IOM Slovenia Newsletter February 2017

Mediterranean Migrant Arrivals Reach 13,170, Deaths: 272 IOM reports that 13,170 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea in 2017, through 19 February, with over 75 percent arriving in Italy and the rest in Greece and Spain. This compares with 90,180 through the first 50 days of 2016. IOM Rome reports that the over 10,000 migrant arrivals in Italy before the end of February represents a significant increase compared with arrivals in the same period during the past two years, when slightly over 8,000 migrants made it to Italy by the end of February.

For the latest Mediterranean update infographic see: http://migration.iom.int/docs/MMP/170221_Mediterranean_Update.pdf For latest arrivals and fatalities in the Mediterranean, please visit: http://migration.iom.int/europe

Learn more about the Missing Migrants Project at: http://missingmigrants.iom.int Read more.

Legal Migration, Rights, Protection for Vulnerable African Migrants Key to

Implementation of 2015 Valletta Action Plan

IOM highlighted the need for more legal channels, better migrant protection and the centrality of human rights in its contribution to discussions at the first intercontinental, high-level meeting to follow up on progress made since the Valletta Summit on Migration held in November 2015. The Senior Officials Meeting in Malta was an opportunity to reinforce cooperation and take stock of the implementation of commitments agreed at the 2015 Summit, where 66 African and European states, international and regional organizations contributed to the adoption of a joint political declaration and a roadmap known as the “Joint Valletta Action Plan” (JVAP). Eugenio Ambrosi, Regional Director of IOM’s EU office, said that the safety, dignity and human rights of all migrants, refugees and asylum seekers should underpin all actions being implemented under the 2015 Valletta declaration and its action plan. “Let us not forget the key global developments to which all Valletta partners have committed, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the New York Declaration of 2016 and the future Global Compacts on Migration and Refugees. We appeal to our Valletta partners to re-invigorate a rights-based approach to migrants, with more attention given to sustainable reintegration, protection and humanitarian assistance for all people of concern throughout their migratory process, regardless of their status, particularly the most vulnerable,” said Ambrosi. Read more.

UN Chiefs Call for International Solidarity to Address Migrant and Refugee

Flows in Libya

The Director General of the International Organization for Migration William

Lacy Swing, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, the UN High

Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein and the Special

Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya Martin Kobler met in

Geneva to underscore the need for a comprehensive approach to address the

situation of migrants and refugees in Libya as well as to assist the hundreds of

thousands of Libyans displaced and impacted by the crisis.

Along with many Libyans, migrants and refugees are heavily impacted by

ongoing conflicts and the breakdown in law and order in Libya. Untold numbers

of migrants and refugees, particularly those smuggled or trafficked into Libya

and those in detention, are subjected to grave human rights abuses and

violations.

Migrants and refugees in detention are held outside of any legal process and in

conditions which are generally inhuman. They are exposed to malnutrition,

extortion, torture, sexual violence and other abuses.

Read more.

IOM Business Support Programmes Assist Displaced Iraqis

IOM’s work in community stabilization is assisting Iraqis affected by displacement and conflict to generate their own income and engage in meaningful work. This past week, IOM provided 47 displaced Iraqis with business support packages in Risafa, Baghdad. This livelihood assistance was funded by the Government of Canada and supported by the Risafa Local Council and the Baghdad Provincial Council. The project aims to empower local communities such as Risafa, which are hosting large populations of displaced Iraqis, by contributing to the socio-

economic inclusion of disadvantaged individuals. IOM supports the creation of employment opportunities and re-establishment of businesses; it also provides business packages across a variety of sectors, including retail, services, hospitality, trades and small-scale manufacturing. Read more.

IOM Turkey Helps Resettle Over 21,000 Refugees in 2016

In 2016 IOM Turkey’s refugee resettlement program moved 21,120 refugees from Turkey to new homes abroad. This was double the previous year’s total and the largest number of refugees ever resettled by IOM Turkey in a single year. The top three destination countries were the United States (nearly 8,500), Canada (over 7,000) and European countries (approximately 4,800). Women and children accounted for 73 percent of the refugees resettled. Syrians accounted for nearly 62 percent (13,178) of the refugees resettled, followed by Iraqis (24 percent) and Iranians (9 percent). Read more.

