The IOM office in Sanaa is launching a comprehensive programme to help the Government and civil society in Yemen address the challenges linked to the massive influx of highly vulnerable migrants and asylum seekers who travel the Gulf of Aden route and regularly arrive along the Yemeni coast.
The € 2 million programme, which is funded by the European Union's Instrument for Stability aims to better protect to the rights of all persons involved in migration, including victims of trafficking and to combat irregular migration and human trafficking.
As part of the programme, IOM will train law enforcement officials to identify and assist victims of trafficking and other vulnerable persons amongst migrants arriving in or transiting through Yemen. The Organization will also help civil society organizations and Government agencies to support and assist vulnerable migrants, including victims of trafficking.
IOM will also work with the Yemeni government to set up adequate administrative, legislative and technical procedures to administer its land and sea borders.
Last year, an estimated 74,000 Africans, mainly from Ethiopia and Somalia, survived the dangerous sea journey across the Gulf of Aden. More than 300 are said to have drowned, with many more suffering beatings and rape at the hands of unscrupulous smugglers.
The project will be launched under the Patronage of H.E Dr. Ali Muthana Hassan Vice Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and with attendance of EC and IOM officials in Yemen on 12 January 2010 at 11:00 am at Movenpick hotel.
For further details on the project activities, please contact Fawzi Al-Zioud at IOM Sanaa, Tel: 00 967 73 49 88 582, Email: fzioud@iom.int