On April 26th, IOM conducted a workshop on Protection and Provision
of Direct Assistance to Trafficked Persons and Exploited Migrants,
in Sana'a. The workshop served as a first step in establishing an
identification and referral system for trafficked persons and
exploited migrants in Yemen,  with over 55 stakeholders and
service providers  participating including the Yemeni Ministry
of Social Affairs and Labour, the Higher Council for Motherhood and
Childhood, the Women's National Committee, civil society
organizations, UN agencies and INGOs.

During the workshop, participants were introduced to IOM's four
stages of direct assistance provided to Victims of Trafficking
(VoTs): identification, recovery, return and reintegration. 
Participants also helped to map existing health, psychosocial,
legal, educational and economic services available, and to identify
challenges and capacity gaps.

IOM will repeat the workshop in mid-May in Aden, and seeks to
bring together partners operating in the southern part of Yemen as
well as to expand current identification and referral mechanisms
for migrants arriving to the Yemeni coast from the Horn of
Africa.

IOM will also conduct further targeted trainings in Sana'a and
Aden on victim identification, shelter management and the provision
of medical and psychosocial recovery for trafficked persons and
exploited migrants.

The workshops and trainings are funded by the Government of
Switzerland, through the six-month project, "Empowering Yemen to
Address Mixed Migration and Protect Vulnerable Victims of
Trafficking along the Gulf of Aden Route".

IOM currently leads the counter trafficking group of the Mixed
Migration Task Force (MMTF) in Yemen, which advocates for the
development of necessary legal and policy frameworks, as well as
the expansion and prioritization of direct assistance for VoTs.

IOM and UNHCR are co-chairs of the MMTF, a forum that unites
organizations working for the protection of vulnerable migrants,
and which aids the Government of Yemen in meeting management gaps
involving mixed migrant flows.

For more information, please contact:

Emmerentia Erasmus

Programme Manager

Tel: +967 1 220840

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