Tuesday 2 December 2003

Press Briefing Notes
Tuesday 2 December 2003
Spokesperson: Christopher Lom

1. IRELAND - Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration
2. FINLAND - Anti-Discrimination Handbook
3. MOZAMBIQUE - EU Election Observation Mission

IRELAND - Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration - IOM Dublin, which since November 2001 has been running a pilot project assisting asylum seekers to voluntarily return to their countries of origin, is expanding its service to include all eligible asylum seekers and other migrants, as well as offering reintegration support to unaccompanied minors and migrant families with children born in Ireland.

Assistance to unaccompanied children wishing to return will be delivered in consultation with parents, guardians, social workers, the Department of Justice, UNHCR and other relevant agencies both in Ireland and in the home country, and will focus on the individual needs of each child, primarily in education and health. Unaccompanied minors form a particularly vulnerable group and special care is required to ensure appropriate assistance meets the best interests of every child.

According to the Irish Constitution, all children born in Ireland are entitled to Irish citizenship. Prior to 19 February 2003, it was customary to grant residency to non-national parents of such children, but following the decision of the Supreme Court, it is no longer possible to apply for residency in Ireland based on the parentage of an Irish child. IOM will provide assistance to those migrant families with children born in Ireland with outstanding residency claims who now wish to return voluntarily to their home countries.

IOM will assist families who wish to return with travel arrangements and documentation and upon arrival with access to services such as vocational training, job placements, referral to health services and education for children amongst others. Where possible and necessary, IOM will also assist with regularisation of the residency status of the Irish children back in parents' home country. The registration for the programme is open until the end of January 2004.

"We have dealt with increasing number of unaccompanied children in the past two years and we have received many requests for assistance from the families affected by the recent Supreme Court ruling, therefore we have decided to expand our service to help these vulnerable groups. Voluntary return and reintegration programmes offer a safe and dignified option for migrants, providing freedom of choice based on an informed decision." said Diane Grammer, Chief of Mission of IOM Dublin.

Since November 2001, IOM Dublin has assisted approximately 500 migrants of some 50 nationalities to return home.

For further information contact Magdalena Majkowska, IOM Dublin, Tel: 353.1.878.7900.
Email: mmajkowska@iomdublin.org
FINLAND - Anti-Discrimination Handbook - IOM Helsinki has published an anti-discrimination legal handbook as part of it's "Awareness Raising and Legal Training for Lawyers on Discrimination Practices" project, funded by the European Commission's Community Action Programme to Combat Discrimination.

Aimed at judges, public prosecutors and attorneys, the book, which is published in five languages, provides a broad but concise picture of the phenomenon of discrimination and the current legal framework addressing it in Austria, Finland, France, Greece and Sweden.

Within three years, all EU member states will have to ensure conformity of their legislations to the principle of EU anti-discrimination Directives agreed under the 1999 Amsterdam Treaty and articulated by the EU Council Directive 2000/43/EC, "implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin", and Directive 2000/78/EC, "establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation."

IOM is implementing the Awareness Raising and Legal Training project in cooperation with the Austrian Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights, the Finnish League for Human Rights, the French Agency Devoted to Integration and Intercultural Relations, the Greek Association of Judges and Public Prosecutors and the Swedish Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law.

For further information, please contact Tiina Palonen, Tel. +358 9 684 11 524.
Email: tpalonen@iom.int and the project web pages: www.iom.fi/anti-discrimination.

MOZAMBIQUE - EU Election Observation Mission - IOM will this week organise the departure of the last group of EU election observers from Maputo, marking the end of a successful EU mission to observe this month's local elections.

Their departure marks the end of an IOM project launched in October to provide logistical support for Election Observers from the European Commission and the European Parliament.

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.