Better conditions for illegal migrants in Moldova

Foreigners illegally staying in Moldova will benefit of decent living conditions at a Temporary Accommodation Center for Illegal Migrants (TACIM), recently renovated, till authorities take decisions to expel them or to accept their refugee applications. As the Info-Prim Neo news agency reports, the inauguration ceremony of the TACIM from within the Migration and Asylum Bureau of the Interior Ministry took place on April 4. According to Interior Ministry specialists, the initiative comes on the background of the global rise in the illegal migration and especially in the movement towards the present and future borders of Europe, which have a tremendous impact on Moldova, and create new challenges for authorities. A communiqué of the Interior Ministry reads that putting in commission the Center is an important step concerning the enhancement of the Moldovan authorities’ ability in managing migration and protecting a special category of migrants. The renovated Center can hold as many as 114 people. They will have all the necessary conditions, including a system of insuring their rights under European and international standards. They can also benefit of a medical center, sanitation systems, kitchen and leisure facilities as a sports fields and a weight-lifting room. The Center has been renovated and outfitted within the project “Strengthening migration management in Belarus and Moldova MIGRABEL-MIGRAMOL” implemented by the International Organization for Migration in cooperation with the Interior Ministry and funded by the European Commission and Finland’s Foreign Ministry. According to an annual report of the Migration and Asylum Bureau, this year, 305 foreign citizens were expelled from Moldova, most of them having come from Russia, Ukraine and Turkey.