Coastguards from Somalia's Puntland, Somaliland as well as Djibouti
are taking part in an innovative IOM training programme to equip
them with the necessary skills to assist and protect irregular
migrants and asylum-seekers travelling at great risk through
Somaliland, Puntland and Djibouti en route to Yemen and the Gulf
States.

The six-day workshop, which opened yesterday in Djibouti City,
brings together 50 coastguards as part of a Japanese-funded
initiative to equip them with the necessary equipment and skills to
assist and protect vulnerable migrants, trafficking victims and
smuggled migrants.

"This training is critical to enhance the coastguards' ability
to save lives," says IOM's Mixed Migration Coordinator Husham
Halim. "We are particularly encouraged to see that for the first
time, coastguards from Somaliland are taking part in the training
alongside colleagues from Puntland and Djibouti. This will no doubt
increase their ability to respond at a sub-regional level."

These workshops are part of a broader IOM programme to
strengthen the protection of, and emergency assistance to,
irregular migrants and asylum-seekers from Somalia and Ethiopia
travelling through the region.

Every year, tens of thousands, mainly Ethiopian and Somali
migrants and asylum-seekers, make the hazardous journey from their
place of origin across the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden to
Yemen and beyond. These individuals, driven by political unrest and
extreme poverty face not only dangers at sea but also physical
risks, harassment and discrimination during their journey on
land.

For more information, please contact:

Husham Halim

IOM Djibouti

Tel: +253 35 72 89

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