Twenty-five Eritrean and Congolese refugees have been assisted by
IOM, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Government of Belgium to
travel to and resettle in Belgium.

The resettled refugees, who arrived in Belgium on 17 July, had
fled the violence in Libya and crossed into Tunisia, where they
stayed at the UNHCR-run Choucha refugee camp while waiting for
resettlement opportunities.

The group, including nine women and nine children, was assisted
by IOM to travel from Choucha camp to Tunis airport and onwards to
Belgium (Brussels National Airport). IOM staff assisted the
refugees at both airports with pre-departure and post-arrival
procedures including passport control and security checks.

IOM also carried out pre-departure health checks a week ago to
ensure that the refugees were fit to fly. At departure, IOM staff
provided a short briefing on in-flight procedures (pre-embarkation
session) and handed out a short information leaflet concerning the
reception and accommodation upon arrival in Belgium.

According to IOM Brussels, which organized the resettlement in
close coordination with the Government of Belgium and UNHCR, the
resettled refugees will be assisted by the Federal agency for the
reception of asylum seekers (Fedasil), which is providing shelter
and by the NGOs Caritas and Convivium, which will provide the newly
arrived with an integration course. This includes language classes,
educational enrolment and assistance to find employment.

This is the second time Belgium responds to an international
request for refugee resettlement. In 2009, Belgium resettled 47
refugees from Iraq.

"These persons are in need of protection, I am proud that
Belgium, like other European Countries, is taking up its
responsibilities. Protecting those in need is not only an
international obligation but it is our moral duty," says Belgium's
State Secretary for Migration and Asylum Policy Melchior
Wathelet.

This resettlement project is funded by the European Refugee fund
(ERF). Other EU Member states such as the Netherlands, Ireland and
Portugal are also taking part in this resettlement programme.

For further information, please contact:

Jo De Backer

IOM Brussels

Tel: +32 2 287 74 14

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