The Japanese government has committed a total of USD 26.7 million
in funding for 2012 to support IOM humanitarian services for
migrants, host communities, returnees, victims of trafficking and
internally displaced persons (IDPs).

The funded projects in Afghanistan, Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti,
Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia and Zimbabwe will also provide
technical support to increase the capacity of governments to manage
complex migration flows and to cope with displacement due to
natural or man-made disasters.

In Afghanistan, USD 10 million will be used to provide reception
assistance to vulnerable returnees from Iran, to detect and protect
victims of human trafficking and to provide return assistance to
qualified Afghans from the diaspora.

Another USD 16.7 million will go towards IOM's humanitarian
assistance programmes for African countries, including USD 12.7
million for IOM's activities in the Horn of Africa. Those will seek
to provide assistance and protection to vulnerable migrants, IDPs
and victims of human trafficking as well as provide support to host
communities and immigration authorities in addressing emerging
migration challenges.

In Kenya, IOM will provide additional emergency assistance to
Somali refugees in Dadaab and other refugee camps. In Djibouti, the
funding will allow IOM enhance the capacity of the government to
better manage the country's borders.

IOM's drought and livelihoods response in Somalia will benefit
from USD 4 million, which will also boost efforts to improve the
environmental health conditions of displaced communities.

In Cote d'Ivoire, USD 1 million will fund IOM's efforts to
rehabilitate homes and communities damaged by last year's civil war
in the west of the country. In neighbouring Ghana, another USD
500,000 will be used to provide much-needed reintegration
assistance to Ghanaian migrants who have been affected by the
Libyan crisis.

Japanese funding of USD 1.5 million will also support the
on-going re-integration of Rwandan returnees and other vulnerable
groups through market-oriented skills training and community
development support programmes. In Zimbabwe, USD 1 million will be
spent on promoting human security among IDPs, returned migrants and
vulnerable third country nationals.

The official funding announcement comes shortly after IOM
Director General William Lacy Swing's fourth official visit to
Japan, during which he met Ministers and high-level officials from
the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Disaster Management, Justice,
and Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. He also met
with officials from the Cabinet Office and representatives from the
Japan Business Federation.

During his four-day visit earlier this month, Mr. Swing also
delivered a keynote speech at an international workshop on the
acceptance of foreign nationals and their integration into Japanese
society. He also visited refugees from Myanmar whom IOM has helped
to resettle in Japan from a camp in Thailand.

For more information, please contact:

Yuko Goto

IOM Tokyo

Tel: +81-3-3595-2487

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