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Ward Lutin Programme Officer, Intergovernmental Consultations on Migration, Asylum and Refugees – IGC, Geneva, Switzerland
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As Programme Officer at the Intergovernmental Consultations on Migration, Asylum and Refugees (IGC), an informal, non-decision making forum for intergovernmental information exchange and policy debate, Ward is responsible for the exchange of information and good practices on issues relating to asylum, refugees and country of origin information (COI) between 17 states (Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States). He organises regular meetings of an Asylum and Refugees Working Group and Country of Origin Information Working Group, as well as multidisciplinary workshops. For an Exclusion Workshop recently held in Geneva, Ward made a comparative overview of exclusion practices in 13 participating states. He is also responsible for the update of the Report on Asylum Procedures (Blue Book), which contains 17 standardised country reports that aim to facilitate a quick comparison of policies and practices while also providing a comprehensive picture of the asylum determination continuum.
Prior to his arrival at IGC, Ward occupied several positions in Brussels at the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons – the Belgian government agency responsible for refugee status determination – including the position of Protection Officer Eastern Europe and Caucasus, COI researcher at the Caucasus Desk, Supervisor and International Relations Officer.