Migration and political rights experts will
meet next week in Geneva to discuss the unique challenges faced by
persons displaced by conflict in the realm of political
rights.

Participants to the IOM-organized colloquium,
held in cooperation with IFES, an international non-profit
organization that supports the building of democratic societies,
will explore the recent history of practices surrounding the
political rights of persons displaced by conflict and discuss
guidelines and standards to protect migrant’s political
rights.

Through its field and research programmes on
migrant political rights, IOM has identified the need to enhance
the standards of access by migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and
internally displaced persons, to the political processes of their
home countries.

“This conference is very important
because it is the first time that the elections and migration
communities are getting together to discuss this issue which
affects millions of people. Getting together experts from the
political rights and the migration perspectives will bring new
ideas to the table,” said IOM Director General Brunson
McKinley. “Protecting the political rights of persons
displaced by conflict is fundamental to protecting their security
and physical well-being. By supporting their participation in the
political processes of their home countries, channels remain open
and information is shared that will facilitate reintegration when
they returns home.”

The gathering, funded by the United States
Agency for International Development (USAID), will be held at
Geneva’s Crowne Plaza Hotel on 12-13 June. The keynote
address will be given by Walter Kälin, Representative of the
UN Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced
Persons.

Since 1996, IOM has supported the
enfranchisement of migrants in over 74 countries through out-of
country voting programmes for Bosnia and Herzegovina, East Timor,
Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. IOM has also pioneered two research
projects specifically focused on persons displaced by conflict, the
Participatory Elections Project (PEP) and the Political Rights and
Enfranchisement Systems Strengthening (PRESS). The research
collected has been organized on a dedicated web site hosted by the
State University of New York - Geneseo. That web address is class="paragraph-link-underlined" href=
"http://www.geneseo.edu/~iompress." target="_blank" title=
"">www.geneseo.edu/~iompress.

IOM’s Political Rights and
Enfranchisement System Strengthening (PRESS) project has four
components:

• Action Plans to assist election management
  bodies and international organizations with specific
  enfranchisement activities for conflict-forced migrants;
•  A web-based information
  resource;
• A training module for election management
  bodies and civil society groups; and
• An international conference on election
  standards and the further promotion of the political rights of
  conflict-forced migrants.

For more information contact:

Stephen Lennon

IOM Washington

E-mail: "mailto:slennon@iom.int" target="_blank" title=
"">slennon@iom.int