IOM Launches Psychosocial Support Programme for Migrants at Detention Centres in Libya IOM has begun to roll out a psychosocial support programme for migrants at Libyan detention centres with the launch of a one-day recreational event at Tripoli’s Abu Salim centre. “We do nothing but eat, drink and sleep, the only entertainment we have is talking to each other and that is very annoying. Sometimes I wish I could die. But today I feel alive again,” said Esse (not her real name), who is at the Abu Salim centre with her two children aged three and one.

The one-day event kick-started a wider IOM strategy, developed in coordination with an NGO, Psychosocial Support Team (PSS), to provide support to women and children, who are particularly vulnerable. The support will be introduced at a number of detention centres, starting in the capital, Tripoli. There are an estimated 3,000 to 6,000 migrants at detention centres in Libya who are all considered vulnerable. Read more.

Turkey Hackathon Develops Solutions for Refugee Challenges From 3-5 February, 36 refugee and Turkish computer programmers and graphic designers participated in Turkey’s first ever coding marathon (Hackathon) to focus on easing the challenges faced by Syrian refugees in the country. The event was organized by IOM and InnoCampus, a non-profit project providing innovation and entrepreneurship experiences. IOM mentors provided guidance to Turkish and Syrian participants about refugee-related problems in Turkey. The ideas presented at the event will be further developed at the Entrepreneurship Accelerator Training Program, which will take place from 17 February – 10 May, 2017 at the InnoCampus in Gaziantep. With over 3.1 million people seeking international protection within its borders, Turkey hosts the largest refugee population in the world. The vast majority lives outside of refugee camps, inside the host community. Read more.

IOM Develops Mobile App to Help Prevent Human Trafficking in Slovakia “Be prepared, spread the word, and recognize the signs” is the tagline of a free new mobile application called SAFE Travel & Work Abroad developed by IOM in

Slovakia to raise awareness about the risks of human trafficking through an interactive game. Designed as a preventative and educational tool, the application presents a scenario where four main characters are planning journeys abroad. The app user steps into their shoes and makes decisions that will influence the direction of their lives, confronting and learning about the pitfalls of human trafficking along the way. Whether the protagonists end up travelling and working abroad safely – or fall into the traps set by traffickers – is in the hands of the player. The app is available in five language versions: Slovak, English, Czech, Polish, and Hungarian. The application is available for free on the App Store, Google Play and on the website www.safe.iom.sk. For more information on IOM Slovakia counter-trafficking activities, please visit: http://www.iom.sk/en/activities/counter-trafficking-in-human-beings For the Manual for mobile application SAFE Travel & Work Abroad visit: http://www.iom.sk/en/publications?download=247:iom-manual-for-mobile-app... Read more.

IOM’s Community Response Map Strengthens Communication with Communities in Afghanistan IOM has launched a Community Response Map (CRM) project in Afghanistan. The aims of CRM are to enhance project monitoring and to strengthen engagement with the communities that IOM serves.

The CRM is a tool and methodology developed by IOM to facilitate communication with communities in order to collect, analyze and visualize feedback. When IOM provides such services, the recipients can provide direct feedback through in-person surveys, SMS, phone calls or other channels. The responses are collected on a live online platform that IOM and its partners can use to instantly identify gaps and assess the efficacy of the assistance provided, modifying project interventions as needed. “By using the CRM to better communicate with the communities in which we work, we are ensuring that our assistance truly meets the needs on the ground and can evolve as the situation changes,” said IOM Afghanistan Chief of Mission and Special Envoy Laurence Hart. Read more.

As Displacement Continues in Iraq, Nearly 1.5 million Iraqi IDPs Return As military operations to retake Mosul intensify, concerns mount that these operations may displace additional tens of thousands of civilians—beyond the 160,000-plus individuals currently categorized as “displaced” in the Mosul region after four months of combat. Nonetheless, IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) has identified a recent spike of IDPs returning to their location of origin across the country—including in the Mosul area—despite simultaneous displacement movements. Read more.

IOM Indonesia Research Supports New Fisheries Industry Human Rights Audit

A new government decree based in part on IOM’s ground-breaking research into human trafficking in the Indonesian fisheries will address chronic human rights abuses in the industry, the country’s Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) says.

“The research report is the only publication that provides a complete and critical description of the extent of human trafficking and forced labour in the fishing industry in Indonesia,” Minister Susi Pudjiastuti said Tuesday, at a Jakarta event marking passage of the new decree and release of the report. “The ministerial regulation creates the certification mechanism to ensure the fishing industry here will be free of human rights violations.” Read more.

IOM Launches Tuberculosis-Migration Portal

IOM, with financial support from the Stop TB Partnership, on 19 January

launched the world’s first dedicated TB and Migration Portal: The Knowledge

Platform on Tuberculosis and Migration (www.tbandmigration.iom.int)

The portal, created by the IOM’s Migration Health Division (MHD), aims to offer

a platform through which global partners are able to access and share the latest

information, research and knowledge on TB and migration issues, to improve the

assistance and the support IOM provides to its beneficiaries worldwide.

Tuberculosis is one of the world’s main health challenges with 9 million new

cases and nearly 1.5 million deaths reported each year. TB patients are often

marginalized and discriminated against.

Read more.

IOM Egypt Backs Syria Al Ghad Foundation Medical Center for Refugees, Host

Communities

IOM Egypt has helped the Syria Al Ghad community-based foundation to

renovate and expand a medical centre which provides free and low-cost medical

services for Syrian refugees and host communities. The centre has been fully

operational since a few weeks.

The centre, in Cairo, is expected to provide health assistance this year to around 5,000 refugee and host community families in Al Obour City and in surrounding neighbourhoods. It particularly focuses on women’s health and offers specialized services such as ophthalmology and dermatology. It also has a medical laboratory and a pharmacy that provides prescription medications generally free of charge. Read more.

For many more up to date news and articles on migration, please visit IOM website (section: Press Room, pages: particularly News and Newsdesk).

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Situation Reports

Mediterranean Flows Compilation Report No 2 – 8 February 2017

- Until 31 January 2017, there were 4,480 cumulative arrivals to Italy, compared to 5,273 arrivals recorded in the same month in 2016 (a 15% decrease). Greece has seen a 97% lower number of arrivals in January 2017 when compared to the same period in 2016, 1,387 and 67,954 respectively.

- According to available data, there have been 11,233 new arrivals to Greece, Italy and Bulgaria, as countries of first arrival to Europe since the beginning of 2017 till 8 of February 2017.

- As of 8 February 2017, there have been 11,990 individuals relocated to 24 European countries. Please see new page on relocations for more information.

Read more.

This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the Migrant and Refugee Fund received

through Council of Europe Development Bank. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and can

therefore in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the Donors to the Migrant and Refugee Fund or the

CEB, as manager of the Migrant and Refugee Fund.

For further information or comments/questions, please contact Jana Stardelova at IOM Slovenia, Tel:

+38614347351, E-mail: jstardelova@iom.int.

IOM SLOVENIA

IOM Slovenia and the National Institute for Public Health implement health mediation for asylum seekers In February 2017, the IOM office in Slovenia has in partnership with the Slovenian National Institute for Public Health and the Ministry of Interior begun with a three month pilot project in health mediation for Arabic and Farsi speaking asylum seekers accommodated in Ljubljana and Logatec. Three mediators visit the facilities and assist in communication between medical staff and patients in the framework of IOM’s regional project Re-Health – Supporting Member States under particular migratory pressure in their response to health-related challenges. In addition to strengthening the services available to asylum seekers in Slovenia, the project also aims to facilitate regional health-related data collection and ensure the continuity of care of asylum seekers and refugees. Read more. The Re-health project is supported by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Health and Food Safety (SANTE).

For more information, contact IOM Slovenia, Tel. +386 1 4347351, Email iomljubljana@iom.int