Friday 10 October 2003

Press Briefing Notes
Friday 10 October 2003
Spokesperson: Jean Philippe Chauzy

1. ARGENTINA - Study on Trafficking from the Dominican Republic
2. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - Globalisation, Migration & Human Rights Seminar
3. EGYPT - Integrated Migration Information System Launch
4. RWANDA - EU Election Observer Mission Ends This Week
5. SLOVENIA - Counter-Trafficking Initiative

ARGENTINA - Study on Migration, Prostitution, and Trafficking from the Dominican Republic - IOM Buenos Aires yesterday launched a study "Migration, Prostitution and Trafficking in Dominican Women in Argentina". This study, produced by the Argentina Commission for Refugees and Migrants (CAREF), an NGO specializing in assisting immigrant groups, is part of an Argentina-Dominican Republic cooperation initiative in counter-trafficking, funded by the US Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM.)

The report points out that before the mid 1990s there were few, if any, migrants from the Dominican Republic residing in Argentina. Between 1995 and 2002, it is estimated that between 12,000 to 15,000 Dominicans entered Argentina.

The authors of the study attribute this migration to Argentina from the Dominican Republic and other countries in Latin America to the fact that the Argentine peso was pegged to the US Dollar from 1991 to 2001. This meant that a migrant woman working as a domestic helper receiving a salary of 500 Argentinean pesos per month could send home a remittance of US$500.

The majority of the women interviewed by IOM for this report are between 20 and 39 years old. Almost 90% of the women interviewed have children; almost 70% of the children were left back home with relatives. The majority of the women confirmed that they had paid some US$2,000 for the trip to Argentina; this included the fees paid to the recruiter. The recruiters convinced the women to travel to Argentina by promising them work as domestic helpers with a monthly salary of US$500 to US$800. But in fact, more than 50% confirmed to IOM that they had been forced into prostitution once in Argentina.

IOM has been carrying out counter-trafficking programmes in the Dominican Republic since October 2001. Since then, it has carried out activities to inform and increase awareness amongst potential victims, public institutions and civil society; has provided training for officials and NGO staff; has carried out two studies focusing on the scope and dimensions of trafficking, and is sponsoring a graduate course on migration and trafficking. In 2003, IOM's counter-trafficking programme is focusing on the drafting of legislation, training for the judiciary and the police, and a mass information campaign.

The full study, in Spanish, can be obtained by contacting IOM Geneva, Media and Public Information at mpi@iom.int. For further information, contact IOM Buenos Aires Tel: 54 11 4815 5194/95 Elena Solari elsolari@iom.int or Gabriela Fernandez gfernandez@iom.int

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - Globalization, Migration & Human Rights Seminar - On Monday and Tuesday IOM Santo Domingo will co-host a seminar on Globalization, Migration and Human Rights with the Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo and the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences.

The seminar will bring together governmental officials, civil society representatives and members of academia to discuss the impact of globalization on migration, relations between sending and receiving countries in an increasingly inter-dependent world, global agreements in trade and services, and the need to protect migrants' rights in national migration policies.

The seminar is part of an IOM programme, funded by the US Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM), designed to strengthen migration management and promote migrants' rights in the Dominican Republic.

Some 650,000 irregular Haitian migrants are believed to live in the Dominican Republic and thousands continue to cross the 350 km-long porous border between the two countries. Some 12,000 to 16,000 Haitians are deported every year. Dominicans are also smuggled by sea to Puerto Rico and many small boats sink in the process. The country is also a transit point for well-organized trafficking gangs that routinely try to smuggle Cubans, Albanians, Chinese and other Asian nationals into the USA.

For more information, contact IOM Santo Domingo, Juan Artola, Tel: 1.809.732.7121 or 7079

EGYPT - Integrated Migration Information System Launched - On Monday IOM Cairo will launch IMIS - an integrated migration information system designed to help the Egyptian authorities better manage labour migration from Egypt. - facilitating legal migration and improving working conditions for Egyptian migrant workers abroad.

IMIS, which is a joint venture with the Egyptian Ministry of Manpower and Emigration, is funded by the Italian government. It will comprise a Website listing job opportunities abroad, matching up supply and demand. It will also strengthen ties between Egypt and its diaspora and help to identify inward investment opportunities.

Foreign employers seeking specific employee profiles can consult the Website roster and, after having identified potential candidates, contact the Ministry of Manpower through the site. The Ministry will then follow up by validating the job seekers' profiles, short-listing candidates and then making a final selection, either directly or through a local recruitment agency.

The system does not create a binding relationship between the employer and the potential candidate and foreign employers reserve the right to choose employees according to their recruitment needs. In addition to the job seekers' roster, the Website provides users with practical information about migrant labour receiving countries in Western Europe.

For further information about the launch, please consult http://www.emigration.gov.eg/. For additional information, please contact Graziella Rizza, grizza@iom.int or Fiona Elassiuty: felassiuty@iom.int

RWANDA - EU Election Observer Mission Ends This Week - The last members of the EU mission to observe the pre-election information campaign, the referendum on the new Constitution and the presidential election in Rwanda, are scheduled to leave Kigali tomorrow.

IOM, working in close collaboration with the European Commission and European Parliament, provided logistical support for the mission throughout the operation, setting up its office in Kigali and providing the vehicles and equipment needed to deploy observers across the country.

In the final phase of the operation, IOM facilitated the arrival and deployment of an additional 40 short term observers to participate in the parliamentary elections of September 30th.

Implemented under the umbrella of the European Initiative for Democratization and Human Rights (EIDHR), the EU Election Observation Missions are part of the developing mandate of the EU focusing on protection and promotion of human rights and support for democratization.

For additional information, please contact Sanja Celebic: Tel. +32 2 282 45 76 scelebic@iom.int or Maïlis Orban: Tel. +32 2 282 45 82 morban@iom.int

SLOVENIA - Counter-Trafficking Initiative - IOM Ljubljana has held the first of a series of seminars targeting government officials, the media, teachers and NGOs aimed at strengthening efforts to combat human trafficking. The seminars, which are part of a 6-month, British government-funded initiative, opened with the publication of a research project entitled: "Where in the Puzzle: Trafficking from, to and through Slovenia".

Financed by the US State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, the research explores the extent of the phenomenon; the degree to which it is recognized or ignored in social and political contexts; its "public image"; the main actors; the focus of their activities; resources for combating trafficking and providing assistance to victims; and policy responses.

The report gives the first comprehensive overview of the phenomenon of trafficking in Slovenia and includes practical recommendations for future strategies in the fight against trafficking and organized crime in Slovenia.