Somalia - IOM has inaugurated a newly-constructed Somaliland Immigration Department Headquarters building in the capital Hargeisa.  The opening ceremony was attended by senior government officials led by the President of Somaliland, H.E. