The IOM Regional Representative for West and Central Africa, Ms. Carmela GODEAU visited the Republic of Chad from 17 to 20 December 2013.

The main objectives of the mission were to:

1. Discuss with the Chadian Authorities and Partners about the IOM work and collaboration in the country;
2. Meet with the IOM staff and
3. Participate in the commemoration of the International Migrants Day under this years’ call “It’s Time to Take Action and Save Lives of Migrants Caught in Crisis”, in Chad, a country that is affected by influxes of hundreds of thousands of Returnees, Refugees, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), IOM organized a ceremony under the auspices of H.E. Mr. Kalzeube Payimi Deubet, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Chad in N’Djamena on 18 December 2013.

During her two days visit in the country, the Regional Representative met with:  High National Authorities from the Office and Ministries of:

1. The Prime Minister (Primature);
2. Foreign Affairs and African Integration;
3. Plan, Budget and International Cooperation;
4. Interior and Public Security;
5. Public Health and

Diplomatic Missions in Chad from:

1. African Union (AU);
2. United States of America (USA);
3. Germany;
4. European Union (EU) and
5. UNOWA and UNDP Regional Experts on the UN Strategy for the Sahel.

In the center of her discussions with Chadian Authorities and Partners there were the following IOM projects and initiatives in the country:

1. The Emergency and Post-emergency operations for the Returnees fleeing conflicts in Libya, Sudan, Nigeria, the Central African Republic (CAR) and the crackdown of Irregular Migrants in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) as well as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) due to floods;

2. The Pilot Project on the Return of Chadian Qualified Migrants from France on Health and Higher Education Sectors and its replication in other countries and inclusion of other developmental sectors as well as the financial contributions from the Government of Chad under its National Plan for Development (NPD) on Migration with 15 Billion XAF (circa 30,000,000 USD) for 2014 -2015 and the World Bank (WB);
3. Migration Dialogue for the Central African States (MIDCAS) and the role of the Republic of Chad as the current President of the Economic Community of the Central African States (ECCAS) including the organization of the next meeting in Chad in the first trimester of 2014;

4. Migration Crisis Operational Framework (MCOF), its roll-out as a solid and practical tool for the both the Government and the International Community to respond to Migration challenges in the country;

5. UN Sahel Strategy, its planning and implementation in the Republic of Chad in which IOM is requested by the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) to lead the Pillar “Security”. The other two Pillars, Governance and Reseilence are led by UNDP and WFP respectively.

As part of her mission’s objectives, Ms. GODEAU also met with the IOM National and International Staff in N’Djamena and participated in the commemoration event for the International Migrants Day in Chad.

Contact:

Dr. Qasim Sufi
Chief of Mission, IOM Chad
Tel.: +235 22 52 53 59/60 (Ext. 111)
Mobile: +235 62 90 06 74
Fax: +235 22 52 53 61
Email: qsufi@iom.int