The President of the Republic today promulgated the law creating the new National Council for Migration and Asylum, a body that will be chaired by António Vitorino, former director general of the International Organization for Migration.
Information on the promulgation was published in a note on the Presidency of the Republic’s website.
The choice of António Vitorino was announced on August 2 by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (PCM), stating that the former socialist minister “accepted the government’s invitation to chair the new National Council for Migration and Asylum”.
This government advisory body will have around 20 members and “will be made up of two deputies appointed by the Assembly of the Republic”, the PCM added at the time.
In addition to António Vitorino, other personalities with “recognized merit” stand out, such as Cátia Batista, an economist who specializes in migration and holds a doctorate from the University of Chicago, and Gonçalo Saraiva Matias, a specialist in migration law and president of the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation (FFMS), the PCM said.
The composition of the new body will also include representatives of public entities, civil society, social partners, immigrant associations, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the area of migration, the Regional Governments of the Azores and Madeira, the National Association of Municipalities and also personalities of merit in the area of migration.
The mission of the new National Council for Migration and Asylum is to strategically debate and advise the government on migration and asylum policy, and was provided for in the Migration Action Plan.
