Conakry – IOM, the International Organization for Migration, the National Directorate of Social Action (Direction Nationale de l’Action Sociale) and UNICEF signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in June 2018 to protect the rights of migrant children and youth in Guinea, facilitate their voluntary return, reintegration and access to protection services in Guinea.

In 2017, according to a UNICEF-IOM joint Report based on 11,000 testimonies, 11 per cent of adolescents and young people under the age of 24 who used the Central Mediterranean Route came from Guinea. The others were mainly from Nigeria (15 per cent), and the Gambia (11 per cent). Among the young Guineans interviewed for the survey between 2016 and 2017, 90 per cent reported having been exposed to some form of abuse or exploitation.

This tripartite MoU, concluded for an indefinite period, identified key areas of collaboration such as joint assessment of child migration trends in Guinea; strengthening the system for collecting, managing and sharing child protection data; pre-identification and registration of children as well as referral mechanisms.

The signing of this MoU will facilitate mobilizing resources, coordinating activities and pooling actions.

Since 2017, IOM has assisted the voluntary return of more than 930 young people under the age of 18 (including 85 girls).

For more information, please contact Lucas Chandellier at IOM Guinea, Tel: +22462525 7676, Email: lchandellier@iom.int