The Philippines, IOM and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) yesterday signed a Memorandum of Agreement on providing
emergency transit facilities in the Philippines for refugees in
need of immediate international protection.

The agreement aims to establish modalities for the transit and
processing of refugees in the Philippines who risk being sent back
to countries from which they have fled (refoulement) or who need to
transit in another country, pending the processing of their cases
and their subsequent resettlement in a third country.

Under the agreement, IOM will provide transport to and within
the Philippines for the refugees, as well as onward transport to
resettlement countries. It will also provide medical screening on
arrival and prior to departure, as well as cultural orientation to
prepare them for their new lives in resettlement countries.

The deal, signed by Philippines Foreign Affairs Secretary
Alberto Romulo and senior representatives of IOM and UNHCR, is the
first formal arrangement of its kind.

"This agreement will result in better protection for refugees in
high risk situations, who can now be evacuated to the safety of the
Philippines and processed, prior to their permanent resettlement in
a third country," said IOM Manila Administrative Centre Director
Bruce Reed.

For more information please contact:

Joanna Dabao

IOM Manila

Tel. +63.2.8481260

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