Libya / New Funding to Address Irregular Migration and Assist Vulnerable Migrants
TRIPOLI, Libya, September 28, 2010/African Press Organization (APO)/ — IOM Press Briefing Notes
IOM efforts to help improve the protection of migrants and tackle human trafficking in Libya are being boosted by the provision of US$ one million in new funding.
The US State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) and its Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) have each provided US$500,000 to IOM for programmes that will build and consolidate the capacity of government bodies and civil society in Libya to help address irregular migration and protect the most vulnerable migrants in the North African country, including victims of trafficking.
With some 4,000 kilometres of land and 1,700 kilometres of sea borders, Libya is both a destination and a transit country for migrants. Irregular migrants are drawn to Libya not just for its proximity to southern Europe, but also by the demand for unskilled labour and the strength of the local economy, and are estimated to number between 1 and 1.5 million.
Through a PRM-funded programme focused on improving migrants’ protection and preventing irregular migration, IOM will provide training for relevant government interlocutors and religious personnel migration issues including counter-trafficking.
The Organization will also provide direct assistance for those in Libyan centres for irregular migrants. Working in close partnership with the Libyan Red Crescent and a leading Libyan non-governmental organization (NGO), World Islamic Call Society (WICS), the programme also includes a research study on migrants and the broadcasting of TV spots on the dangers of irregular migration.
A second programme funded by MEPI will focus on reinforcing the judicial and prosecutorial capacities to combat human trafficking through training and on promoting revised legislative and operational measures to protect victims.
NGOs will also be given training on how to identify victims of trafficking while 20 identified victims of trafficking will be given shelter and assistance to return to their home countries.
The long-term objective of the programme is to balance prosecution and protection efforts and to involve both government and NGOs in ensuring effective referrals and successful prosecutions.
SOURCE
International Office of Migration (IOM)
