’s migration governance and data management processes with international standards.

“The ability to collect, analyze, and integrate migration data is critical for effective governance and policymaking,” emphasized Mahym Orazmuhammedova, IOM Belarus Chief of Missionduring the event. “The successful implementation of MGI reinforces Belarus’s commitment to strengthening data-driven decision-making in migration policy.” She emphasized that MGI process is not a ranking of countries, but identification of good practices and areas in migration governance for further development.

Alexey Begun, Head of the Department of Citizenship and Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus expressed the gratitude for internation experts’ efforts in assessing national migration governance structures and confirmed the governmental interest in practice-oriented final MGI report that will provide specific ideas for migration policy improvements in line with best international practices.

The event was conducted within the international technical assistance project “Strengthening the Implementation, Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting of Migration-Related SDGs in Belarus” implemented by IOM in coordination with the Ministry of Interior of Belarus and with financial support of IOM Development Fund.