On Monday IOM and the World Islamic Call Society (WICS) will host a
seminar in Tripoli to present the outcomes of Prometeo (Promoting
Management and Expertise for Trafficking Eradication and
Opposition) – a project funded by the Italian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and carried out in collaboration with IOM Rome
since January 2008.

Participants will include representatives of IOM, the Libyan
Government and local NGOs involved in the project, which focuses
mainly on Libya and Morocco, which have recently become destination
countries for migrants. 

Prometeo was set up to support an endogenous, local response to
the challenges posed by the identification and protection of
vulnerable migrants, including victims of trafficking, supporting
an active role by local actors through a participatory
approach.

In Libya this resulted in the setting up of a local network of
NGOs – WICS, the International Organization for Peace, Care
and Relief (IOPCR) and Al Wafa – which now provides
assistance to irregular migrants detained in holding centres, prior
to their forced repatriation to their countries of origin.

In a pilot initiative, IOM provided technical support to the
network to help improve conditions at the Al Qwaa holding centre,
35 km from Tripoli.

This included an assessment of needs at the centre and the NGOs'
competencies; training for NGO staff providing services to the
migrants; financial support to restore and refurbish a medical
consulting room for health counselling and assistance; and
periodical monitoring and supervision.   

"IOM has supported this initiative with technical expertise and
experience, fostering the role of the Libyan civil society and
promoting an appropriate model of intervention conceived and agreed
upon by all parties," says Carmela Godeau, IOM's Deputy Director of
the Regional Office for the Mediterranean.

"The people we are trying to target are most vulnerable
irregular migrants in detention, among whom there may be people who
have suffered from serious exploitation. This approach helps us to
identify the most vulnerable – particularly victims of
trafficking – and asylum seekers, whom we refer to UNHCR in
Tripoli. But it also allows us to improve the living conditions of
hundreds of undocumented migrants held in the detention centres,"
she notes.

For further information, please contact:

Laurence Hart

IOM Tripoli

Tel: +218 91 383 25 96

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

or

Flavio Di Giacomo

IOM Rome

Tel: + 39 06 44 186 207

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