IOM Director General, Brunson McKinley is
today starting a three-day official visit to Libya during which he
will meet members of the government and open an office in
Tripoli.

This visit follows the signing in August 2005
of an agreement with the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,
which provides IOM with the same privileges and immunities as
specified by the 1947 Convention on Privileges and Immunities of
the UN.

Through a series of diplomatic and technical
consultations held in Geneva and Tripoli, and within the context of
the 5+ 5 dialogue, IOM and Libya have agreed to cooperate on
migration issues such as the assisted voluntary return of migrants
to their home countries and their reintegration, labour migration,
international migration law and migrant rights, as well as
technical assistance and capacity building for migration
management.

"The opening of IOM Office in Tripoli is a
concrete expression of the strong partnership between the Great
Jamahiriya and IOM," declared McKinley at the opening ceremony.
"IOM Tripoli will work with all Libyan partners and other
stakeholders to find pragmatic solutions to migration challenges at
the Libyan, African and Mediterranean levels."

In June 2004, IOM and the Libyan government
organised a seminar in Tripoli that brought together some 50
officials from nine Western Mediterranean countries (Algeria,
France, Italy, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Spain and Tunisia)
to discuss improved regional cooperation on migration and
development, migrant rights and the fight against irregular
migration.

IOM has also organised training sessions for
Libyan officials to discuss issues related to border management,
international migration law, migrant rights and assisted voluntary
return and reintegration of stranded migrants.

Libya, which joined IOM in June 2004, is an
active player in the Western Mediterranean Dialogue on Migration
("5+5 Dialogue"), which brings together ministers and
representatives of the governments of Algeria, France, Italy,
Libya, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Portugal, Spain and Tunisia to
work on common migration issues.

For more information, please call

Redouane Saadi

IOM's Regional Advisor for the Western Mediterranean

Tel: +218 91 383 25 96 / 218 21 4777 039

E-mail "mailto:rsaadi@iom.int" target="_blank" title=
"">rsaadi@iom.int

For more information on the 5+5 dialogue go
to: "http://www.iom.int/en/know/dialogue5-5/index.shtml" target=
"_blank" title=
"">http://www.iom.int/en/know/dialogue5-5/index.shtml