The IOM Mission in Haiti this week hosted the first of four
Cross-Border Consultations on Migration Management.

One of the themes discussed during the two-day Consultation,
which brought together officials from Haiti, Dominican Republic,
Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos, the United States,
and the French Embassy in Haiti, was professional training for
Immigration Officers, in order to reinforce the human component of
migration management.

'The professional training of Immigration Officers is vital for
migration management.  Sharing information and experiences on
this subject will help define a common training agenda and
eventually help to create a regional training centre," said Haiti's
Minister of Interior, Mr. Paul Antoine Bien-Aimé, whose
ministry is the project's main partner. 

Caribbean Community (CARICOM) representatives discussed the
joint venture signed in 2008 by the Caribbean Centre for
Development Administration (CARICAD) and the CARICOM Implementation
Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) that aims to foster
cooperation and harmonization of training for frontline immigration
officers so that they are equipped to deter threats to their
countries and to the region.

The Ambassador of Canada in Haiti, Mr. Gilles Rivard, stressed
that “It is essential to strengthen the capacity of
immigration officers at the national level, as well as to foster an
exchange between the countries sharing the same spaces and borders
in a same region."

This week's Consultations marked the official launch of the IOM
Capacity Building for Migration Management 2 (CBMM2), funded by the
Canadian government (START/DFAIT), with the aim of strengthening
the migration management capacity of the Haitian Government and
follows on two previous consultations as part of Phase I of the
programme on Visa Policy and Security Measures and Tackling
Document Fraud.

CBMM2 will target the technical and human resources needs of the
existing migration management skills of the Haitian Government, as
well as supporting the adoption and implementation of
counter-trafficking legislation. The technical component includes
the extension of the Border Control Information Management System
to 12 new border posts, as well as an analysis of the current
legislative instrument regulating migration in Haiti.  The
human resources component will create the first built-in Training
Unit at the Ministry of Interior to provide in-depth training to
Immigration Officers at all levels.

The first phase of the programme was designed to strengthen and
enhance Haiti's migration management capacity to handle regular and
irregular migration flows.  It also provided office and IT
equipment, document examination tools, expert assistance in
developing Haitian immigration and border agencies' legislation,
procedural manuals, management skills and facilitating cross-border
cooperation and discussions on matters high on the Caribbean
regional agenda.

For further information, please contact:

Michela Macchiavello

IOM Haiti

Tel: +509.22451218

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