Dear Members and Partners,

I am delighted to provide some updates as part of IDC’s June Newsletter. Firstly, IDC is delighted to welcome Hannah Cooper as the new Europe Regional Advocacy Coordinator. Hannah was successful in a very competitive process with around 118 applicants. She will start in July, and we are very excited that she will be joining our team to help us advocate against detention and further the implementation of ATDs in Europe. She will also co-coordinate the European Alternatives to Detention Network along with our partners at PICUM, and develop a strategic plan to upscale ATDs in Europe. We would like to thank Barbara Pilz for her amazing work as Acting Europe Regional Coordinator during this transition period, and wish her all the best in her future endeavours!

This year, IDC is embarking on a process to review our Membership Strategy and Membership Structure. Our members are very important to us and we would like them to be at the centre of all our efforts! We aim for the new membership strategy to reflect this commitment. We are excited about this process, and will be contacting key members for their input soon.

IDC has also been busy preparing for the second Global Peer Learning on ATD as one of the co-leads of the UN Network for Migration Working Group on ATD alongside UNICEF and UNHCR. The first Global Peer-Learning took place in November 2020, and was attended by representatives from more than 60 member States. We are looking forward to the second peer-learning event coming up at the end of June!

Additionally during this time, IDC has been active in the Global Compact for Migration Regional Reviews. We were part of the panel on “Protecting migrants through rights-based border governance and border management measures” at the Asia Pacific GCM Regional Review from 10th to 12th March  and also co-organised a side event on “Implementing Alternatives to Detention: Lessons Learned from the Global Pandemic” with the Thai Royal Government, Bonigi Monitoring and the UN Mayor Group on Children and Youth as part of the Regional Review. We also co-hosted another side event with Save the Children and UNICEF as part of the Regional Review. IDC was also active in the Latin American Regional Review which took place from to 26-28 April. IDC participated in regional multi-stakeholder consultations and facilitated the Thematic Roundtable on “Protecting the human rights, safety and wellbeing of migrants” during the Review. IDC and its partners will also participate in Africa Regional Review events during June and July. We are happy to participate actively in these Regional Reviews, and look forward to continuing working towards the International Migration Review Forum in 2022.

I am also happy to share with you that IDC has been appointed as the civil society representative on the Steering Committee of the Migration Multi Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) alongside with the Mayors Migration Council and the UN Rapporteur on the Rights of Migrants, as well as some member states and UN agencies. We are delighted with this appointment and will strive to play an effective role as part of the MPTF.

I look forward to keeping you informed of IDC’s developments in the future, and to continuing our work with you!

Kind regards,

Carolina

Carolina Gottardo, IDC Executive Director