Project Summary:

The overall objective of the Global Joint Programme “Mainstreaming of Migration into National Development Strategies” is to enable governments and their partners to better measure, and make more visible the human development impacts of migration; and to govern the migration phenomenon so as to increase the human development outcomes and mitigate the risks for migrants, their families and communities at origin and destination. Participating countries are: Republic of Moldova, Bangladesh, Ecuador, Jamaica, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Tunisia and Serbia. The implementing agencies in Moldova are UNDP and IOM.

Objectives:

• To enable countries to integrate migration into their national development planning documents and processes and to continually monitor and adjust their approaches to migration and development (M&D);
• To foster an active and mutually beneficial partnership among participating countries on migration and development, and migration mainstreaming in particular.

Expected results:

• National development strategies/policies (or plans of action) in at least eight countries that comprehensively address migration and its linkages with different development priorities and feature concrete policy objectives, interventions, and indicators of assessment on migration and human development (HD), including at local level, as appropriate;
• At least eight programme countries have established sustainable institutional mechanisms for intra-governmental coordination, including with local levels of government, as appropriate, and set-up participatory processes to formulate national strategies on migration and development (M&D) (as per outcome 1) and follow-up on their implementation and continuous adjustment;
• Two of at least eight programme countries have strategies and have built stakeholders’ capacities to implement the national policy/POA on M&D and have set up a participatory Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) framework;
• UNDP and IOM have developed analysis, guidance, and tools and conducted training activities to raise organizational awareness on the relationship between migration and human development and enable their offices and UNCT partners in the programme countries to provide coherent support to governments that wish to integrate migration into their national development strategy;
• South-South and South-North cooperation on migration and development are strengthened as part of the project through the participation of bilateral partners in the national migration mainstreaming process, the sharing of mainstreaming experiences at the regional and global levels, global and bilateral peer-to-peer learning mechanisms, and bilateral technical assistance missions.

Accomplishments:

• The national Migration Mainstreaming Proposal elaborated which provides the Government with concrete recommendations on mainstreaming migration into development planning in line with the National Development Strategy - Moldova 2020;
•  Study on Options for harnessing emigrants’ remittances and savings for the development of the Republic of Moldova helps Diaspora Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) use financial and human capital accumulated abroad for homeland development, philanthropic activities, economic investments and opening businesses;
• Government of Moldova committed human and financial resources to create and mandate an institution for continued coordination of the process of implementing public policies in the field of diaspora engagement – which in Moldova equates to the whole M&D sphere;
• The Diaspora Relations Bureau under the Prime Minister, part of the State Chancellery, was mandated in 2013 under phase 1 of the Programme, to implement the-whole-of-Government approach on ‘Diaspora’, which has recently been widened to include ‘Diaspora, Migration and Development’ (DMD);
• The National Action Plan (2014-2016) for the reintegration support of returned Moldovan migrants reviewed;
• The National Action Plan for Reintegration of Returning Migrants 2018-2020 was developed based on the reviewed international best practices;
• The development of a migration-mainstreamed and SDG-aligned new National Development Strategy 2030 is ongoing;
• The National Programme for Attracting Remittances into Economic Development PARE 1+1, was reviewed in collaboration with the Columbia University of New York, with recommendations put forward for the use of innovative instruments for engaging diaspora resources for homeland development (e.g. crowd-funding);
• The implementation of national M&D policy priorities, was supported through organization of a thematic diaspora seminar and consultations;
• The concept of a cooperation mechanism that will involve private sector in M&D policies development was developed, for further adoption;
• A comprehensive evaluation of the multi-agency electronic Integrated Information System Migration and Asylum (“SIIAMA”) was executed and recommendations made for up-grading were put forward and acted upon;
• Concept of a system for transfer of remittances between the National Postal Office in partnership with its foreign counterparts in destination countries of Moldovan migrants was developed, tested and put forward for use, and is operational. As a result, more cost effective, accessible and less costly remittances transfer channels were established via the use of the National Post services;  additionally, recommendations were made for developing other innovative services for transferring remittances;
• A comprehensive Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) framework for the national Migration and Development (M&D) policy / strategy and mainstreaming mechanism/framework Support the establishment was developed;
• Two UNDAFs (the 2014-2017 and the new UNDAF 2018-2022) were developed, integrating migration considerations.  The programme harnessed the UNCT coordination mechanisms on migration and development, capacitated the UN inter-agency cooperation on M&D via capacity building sessions targeted towards enhancing the coherence of the mainstreaming process into national and local development strategies and fostering UNCT institutions’ approach towards migration. The Programme mainstreamed all relevant M&D aspects into the Common Country Assessment, as a pre-requisite for the development of the new UNDAF;
• The capacity of the mechanism for efficient and inclusive intra-governmental coordination was continuously supported via workshops and trainings on migration, gender, diaspora and development, as well as on measuring the impact of migration organized in a broad range of ministries and public authorities;
• International best practices and models of engagement/collaboration between Central and Local public administration institutions on the M&D goals were reviewed and taken on board for conceptualizing the extension of the migration mainstreaming mechanism to the local level;
• Gender-sensitive perspectives were duly reflected in the outputs of the Programme and the government's legislative, regulatory and programing framework was reviewed from migration and gender-related perspectives;
• Migration and diaspora gender mainstreamed checklist was elaborated for the UNCT, validated and endorsed for regular use in country assistance programming;
• Two training curricula and course materials on M&D for Moldovan master students (one on social and economic aspects and one on institutional policy and legal issues) were developed, peer-reviewed, piloted in two universities, approved for inclusion in the academic programmes and published;
• Mass media representatives were raised awareness of migration- and gender-sensitive aspects of country’s development through the organization of a training.