IOM in Czechia

IOM in Czechia has been active since 1998.

Among its main activities belong the following:

• Assisted voluntary returns and reintegration
• Migration and development
• Labor migration
• Prevention and combatting of trafficking in human beings
• Support to capacity building in migration management
• Integration of foreigners in the Czech Republic
• Information sharing on migration issues.

Migration is considered one of the defining global issues of the early twenty-first century, as more and more people are on the move today than at any other point in human history. 

Discourse on migration involves many perspectives. There is growing recognition that migration is an essential and inevitable component of the economic and social life of every State, and that orderly and properly managed migration can be beneficial for both individuals and societies.

Historical insight to IOM activities and projects in Czechia

Prevention of trafficking in human beings
The first major project of the local IOM office, which was headed by Alena Slámová until 2000, was to address and prevent the trafficking of Czech citizens abroad, mainly women to Italy and Albania. In addition to this issue, the office also worked on projects focused on Roma communities in Czechia, focusing on alternative accommodation in addition to a series of studies and research.

Large Assisted Voluntary Return Programme
In 2000, Lucie Sládková took up the position of Director of the IOM Czechia and led the office for the next nineteen years. At that time, the IOM in Czechia joined the Assisted Voluntary Return (AVR) programme, which was implemented here in cooperation with the Refugee Facilities Administration and the Ministry of the Interior until 2022.

Assisted Voluntary Returns (AVRs) are one of the IOM's flagship programmes designed for the voluntary return of migrants or refugees back to their country of origin. These programmes provide assistance and support in the organisation and implementation of the return, including assistance with travel documents, logistics and, where appropriate, the provision of financial support or reintegration assistance upon return. The aim is to enable people to return voluntarily to their country of origin with dignity and support if they decide to leave the country to which they have migrated. The programme primarily targets people for whom returning to their country of origin is a better option than remaining in the host country, whether for economic, family, or legal reasons.

The director, Lucie Sládková, advocated for expanding the target group of the voluntary return program to include foreigners in detention facilities for foreigners (ZZC), where the program was offered to migrants as a dignified alternative to deportation. In total, IOM has assisted over 7,500 people in Czechia with voluntary return to their countries of origin. The record year was 2009, when 2,420 people went home through the programme, including 1,509 Mongolian citizens. This was due to the economic crisis, with massive layoffs in factories, which also affected foreign workers.

Czechia joins the EU
With Czechia's accession to the European Union, the migration situation has fundamentally changed, with applications for international protection dropping by up to 90 %. At that time, for example, the IOM operated an information line for Romani migrants emigrating to the United Kingdom to raise awareness of their rights and obligations.

Before Czechia joined the Schengen area at the end of 2007, it had very active border controls. The Foreign Police and the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic, in cooperation with the IOM, provided training in Moldova, Georgia and Turkmenistan to increase capacity in the area of border controls. Together with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, IOM ran a programme until 2008 aimed at promoting legal labour migration as a key tool for national migration management. The programme targeted the recruitment of highly skilled workers, mainly from Central Asian countries, Mongolia, but also Bulgaria and Romania.

Summer School of Migration Studies
The year 2009 brought the first edition of the Summer School of Migration Studies, which brought together experts in the field of human migration. The curriculum, which has become an internationally recognised forum attracting participants from all over the world, combines academic sessions with practical workshops, contributing to a better understanding of migration trends and policies. Currently, the Migration Studies Summer School is organised by the Geomigration Centre in cooperation with IOM Czechia.

Evacuation of refugees from Burma
In 2012, IOM worked with the Czech state apparatus to resettle Burmese refugees who were living in extreme conditions in Thailand and Malaysia, where the Geneva Convention was not in force. At the time, the migration policy led by Tomáš Haišman focused on supporting smaller but most vulnerable groups of people in actual danger, and the programme emphasised Czechia's humanitarian commitment.

Responding to migration waves
During the migration situation in 2015 and 2016, IOM cooperated intensively with the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic in monitoring and analysing the migration routes of Turkey, Greece, and Italy. For five years until 2021, the organisation supplied the Czech state with reports on these migration routes daily.

Cooperation with the Prague City Hall
In 2017 and 2018, the IOM Czechia was also involved in cooperation with the Prague City Hall in organising major international conferences. These conferences focused on sharing best practices and strategies for cities and municipalities on migrant integration, highlighting the importance of a local approach to global challenges.

The period of the COVID-19 pandemic
The Director of IOM Czechia from September 2020 to September 2021 was Eva Sebbane. During this period, IOM was almost exclusively dedicated to the voluntary return programme. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many factories had to significantly reduce production, resulting in massive layoffs of workers, often third-country nationals. During this period, IOM arranged for the safe return home of more than 300 Mongolian workers.

Ukrainian Response

Since February 2022, IOM has focused intensively on assisting the situation related to the arrival of more than half a million refugees from Ukraine. Thanks to the solidarity of donor governments from other countries, in less than two years IOM has provided financial support of 7,6 million USD (as for end of 2023) in more than 100 municipalities in the country, either directly or through partner organizations, to effectively assist refugees.