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Ethiopia

EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration in the East and Horn of Africa Supports Migrant Reintegration in Ethiopia

Addis Ababa - On 19 and 21 May, IOM, the UN Migration Agency, hosted a consultation with Ethiopian regional Government representatives and local stakeholders to discuss how the Organization’s standard operating procedures on migrant return and reintegration can be best adapted to the national reintegration plans and referral mechanisms.

The consultation was held in the Hadiya and Kembata Tembaro Zone of the Southern, Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR), which is prone to irregular migration.

These standard operating procedures clarify procedures related to return and reintegration, including the roles and responsibilities of different actors involved. IOM developed them to ensure that all partners’ and stakeholders’ contributions can be harnessed to ensure sustainable reintegration and that services and support provided to migrants follow similar standards around the world.

IOM’s global Framework for Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration vision is that migrants in need are assisted to return voluntarily, safely and in dignity and are supported in achieving sustainable reintegration, in full respect for human rights, regardless of their status. The global Framework is based on the principles of voluntariness, migrant-centred response, safety, sustainability of reintegration, confidentiality, dialogue and partnerships and evidence-based programming.

As national contexts vary, to best support returnees, the global standard operating procedures need to be nationalized.

A key aim of the localization process is to guarantee inclusivity and participation of relevant stakeholders in the reintegration process. Participants in the consultations included the regional state focal persons, Rural Youth Job Creation, the Labor and Social Affairs Bureau, the Bureau of Women and Children Affairs, the Regional Education Bureau, Local Development Agencies and Micro Finance Institutions.

Since June 2017, IOM has helped 1017 Ethiopian migrants return home and the Organization is currently processing reintegration assistance for the first 226 returnees residing in SNNPR. Earlier this month, some 77 returnees received reintegration support in the form of agricultural business development. IOM’s reintegration support is rooted a sustainable community-based approach.

More consultations will be held with Government and local development associations in Oromia, Amhara and Tigray regions in the coming months.

These consultations are part of the larger EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration, which facilitates orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration management through the development of rights-based and development-focused policies and processes on protection and sustainable reintegration. The EU-IOM Joint Initiative, funded by the EU Trust Fund, with close collaboration of 26 African countries.

For more information, please contact Helina Mengistu at IOM SLO Addis Ababa, Tel: +251 11 557 1550 (Ext 109), Email: hmengistu@iom.int