Capacity Development and Training for Return Counsellors (CADRE) - Manual for the Trainees

Over the last few years, the return of irregular migrants and asylum seekers - whose protection claims have been rejected - and their reintegration into the country of origin has become a priority in Europe. Programmes to assist returning migrants with reintegration into their countries and communities of origin have proliferated in the last decade. These reintegration programmes aim to ease the challenges that migrants face after they return; for example, providing assistance to start a business, or medical care. However, there is a newfound recognition among European policymakers and practitioners that successful reintegration starts before the return, and an increasing number of countries are investing in pre-departure counselling. Individualised return counselling before migrants return, can help them mentally prepare for the journey ahead, develop a clear picture of life after they return, and plan the first steps of their reintegration process, such as enrolling in a school or finding a job. Yet, the approaches of EU Member States to pre-departure counselling continue to differ greatly in terms of the methods they use, the level and intensity of the return counselling provided, and the extent to which they involve partners in the countries of return.

Building on the operational manual developed in a series of meetings within the framework of the European Return and Reintegration Network (ERRIN) in ERRIN Member countries, the project Capacity Development and Training for Return Counsellors (CADRE) advanced the idea of developing a common European return counselling framework. Through the exchange of good practices, development of technical tools and capacity building of return counsellors across Europe, the CADRE project aimed to improve training practices and capacity development opportunities offered to return counsellors and thus, contribute to increased harmonization and quality of pre-departure counselling in Europe.

This manual for trainees was developed during 2021 and 2022 as a deliverable of the CADRE project funded within the framework of ERRIN. The manual was drafted and reviewed by the CADRE Project Management Unit (PMU) at the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) in collaboration with the ERRIN PMU, external experts and members of the CADRE expert group. The final module in this manual (Module 5) on return counselling of victims of trafficking in human beings was developed in cooperation with the ERRIN-funded PROSPECT project.