INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZA- TION FOR MIGRATION

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1 I INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZA- TION FOR MIGRATION West and Central Africa NEWSLETTER - DECEMBER 2012 Participants who attended the MIDWA Conference in Dakar, (see article on page 2) INSIDE THIS ISSUE: IOM Director General visits in Senegal 2 South South migration in West Africa 3 Internally displaced persons in Mali 4 Installation SIRP at Maya Maya Airport of Brazzaville in Congo 4 International Migration Law Course Heldin Lomé, Togo 5 Project Development Training 6 Field visit of the German Ambassador to a project in Ridina, Chad 6 IOM participation to the EU Election Observation Missions, Sierra Leone 7 Validation workshop on migrant remittances study in Benin 7

2 Page 2 IOM DIRECTOR GENERAL VISITS IN SENEGAL Participants who attended the MIDWA Conference O n Monday 9th July 2012, IOM s Director General, Mr. William Lacy Swing, has undertakeen an official visited Senegal. The purpose of the Director General s visit was to chair the conference on the institutional capacity of the migration dialogue for West Africa (MIDWA) organized by ECOWAS with the financial support of the Swiss Agency for Development & Cooperation and the technical support of IOM. The conference aimed to strengthen MIDWA as an action-oriented and sustainable regional consultative process on migration in the ECOWAS region, through the adoption of a draft operating modalities for MIDWA, and the holding of consultations on priority issues to be addressed in the coming years of MIDWA. nership and cooperation with the government of Senegal. The Director General extended an invitation to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Senegalese Abroad to take part in the Ministerial Forum on the Diaspora that IOM will also organize in April 2013, ahead of the September 2013 High Level Dialogue on Migration at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. During his visit to Senegal, the Director General also met with staff at IOM Dakar, and thanked them for their work in support of migrants in Senegal and the region. The day ended with a reception hosted by the Swiss Ambassador to Senegal. The conference concluded with the adoption of a Communiqué proposing MIDWA Operating Modalities to be submitted to the ECOWAS Council of Minister for consideration and approval. The conference was attended by ECOWAS Member States, as well representatives of Civil Society Organizations and International Organizations. While in Dakar, Ambassador Swing held meetings with Senegalese Prime Minister Abdoul M Baye and Foreign Minister and of Senegalese Abroad Alioune Badara Cissé to discuss IOM s long-standing parte- Participants at the opening Ceremony of the Conference

3 Page 3 Fostering the development impact of South-South Migration in West Africa through enhanced knowledge and cooperation ment in the sub-region, by producing concrete recommendations on how to foster such linkages through new policies, action-oriented partenerships and innovative projects on the ground. The conference primarily addressed intra-regional migration within the ECOWAS region. South-South mobility from ECOWAS Member States to neighbouring countries, as well as the rest of the world, was also touched upon. Opening Ceremony of the conference on South South migration in West Africa F rom 10th to 11 th July 2012, a conference on- Fostering the development impact of South- South Migration in West Africa was held in Dakar, organized by ECOWAS with the financial support of the Swiss Agency for Development & Cooperation and the technical support of IOM. The conference was organized back-to-back with the MIDWA confernce held on 9th July, and was attended by ECOWAS member States, as well representatives of Civil Society organizations and International Organizations. The conference onfostering the development impact of South-South Migration in West Africa was a continuation of the outcome-oriented discussions on South-South Migration lauched during the 2011 Swiss Presidency of the GFMD. The conference aimed to closethe knowledge and evidence gap on the key-parameters of South-South migration in West Africa and its impact on develop Four thematic areas were addressed during the conference: 1. Facilitating the sustainable development impact of the diaspora in the region; 2. The flow of remittances within West Africa volume, impact and impediments; 3. A gender sensitive analysis of the socio economic impact of South South migration; and 4. How effective migration management can enhance the development impact of South South mobility. The conference concluded with recommendations on how to better foster the development impact of South - South Migration in West Africa. It was proposed that recommendations produced at the conference will be submitted for discussion at Round Table session 2.2 of the GFMD Summit in Mauritius.

