Ethiopia - IOM Ethiopia is conducting a two-day international migration law (IML) training on 12-13 November 2015 for 24 senior government officials in Addis Ababa.

The participants come from seven regions and two city administrations - Tigray, Afar, Amhara, Oromia, SNNPR, Somalia, Harari, Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa.

They include officials from Bureau of Women’s and Children Affairs, Police Commission, Bureau of Justice, Bureau of Labor and Social Affairs, and Federal Supreme Court child justice project.

Under the project funded by the European Union and UNICEF and in close partnership with the Ministry of Women Children and Youth Affairs, the training is the second provided for Ethiopian government officials and follows one held in February 2015.

IOM has organized four IML trainings in previous years. This year, however, the organization has given a special attention to migrant children – the number of whom is increasing. The IOM Missing Migrants Project highlights that between January and June 2015, of 93,542 irregular migrants en route to Europe, over 6,350 were unaccompanied minors.

The training includes an overview of international migration law, international child migration, issues associated with the Gulf of Aden/Red Sea migration route, competences and obligations of states and rights of migrant children, child trafficking and smuggling, definition of concepts, similarities and differences, as well as  international frameworks. Current efforts to curb irregular migration, gaps and challenges for protection, return and reintegration in origin and transit locations are also highlighted.

The Ethiopian legal framework pertaining to migration and children – laws, policies, provisions, gaps in provision and implementation, opportunities for improving and effectively implementing the legal frameworks, current government and partner initiatives and recommended measures – are also discussed by experts from the Ministry of Justice.

For further information, please contact Alemayehu Seifeselassie at IOM Ethiopia, Tel: +251.91.163.9082, Mobile:  + 251.91.1639082, Email: salemayehu@iom.int