On 7 September 2017 in Lisbon, the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees, Tomáš Boček, participated in the opening panel of the Launching Conference of the Parliamentary Network on Diaspora Policies, set up by parliamentarians from Council of Europe member states and southern Mediterranean partner countries. In his speech, he stressed that diasporas play a crucial role in the integration of migrants in host societies and that the new parliamentary network will help spread good practices and generate discussion in national parliaments.

On 14-15 September 2017, Ambassador Boček is visiting Brussels to have meetings with representatives of the European Commission and the European External Action Service on cooperation in the field of migration and refugees.

On 25-26 September 2017, the Special Representative will participate in the conference “Immigration Detention of Children: Coming to a Close?” hosted by the Czech Chairmanship of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers. The conference will provide a forum for leading international and Czech human-rights experts who will exchange views on, among others, the situation of migrant children held in detention, relevant international human rights standards and initiatives to bring an end to the immigration detention of children.