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ODIHR hosts panel discussion on migrant integration in Poland ahead of International Migrants Day

15 December 2017
Christine Hirst, Deputy Head of the ODIHR Democratization Department, addresses participants in the ODIHR event on migrant integration in Poland, as Anna Rostocka, Director of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) office in Warsaw, and Pawel Wierdak, Director of the Council of Europe Office in Warsaw, listen. Warsaw, 15 December 2017. (OSCE/Maria Kuchma) Photo details

A panel discussion on migrant integration issues in Poland, hosted by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), took place in Warsaw on 15 December 2017 in the run-up to the International Migrants Day on 18 December.

The event enabled representatives of Polish national and local authorities responsible for migration issues to exchange views and experiences with representatives of civil society and international organizations (the Council of Europe, the International Organisation for Migration and the UN Refugee Agency), as well as the academic community. Thirty-seven participants, including 32 women and 5 men, attended the event. 

Discussions focused on the partnerships among different stakeholders and the relations between migrant and host communities in Poland.

“Establishing partnerships and maintaining close co-operation among key stakeholders to support migrant integration is both a challenge and a precondition for creating an inclusive society,” said Christine Hirst, Deputy Head of ODIHR’s Democratization Department. “ODIHR continues to support the OSCE participating States in developing and implementing national migrant integration policies.”

“I am glad to share my experience of working with migrants in Poland, to speak about the problems of migrants and ways to solve them,” said Samir Saadi of the Multicultural Centre, a municipal-NGO platform for promoting migrant integration in Warsaw.

Participants shared information on national good practices and discussed challenges and limitations to ensuring effective co-operation and co-ordination among the authorities and civil society actors on key aspects of integration, such as providing access to information and services, and to language and civic orientation, with a special emphasis on less advantaged migrant groups. Particular attention was also paid to the role of Polish authorities and civil society in countering xenophobia and promoting an inclusive society.