Officials from the 11 countries that make up the Regional Conference on Migration (RCM) are meeting this week in Guatemala City.

At the three-day meeting, ending today, vice ministers of foreign affairs and interior, and senior migration officials, exchange information, share experiences and best practices, and carry out consultations to promote regional cooperation on migration issues.

This year's conference will focus on migration and development with an in-depth discussion on lessons learned and ways to maximize the positive aspects of regular and orderly migration.

Other issues being discussed include migrants' rights, irregular migration, human trafficking, the right of return to countries of origin, strengthening border management initiatives, and improved migration data collection and sharing.

While in Guatemala to attend the Conference, IOM's Director General, William Lacy Swing is meeting with the Minister and Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala and other high-level officials of the RCM countries.

IOM Director General Swing told RCM participants: "We gather at a difficult time, against the backdrop of the most serious global financial and economic crisis in 70 years.  The growing impact of the financial crisis on migration is a source of grave concern.  We are concerned about loss of migrants' jobs; a decrease in migrant remittances; a reduction in Official Development Assistance and Foreign Direct Investment; and most seriously of all, the stigmatization and scapegoating of migrants tending toward xenophobia.  Such a challenge demands our full collaboration to better understand the challenge so that we can not only respond today, but be prepared for recovery tomorrow."

Also at the Conference, IOM is launching a new regional counter-trafficking information campaign "No More Human Trafficking" (No más trata de personas).

The campaign, covering all countries in Central America and Mexico, will advertise the hotline numbers in each country and raise awareness amongst potential victims and the general population on the dangers of human trafficking for men and women, either for labour or sexual exploitation.  The campaign also includes radio and TV spots, a radio soap opera, posters and other materials which will be prominently displayed in public places and distributed to thousands of persons in each country.

IOM provides technical and logistical support to the Technical Secretariat of the RCM, and receives overall policy direction and supervision from the incumbent Presidency Pro-Tempore to follow up on the mandates and instructions issued after each RCM meeting.  IOM also implements projects related to migrant smuggling and human trafficking and provides return assistance to vulnerable migrants on behalf of RCM member countries.

Since the creation of the RCM, also known as the Puebla Process, in Puebla, Mexico in 1996, officials from Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and the United States, as well as observers from international organizations and civil society, meet on a yearly basis to discuss migration issues.

For information on the Regional Conference on Migration, please visit their website: http://www.rcmvs.org/ or contact Jorge Peraza, jperaza@iom.int

For more information on the IOM information campaign, please contact:

César León
Tel:+ 502.2410.0012
E-mail: cleon@minex.gob.gt