The IOM office in Quito is working with the governments of Ecuador
and Peru to carry out a recently signed agreement to regularize the
status of Ecuadorians and Peruvians in joint border areas.

About 30,000 Peruvians and Ecuadorians present in the region
working in construction, agriculture and in domestic service will
be regularized with the agreement also focusing on preventing
labour exploitation of migrants, as well as on protecting and
respecting their human rights by avoiding their
criminalization.

The region covered by the agreement includes the provinces of
Azuay, Cañar and El Oro in Ecuador and Lambayeque, Amazonas
and Loreto in Peru.

IOM is providing its expertise and support through the design of
an information campaign which will feature radio public service
announcements and other information materials and for the
registration of migrants. The Organization is also an active member
of the Round Table on Labour Migration made up of the Ministry of
Labour, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and various local and international NGOs.

The agreement was the result of a long process of dialogue and
negotiation between diplomats from both countries and civil society
organizations which began last July.

Although Ecuador is a country of origin for migrants travelling
to North America and Europe, the number of migrants arriving in
Ecuador in search of better opportunities, particularly from Peru
and Colombia, has increased in the past five years.

Migrants from these neighbouring countries cross into Ecuador to
find jobs which are paid in US dollars, the legal tender in
Ecuador.

For their part, Ecuadorians are filling vacancies in Peru that
have been vacated or cannot be filled because of the high rate of
emigration in the area.

"This regularization process will set an important precedent for
future regularization programmes in Ecuador," explains Alejandro
Guidi, IOM Chief of Mission in Ecuador. "This is especially
relevant in light of the fact that the government of Ecuador has
officially expressed its intention to regularize Colombians in the
future."

For further information contact:

Ana María Guzmán

IOM Quito

Tel +593 2 244 49 26

E-mail "mailto:aguzman@oim.org.ec">aguzman@oim.org.ec