4 Page 4 THE INTERNALLY DISPLACED IN MALI I OM Mali has released the latest results on the current situation of IDPs in Mali, based on the results from Tracking and Monitoring System project implemented by IOM in coordination with the Displaced Persons Commission and funded by ECHO and OFDA. The overall IDP population in Mali at the end of November stands at a approximately 198,558 persons, involving an estimated 31,063 households. The threat of imminent military action exacerbating the insecurity situation, the constant violation of human rights, insufficient livelihoods and access to basic services, as well as the general lack of assistance to IDPS. In October 2012, IOM Mali appealed for US$6 million to be able to continue to provide a range of emergency relief services to IDPs and impoverrished host families in Mali, who have to share their meagre resources with the displaced. INSTALLATION OF THE PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION AND REGISTRATION SYS- TEM (PIRS) AT MAYA MAYA AIRPORT OF BRAZZAVILLE IN THE REPUBLIC OF CONGO This initiative which is part of the project Capacity building Migration Management for Congo and was funded by the IOM Development Fund, aims to contribute to the efforts of the Republic of Congo to develop a long-term strategy for the development of a program of migration management in the country. The Congolese government has welcomed this initiative and hopes that PIRS will be extended to other borders of the Republic of Congo. Airport Manager using the technical equipment (SIRP) O n Tuesday 11th November 2012, IOM Office in the Republic of Congo installed the technical equipment for the personal identification and Registration System (PIRS) for 15 border posts in Congo. Six (6) border agents were trained on how to use PIRS. PIRS was officially handed over to the Director of Cabinet at the Minister of the Interior and Decentralization in the presence of the Director General for the Surveillance of the Territory (DGST) of the Republic of Congo. IOM Congo Brazzaville Staff beside of passport control facilities in the international airport of Brazzaville Maya Maya

5 Page 5 INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION LAW COURSE HELDIN, LOME, TOGO FROM 23 TO 24 OCTOBER 2012 OM Head of Office and Togo Minister of Foreign I Affairs and Cooperation Open the First International Migration Law Course in Togo - The Course was inauguratedon the 23 rd October by M. Timon Van Lidth, IOM Head of Office in Burkina Faso and Togo and H. E. M. Elliot Ohin, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Togo. In his opening speech Mr. Van Lidth declared the importance of a close collaboration of IOM and the local authorities in order to improve the management of migration: Most of migratory movements are not new, but its visibility has been arisen. There is a growing awareness of the impacts in the economic, social, political and cultural spheres of the society. Migration has become now an important issue in governments agendas. H.E. Elliot Ohin, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Togo, who warmly thanked IOM for orga- M. Gaspard Afokpa, Director General of the Department of Togolese Living Abroad, Ministry of ForeignAffairs and Cooperation of Togo, Mrs. Geetrui Lanneau, IOM Expert and Participants H.E. Minister Ohin (Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation) and Mr. Van Lidth (IOM Head of Office) nizing such event in his country, stated that West Africa is a region with a high index of complex migration fluxes. Minister Ohin, noted the challenges ahead of the migration management in the ECOWASregion and stated: I would like to manifest the support and availability of the Government of Togo to cooperate with IOM in the re gion. I am convinced that this course will contribute to a better migration management. The training was conducted by IOM experts from Geneva and Dakar and was addressed to government high officials of Benin, Burkina Faso and Togo, representing different ministries and government agencies in charge of Immigration, Foreign Affairs, Diaspora, Justice, Refugee, Human Rights, Social Affairs and Police. For two days, the training covered a range of the important subjects related to migration management and the rights of migrants: International Law instruments, migration terminology, smuggling of migrants, human trafficking, free movement in the ECOWAS space, detention and security, as well as unaccompanied minors among others. The sessions were very interactive with case studies and intense discussions on the experiences and views of the participants. The training was organized in line with IOM s mission to disseminate International Migration Law in order to enhance a humane and orderly management of migration. The ultimate goal of the workshop was to reinforce the capacities of the Governments of Benin, Burkina Faso and Togo to deal with migration issues and the rights of migrants. The participants expressed their gratitude to IOM for having organized this training and called for more training in the future.

