Friday 8 November 2002

Press Briefing Notes
Friday 8 November 2002
Spokesperson: Niurka Piñeiro

PERU - Launch of Information Campaign to Combat Irregular Trafficking
ETHIOPIA - "One Stop" Job Fair for the Ethiopian diaspora
VIETNAM- Flood Relief Mission





PERU - Launch of Information Campaign to Combat Irregular Migration - IOM and the Government of Peru signed an agreement yesterday that officially
launched an information campaign to combat irregular migration

The agreement between IOM, the Ministry of Foreign Relation and the Ministry of Internal Relations, will provide the support necessary for the campaign to reach all Peruvians thinking of leaving the country without the necessary documents.

IOM's Chief of Mission in Lima, Pilar Norza, says the agreement will reinforce the government's commitment to protect its citizens. "The Government's support for the IOM campaign will help us get the message out to all Peruvians. If all potential migrants are well informed, if the know their rights and what documents are needed to travel legally, and know the risks of irregular migration, we will be able to reduce the number of people who fall into the hands of traffickers. We want potential migrants to make informed decisions. We need to get the message out to women and minors, they are the most vulnerable victims of the traffickers."

A survey carried out by the Institute of Social and Economic Studies of the National Engineering University (IECOS) for IOM revealed that: the vast majority of potential migrants are single males between 25 and 35 years old. Although most are employed, they confirmed that they would leave the country in search of a better life in the United States, Italy, Japan, or Spain. Many of the potential migrants interviewed completed secondary education and have never travelled outside the country.

Although 93% of those interviewed said they knew about the risks of irregular migration, 59.5% said they are determined to leave the country.

The estimated number of Peruvians living abroad is calculated at 2.2 million; some 70% are irregular migrants.

The campaign's message is - Every year millions of men and women who decide to migrate illegally end up in the hands of traffickers and smugglers. They are exploited, robbed, raped and sometimes lose their lives. Don't travel with false documents - DON'T TAKE THE RISK - TRAVEL LEGALLY.

The campaign tools also include: leaflets simulating an airline ticket and a passport, large outdoor displays, banners on buses and trains, and a picture story booklet. The "IOM Passport" is a small booklet containing information on procedures to travel legally, the risks that may be encountered when resorting to criminal networks to leave the country, the assistance available for those who fall into the hands of traffickers and smugglers, and vital contact numbers for embassies and consulates abroad.

The campaign will run until March 2003 and is being financed by the United States. A similar IOM information campaign is also underway in Ecuador.For more information, please contact, Manfred Ritter, IOM Lima Tel: 51.1.221.7698 jritter@iom.int

ETHIOPIA - "One-Stop-Shop" Job Fair - The IOM office in Addis Ababa, working with Talent Search, a local private employment agency, is organizing a "One-Stop Shop" job fair on 14 December. The fair will provide an opportunity for employers from the public and private sector, NGO's, International Organizations, Embassies and other organizations, to meet with Ethiopian professionals living in Ethiopia and abroad.

As part of this effort, on 1 December IOM will launch the Internet-based programme Jobs 2002, The Virtual Job Fair. During the month of December, Ethiopian professionals living abroad can link to the event through a Website designed especially for the job fair.

Ethiopia's first virtual job fair will also offer Ethiopians in the diaspora the opportunity to know more about the jobs that are available in Ethiopia and what local companies have to offer.

The IOM sponsored job fair aims to:

assess the available skills of the Ethiopian diaspora;
establish an active database of Ethiopian professionals in the diaspora; and
forge partnership between employers in the public and private sector and Ethiopians in the diaspora.





The job fair and Website will be publicized to the Ethiopians in the diaspora through the Ethiopian Embassies and Consular Offices, Ethiopian communities abroad,
Ethiopian Websites, and the local media.

For more information, contact the IOM Office in Addis Ababa Tel: 251.1.511.673 iom@telecom.net.et

VIETNAM- Flood relief mission - A 23-member IOM relief mission delivered food and medical aid to 600 households in two flood-stricken districts in the southern Mekong Delta October 26th.

The mission, which included six doctors and two nurses, also provided medical check-ups and medicine for 300 households in Tan Thanh district, one of the two locations hit by flood waters from the Mekong river.

The relief mission, which was organized by IOM Ho Chi Minh in cooperation with the Long An branch of the Vietnamese Red Cross, reached the flooded districts of Tan Thanh and Moc Hoa from Ho Chi Minh City by boat.

Each household received a relief package comprising 10kgs of rice, 10 packs of instant noodles and VND 100,000 (US$6.50).

Floods in the southern Mekong Delta over the past three months have reportedly killed 148 people and caused USD23.6 million of damage. It is the third year in succession that Vietnam's primary rice-growing region has been hit by serious flooding.