Tuesday 30 September 2003

Press Briefing Notes
Tuesday 30 September 2003
Spokesperson: Christopher Lom

1. FYR of MACEDONIA - Confidence Building Programme Draws to Successful Close
2. KAZAKHSTAN -US Backs First IOM Regional CT Programme in Central Asia
3. TURKMENISTAN - Migration Training Seminars
4. ITALY - Immigration in Italy and the Meaning of Migration

FYR of MACEDONIA - Confidence Building Programme Draws to Successful Close - IOM's confidence building initiative to stabilize the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia, scheduled to end today, has provided nearly US$11.6 million in small grants to meet community needs.

The programme, funded by the US Office for Transition Initiatives (OTI), was launched in October 2001 as a response to the internationally-brokered Ohrid Framework Agreement of August 2001, which ended an ethnic-Albanian guerrilla insurgency and laid the foundation for a unitary, multi-ethnic state.

The programme, which brought together NGOs, citizens' groups, media and local authorities to define priority needs, was designed to support community-based interaction among diverse groups; promote participation in community decision making; foster transparency and accountability between citizens and local government; and increase access to balanced information and diverse points of view.

Operating out of offices in Skopje, Tetovo, Kicevo, Bitola and Kocani, the CBI made small grants totaling over US$11.6 million to fund a total of 491 projects. OTI provided a further nearly US$8.1 million in matching funds to bring the programme's total funding to over US$19.6 million.

CBI grants approved last month included US$37,000 to co-fund a scheme to link the water system of a remote village in the southern Macedonian municipality of Staravina to mains water supply. The CBI also provided US$27,550 for the installation of water troughs for livestock on state-owned land shared by three other deeply divided, isolated and impoverished villages in southern Macedonia.

In the greater Skopje area, the CBI supported three projects worth over US$169,000 to help the municipality construct over 1,000 meters of walkway and lighting along the Vardar River. The walkway acts as both a physical and symbolic connector linking Karpos and city centre municipalities and their diverse populations. The project has become a major attraction for locals and visitors, changing the city landscape.

The CBI also helped Macedonia strengthen linkages beyond its borders by supporting the municipality of Struga's efforts to host its 42nd International Poetry Evenings Festival with a grant of US$21,731. The ethnically mixed town is located on Lake Ohrid.

For further information, please contact Peter Collier at IOM Skopje.
Email: PCollier@iomskopje.org.mk

KAZAKHSTAN -US Backs First IOM Regional CT Programme in Central Asia - The IOM office in Almaty and IOM offices in Central Asia have received US$1.3 million from USAID to put in place a two-year regional counter trafficking programme.

Trafficking in persons is on the rise in the Central Asian republics. Economic disparities within and between countries in the region, together with false perceptions about employment opportunities abroad, are push factors for Central Asians to emigrate.

As part of this new regional approach, IOM offices will put in place information campaigns aimed at informing potential victims of trafficking, as well as capacity building programmes to help governments develop protection mechanisms to help victims and prosecute perpetrators. At the regional level, the programme will increase coordination amongst governments, international organizations and NGOs working to combat human trafficking.

In Kazakhstan - a country of origin, transit and destination for human trafficking - IOM will use additional funding from the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) to focus on the prevention and prosecution of trafficking, and measures to protect and assist victims.

In Tajikistan, IOM will carry out a counter-trafficking information campaign, which will include television documentaries, talk shows, radio announcements and theatre performances. With additional support form the US State Department, IOM will also conduct training on prosecution of traffickers for Tajik law enforcement officials.

In Uzbekistan, IOM will carry out an extensive research study to determine the incidence of trafficking throughout the country, a trafficking prevention campaign and training of consular officers and law enforcement authorities.

To complement these activities, IOM will carry out a regional research project to determine the incidence of trafficking in the region and will provide training for consular officials, funded by the Government of Norway.

The programme will also focus on building the capacity of NGOs which operate hotlines and conduct community outreach, as well as creating a Central Asian regional network of NGOs working on trafficking issues.

IOM began implementing counter trafficking programmes in the region in 1999. Since then, over 23 hotlines have been established and IOM has helped victims to return to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It has also conducted information campaigns and successfully lobbied for the introduction of coherent counter-trafficking policies in all four countries.

For additional information, please contact Michael Tschanz at IOM Almaty. Tel: +7.3272.913198. Email: iomalmaty@nursat.kz.

TURKMENISTAN - Migration Training Seminars - IOM Ashgabat has carried out a series of training seminars to familiarize government officials - including representatives of consular, border, security, customs services and law enforcement agencies - with newly revised migration legislation.

The seminars also discussed international standards in migration and border management. Participants were briefed on the international principles and standards for providing asylum, the links between labour migration and development, the main trends of labour migration in the CIS countries and the reasons for mass migration. For more information, please contact Zoran Milovic at IOM Ashgabat.

Email: zmilovic@iom.untuk.org
ITALY - Immigration in Italy and the Meaning of Migration - IOM Rome and Caritas will tomorrow launch a book entitled "Contemporary Immigration in Italy". The publication focuses on current migration trends and future prospects and portrays the diversity of immigration in Italy.

The book is structured into four parts: immigration to Italy within the international context; the relationship between immigration and Italian society; the Italian labour market; and the legal and policy framework on immigration.

Based on information received from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the editors of the report estimate the legal foreign population in Italy at the beginning of 2003 at almost 2.4 million. The number of applications for regularization from migrants between 1986 and 2002 reached 1.566 million.

The report also shows that between 1861 and the beginning of this century, 28 million Italians emigrated. Currently, there are four million Italians living outside the country. The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates that the number of people of Italian origin worldwide is between 60 and 70 million.

This initiative is part of the project "The Image of Migrants in Italy Through Media, Civil Society, and the Labour Market", promoted by IOM, Caritas Rome and Archivio dell'Immigrazione and supported by the European Union/Equal and the Italian Ministry of Welfare.

A copy of the report can be obtained by writing to: equalsegretec@iom.int. For more information please contact Francesca Ferrari at IOM Rome. Tel. +39.06.44.186.223 or + 39.338.95.36.855.

Email: iomromepress@iom.int