State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Ingrid Brockova met with Ola Henrikson, Regional Director of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Bratislava on Monday. Ingrid Brocková praised the long-term commitment of the organization in Slovakia and currently especially the organization's activities aimed at supporting and assisting people arriving from Ukraine. "The work of the UN system is often invisible to ordinary people. However, Russia's aggression against Ukraine has changed that. The refugee wave, which brought more than a million people into our vicinity, posed and still poses a difficult challenge. The majority of people fleeing the war are vulnerable groups - women, children, the elderly and the disabled - who require a sensitive approach.
The experience and expertise of the International Organization for Migration and other organizations is invaluable in this context." said Ingrid Brockova. IOM is the only one of the UN specialized agencies providing assistance to Ukraine that had an office in Slovakia before Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February. Since the beginning of the aggression, it has provided legal advice and information at all three border crossings, including the hotspot in Michalovce. It has also distributed aid to refugees from warehouses and raised awareness about the risks of human trafficking. State Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior Lubomir Sablica also met with Ola Henrikson, IOM Regional Director for the European Economic Community, EU and NATO; Zuzana Vatralova, Head of the IOM Office in Slovakia; and Valon Halimi, who is to replace the current head of the IOM Office in Slovakia.
Jan Orlovsky, Director of the Migration Office of the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic, was also present. The main topics of the meeting were to discuss further cooperation between the Ministry of the Interior and the International Organization for Migration, Slovakia's assistance to refugees from Ukraine or the Assisted Voluntary Return Programme and reintegration.
Source: TASR