6 PROJECT DEVELOPMENT TRAINING IN DAKAR Page 6 IOM Project Handbook launched in the context of IOM s structural reform in The interactive training was conducted by Ms. Laura Lungarotti, Regional Migrant assistance Specialist and Ms. Geertrui Lanneau, Regional Labour Migration & development Specialist and Ms. Alexia Scarlett, Senior Regional Liaison & Policy Officer. A Participants in the training, Dakar, August 2012 three-day training on project development organized by the IOM Regional Office for West and Central Africa took place from 28 th to 30 th of August 2012 to share tools and procedures regarding IOM new project development manual. Participants expressed their satisfaction after the training, and their appreciation at being equiped with the necessary tools to develop projects under IOM s new rules and procedures. They also appreciated the balance between the theoretical and practical exercises during the training. Xixteen (16) staff members from 6 different IOM country offices in the West Africa region (Cote d Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Niger, Senegal and Chad) attended the training. The training s main objective was to strengthen participants understanding of the IOM project cycle from the conceptualization of a project through its evaluation, based on the Participants at the Project Development training, Dakar FIELD VISIT OF THE GERMAN AMBASSADOR TO PSYCHOSOCIAL REINTEGRATION PROJECT IN RIDINA, CHAD. The objective of the Ambassador s visit was to gain a deeper understanding of the situation of the returnees in the northern communities and the ongoing IOM operations. While IOM facilitated the process, communities proudly explained objectives of the projects, challenges of their communities as well as the overall reintegration process of the returnees to the Ambassador. German Ambassador with Beneficiaries of Psychosocial Reintegration project in Ridina, Chad, 16 November 2012 B etween November 15th and November 22 nd the German Ambassador Helmut Kulitz visited the project implementation sites of the German funded projects : Psychosocial Reintegration for Returnees from Libya into Communities of High Return, Duration: Dec 2011 Nov 2012; Social Reintegration of Returnees from Libya in Communities of High Return through Community Stabilization, Duration: May 2012-April Several communities were visited by the German Ambassador including those of Muzragi and Chaddra. The funds available for these communities have been used for an irrigation system for the community gardens in Muzragi and the construction of two consultation rooms for the local clinic in Chaddra's Community. Over the course of the 7-day visit the Ambassador repeatedly stated his positive impression with the project implementation and his admiration for the hard work of the IOM field teams in the sometimes very remote and difficult field locations.

7 IOM PARTICIPATION TO THE EU ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSIONS (EU EOMs) IN SIERRA LEONE Page 7 In September 2012, the European Commission appointed IOM as Service Provider for the European Union Election Observation Mission to Sierra Leone Presidential and Legislative Elections (EU EOM Sierra Leone 2012). In its role as Service Provider, IOM was tasked with the provision of all logistical, security, IT, finance and administrative support required to ensure the deployment and operation of the EU EOM. IOM deployed its team (7 internationals) to Freetown in the end of September, to set up the mission s head office, while simultaneously preparing for the arrival of a group of eight election analysts, 28 long term observers, and 50 short term observers. IOM was in charge of operations and security for more than 100 international observers who were held on 17th oh November The mission also included around 140 national staff, deployed throughout the country, where elections were held on 17 th of November The mission also European Union Election Observers receiving election kits for IOM staff included around 140 national staff, consisting of assistants, interpreters and drivers. The mission will close, successfully, by the end of the year, with the donation, in coordination with the EU regulations, of all items used in the mission to local beneficiaries (NGOs, hospitals, etc.) in Sierra Leone. VALIDATION WORKSHOP ON MIGRANT REMITTANCES STUDY IN BENIN Parcitipants who attended the workshop in Cotonou, Benin In the framework of the research project on migrant remittances in Benin, funded by the IOM Development Fund, a workshop was held on 30 th October in the premises of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in order to validate the project study. The workshop aimed to present the findings of the data collection on migrant remittances which was carried out in four communes in Benin (Porto- Novo, Cotonou, Parakou and Djougou). The workshop was chaired by Mr. Eusebius Agbangla, Deputy Secretary General, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ms. Carmela Godeau, Regional Director of the IOM regional Office for West and Central Africa and Mr. Eric Adja, General Director of the International Observatory of Migrant Remittances. The findings of this study will enable the Government to have at its disposal reference materials and baseline indicators based on the characteristics of migrants, remittances channels and their use as well as their impact on households. Regional Office ( RO) for West and Central Africa, address: Résidence Hôtelière des Mamelles, Dakar P.O. BOX Dakar-Fann, Senegal, Tel: Fax: E - Website: Mail: rodakar@iom.int We are interested in your opinion, please provide your comments to the editor: Lucie Bertille MOTUIN lbmotuin@iom.int IOM REGIONAL NEWS West and Central Africa