IOM's Director General, Brunson McKinley, is today visiting a
reception centre for migrants on the Mediterranean island of
Lampedusa, where IOM works alongside the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Italian Red Cross to
provide humanitarian assistance to many exhausted migrants who
arrive after perilous journeys on unseaworthy vessels.

"Many more boats will probably arrive on Lampedusa over the
summer with their desperate human cargo and we have to ensure we
can adequately respond to their immediate needs," says Brunson
McKinley. "This is why IOM will continue to work closely with the
Italian government, the Italian Red Cross, UNHCR and other partners
to provide appropriate humanitarian responses to irregular migrants
and asylum seekers reaching the island."

IOM recently signed an agreement with the Italian Ministry of
the Interior's Department for Civil Liberties and Immigration, the
Italian Red Cross and UNHCR which allows for better services at
reception centres for irregular migrants on the island of
Lampedusa, and at Trapani, Calatanissetta and Siracusa on
Sicily.

Since April 2006, IOM has been providing information and legal
orientation to more than 20,000 mostly undocumented migrants in
Lampedusa, where the authorities are currently building a new
reception centre to double the capacity to more than 400
places.

To avoid overcrowding on Lampedusa, the migrants are usually
transferred to other reception centres in Italy such as Crotone,
Foggia or Bari. From there, the migrants may either request asylum
and are then processed, or are repatriated or given an order to
leave the country on their own. Forced returns from Lampedusa
stopped in April 2006 when IOM opened its office at the centre.

Migrants arriving on Lampedusa represent a small percentage of
the total number of irregular migrants entering or overstaying in
Italy. Whilst numbers of migrants landing on Lampedusa and other
Mediterranean islands are known, the numbers of those who drown at
sea or who die in the deserts of North Africa are not.

Prior to his arrival in Lampedusa, Brunson McKinley met the
Italian Minister of the Interior, Giuliano Amato, the
Undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Solidarity, Cristina De
Luca and other senior officials at the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.

For further information, please contact:

Flavio Di Giacomo

IOM Rome

Tel: +39 06 44 186 207

E-mail: "mailto:fdigiacomo@iom.int">fdigiacomo@iom.int