IOM is presenting its recent publication Public Policies
Benefitting Migrants and is taking part in round table discussions
at the Fourth National Migration Week taking place this week in
Mexico City.

Government officials, experts from international organizations,
academia, civil society, students, and the general public are
coming together at a series of round table discussions, exhibits,
and cultural activities focusing on the human rights of
migrants.

As a country of origin, transit and destination of migrants,
Mexico faces a wide variety of issues to ensure that migration
plays a positive role for both migrants, and society.

Although exact data is hard to come by, it is estimated that
every year some 150,000 irregular migrants enter Mexico through its
southern border.  Equally as important, every year a large
number of migrants return to Mexico after spending time abroad,
mostly in the United States.

Both population groups are respectively assisted by the
Government through the Grupos Beta and the Programa Paisano
programmes, which are featured in the IOM publication Public
Policies Benefitting Migrants.

The Grupos Beta, the Mexican National Migration Institute's
"humanitarian arm", operate along the northern and southern borders
providing medical, legal and social assistance to migrants seeking
to migrate to the United States.

The Programa Paisano was created more than 20 years ago to
assist Mexican nationals returning to their communities of origin,
comply with administrative procedures and by providing information
about their rights and obligations, as well as the mechanisms
available to present complaints regarding abuses by government
authorities.

The IOM publication being presented at the event is part of a
larger project that includes a series of training sessions for
civil servants in the programmes, the design of printed materials
to support their day-to-day work with migrants, and a video
documentary on both government programmes.

"These two programmes are successful examples of how
partnerships between government institutions, civil society and
international organizations can benefit migrants and societies,"
explains IOM Mexico Chief of Mission, Thomas Lothar Weiss.

IOM will also present its diagnosis Human Trafficking in Mexico:
A Study of Assistance Provided to Victims during the
inter-institutional panel discussion on unaccompanied children and
adolescents and migrant women.

The publication includes general information about victims of
human trafficking assisted by the office, and describes the
comprehensive assistance provided by IOM Mexico staff to over 185
victims, in close coordination with public and civil society
organizations.  According to Mexico's National Human Rights
Commission, an estimated 20,000 persons are trafficked annually in
Mexico, a country of origin, transit and destination of
victims.

The large majority of victims of trafficking are from Central
America, mostly from Guatemala.  Significant results of recent
IOM studies confirm that more than 60 per cent of traffickers were
women, and in most cases the victims knew the traffickers who were
either acquaintances or family members.

For more information, please contact:

Niurka Pineiro

IOM Washington

Tel: +1 202 862 1826, Ext. 225 

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

or

Pedro Lopez-Chaltelt

IOM Mexico

Tel: +52 55 5536 3922

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