Managing Migration for the Benefit of All
Project Areas
To meet the challenges of migration management in today’s world, IOM established seven migration management service areas. Together with IOM Migration Management Services in Geneva, TCC provides project development support to IOM’s field activities and other units, which are categorized by country and by region and which fall within the seven migration service areas below.
Assisted Humanitarian Voluntary Return
One of IOM service areas is assisting different categories of migrants including: rejected asylum seekers, trafficked migrants, stranded students, victims of trafficking, labour migrants and qualified nationals to return home on a voluntary basis. IOM’s assisted return programmes have increasingly become the viable alternative for receiving states, due to the humanitarian and diplomatic character of the repatriation process.
Within the scope of assisted voluntary return programme, IOM works together with governments, NGOs and other organs in designing and implementing various migration management projects, focusing on activities such as information dissemination, counselling, medical assistance, travel allowances, return grants, transport assistance, reintegration and monitoring. The services offered include logistical and financial assistance in each of the three stages of returns: pre-departure, transportation and post-arrival.
In providing assisted return services to migrants, governments and the international community, IOM is actively engaged in a comprehensive migration management system for the benefit of all parties.
Counter-Trafficking
IOM is committed to combating migrant trafficking and smuggling. The vulnerable situation of trafficked migrants exposes them to exploitation and violation of their fundamental human rights. Because many smuggled persons lack valid travel documents they are often granted the status of an irregular migrant, refused access to legal assistance and medical care, and become subject to deportation in many countries.
In many areas of the world, possibilities for legal migration have decreased while demand for foreign labour has remained constant. This, together with poverty, lack of opportunities, political and social violence in the countries of origin, may force potential migrants to turn to criminal networks. As a consequence, new trafficking routes are regularly established and the market for fraudulent travel documents, clandestine transportation and border crossing has developed worldwide.
Through its counter-trafficking programmes, IOM assists both victims of trafficking directly and trains government officials in methods and legislation to counter trafficking and law enforcement agents in the proper treatment of victims. Within the framework of this initiative IOM provides assistance and protection to victims in the areas of shelter and assistance; legal and medical counseling; voluntary return and reintegration assistance; mass information campaigns in countries of origin; training to increase the capacity of governmental and other institutions to counteract trafficking; research to focus attention on the problem of trafficking; and seminar and forum activities in order to raise general awareness on the subject.
Labour Migration
A large proportion of labour migration occurs illegally, aided and abetted by a clandestine and often criminal industry. Increasingly, governments of both sending and receiving countries are developing regulatory mechanisms to manage labour migration. These include selective recruitment policies by countries needing labour, and strong marketing and overseas employment strategies by countries supplying labour.
IOM's prime objective in seeking to facilitate the management of labour migration is to promote regular labour migration, within the framework of combating irregular migration, fostering the economic and social development of countries of origin, transit and destination, while respecting the rights and integrity of migrants.
In collaboration with concerned governments and other agencies, IOM has developed specific labour migration programmes that can benefit both sending and receiving countries by facilitating more orderly migration, and by better linking this migration to development. IOM assists in the review and upgrading of national policies, legal frameworks and migration management structures needed to introduce or enhance labour migration systems. Workable legislative and administrative models, activities to better target labour migration flows, and personnel development and training opportunities are important components of these efforts. Assistance includes capacity-building and institutional development, pre-departure training for labour migrants (cultural orientation, language and vocational instruction), return and reintegration, linking diaspora groups to local economic development and regional and extra-regional dialogue.
Mass Information
Most migrants are unaware of the practical, legal, social and economic consequences involved in moving to another country. This lack of awareness puts migrants at risk and undermines orderly migration. In the context of prevention, IOM designs and implements information campaigns that provide potential migrants with a more accurate picture of migration realities, including the pitfalls of irregular migration.
Trends in international migration point to information as an essential resource for governments setting migration policies; for international, regional or non-governmental organizations designing migration programmes; and for researchers, the media and individuals analysing and reporting on migration. IOM gathers information on migration to meet these growing demands and provide the basis for government bodies to make informed decisions.
Information programmes may be implemented as stand-alone activities or as one component of an overall strategy for effective migration management. To date, the IOM has used information campaigns in Central Asia and Eastern Europe that are aimed at the curtailment of disorderly outflows of undocumented economic migrants to the West, informing potential victims of the methods used by traffickers, available reintegration assistance, medical issues and health risks. IOM also conducts information campaigns targeted at the general public with the goal of promoting the image of migrants and highlighting the positive contributions migrants make in their adopted communities.
Migration Health
IOM's migration health service activities aim to reduce and prevent the consequences of both infectious and non-infectious migration-related diseases.
The evolution of increasingly complex challenges posed by disease and ill health in migrant populations, requires constant review and modernization of medical screening and evaluation practices. Delivering appropriate services, sometimes in difficult locations, necessitates close and intensive co-operation between States, technical advice and assistance from national health and immigration departments as well as other international partners.
IOM provides assistance to governments in formulating policies on migration-related health issues through research on migration health topics, migration health education, publications and conferences, supporting the wellbeing of migrant populations, and liaison with local and international health agencies.
A major focus of the IOM migration health service is on migration and travel health assessment, which involves health assessment of prospective migrants, pre-departure treatment, HIV counselling and health education, immunisation, pre-embarkation medical checks and emergency movements-associated health assessments, medical escorts during air transportation for migrants in need of care and quality assurance for local physicians and affiliated laboratories.
In partnership with UNAIDS and other partners, IOM has been working on enhancing HIV counselling for persons undergoing immigration-related health assessments and producing best practice publications.
Movements
Resettlement, repatriation and transportation assistance are key activities in the implementation of the IOM mandate. IOM assists with the resettlement of persons accepted under regular immigration programmes, through processing relevant documentation, performing medical screening and arranging safe, economical transportation. IOM also assists with the voluntary repatriation of refugees, in accordance with protection concerns and procedures, which take into account the specific status of these returnees.
In partnership with UNCHR and other agencies IOM facilitates the processing and proper documenting of refugees and migrants, provides assistance to qualified migrants under the Facilitated Passage Programme and transit assistance through a visa waiver facility.
Technical Cooperation on Migration
IOM supports governmental consultative processes by promoting the cooperation of governments to find ways to improve migration management, implementing projects that tackle global problems and facilitating the sharing of lessons learned among different regions.
Within the framework of its technical co-operation programmes, IOM offers advisory services on migration issues to governments and other organizations to assist them in the development and implementation of migration policy, legislation and management, to prevent illegal migration, facilitate regular beneficial migration and provide assistance in various aspects of migrant processing.
Technical co-operation also focuses on capacity building projects such as training courses for government migration officials to work towards the analysis of and suggestions for solving emerging migration problems. These programmes respond to the needs of governments to develop coherent responses to migration challenges in a changing international environment.
IOM Migration Initiatives 2005
The IOM Migration Initiatives provides a regional/country-based snapshot of migration issues and associated IOM responses.
IOM Missions in EECA
For further information on IOM in EECA country projects you can contact IOM in EECA mission offices.
IOM Researcher
IOM is seeking qualified applicants to conduct research on migration issues in Central Asia.