Kyiv – Ukraine is one of the most migration-affected countries in Europe, with a diaspora of up to 20 million people, 1.36 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), and a cadre of 1.3 million labour migrants contributing to remittances of USD 11 billion – ten per cent of the GDP*. 

This week, the country made an important step towards coherence with best international practices in migration management, as its Migration Governance Indicators (MGI) Country Profile validated at an IOM-organized meeting in the capital Kyiv.  

The MGI Country Profile – a global joint IOM/Economist Intelligence Unit/Government initiative – provides authorities with insights on policy levers that they can use to enhance and strengthen migration governance.  

“With our MGI profile we will be able to compare our migration management policy with the best international practices in real time. Around 90 indicators of the profile will allow Ukrainian government entities to assess their programming and foster their strategic planning,” said Head of the State Migration Service (SMS) of Ukraine, Maksym Sokoliuk. 

In Ukraine’s case this will mean everything from countering human trafficking to border management; from the State’s communication with citizens willing to return from abroad to the access of irregular migrants to healthcare; from nourishing partnerships with the private sector to mainstreaming the development potential of migration into national strategic policies. 

Sokoliuk pledged the readiness of the SMS to lead the revision of the report every three years to keep this policy instrument up-to-date and useful.  

“We appreciate the commitment and openness of the Ukrainian Government in drafting the MGI country profile,” said IOM Ukraine’s Chief of Mission, Dr. Thomas Lothar Weiss. “The active involvement of over nine ministries and other state authorities in the development of the report made it really comprehensive and contributed to promoting migration as a cause, consequence and catalyst of development.”  

Deputy Minister of Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons of Ukraine, Heorhii Tuka, highlighted the importance to keep internal migration and the needs of displaced populations in focus of migration governance initiatives. “The international community’s support is vital and we are ready to further develop our cooperation with IOM for better reintegration of IDPs,” he said.  

The final version of the MGI report on Ukraine will be published later this year. It will help Ukraine advance its migration governance in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals, facilitating orderly, safe, and responsible mobility of people – be they Ukrainian labour migrants, returnees, foreigners coming to Ukraine or Ukrainian conflict-affected populations – through planned and well-managed policies.  

Watch video here of Dr. Thomas Weiss, IOM Chief of Mission in the Ukraine talking about Ukraine's Migration Governance Indicators (MGI) Country Profile. 

* State Statistic Service, National Bank of Ukraine 

Migration Governance Indicators is IOM’s global initiative implemented with the analytical support of The Economist Intelligence Unit and participation of the national migration-management authorities. To date, 50 countries have been included in the MGI. More details are available at https://migrationdataportal.org/ 

For more information please contact Varvara Zhluktenko at IOM Ukraine, Tel: +38 044 568 50 15, E-mail: vzhluktenko@iom.int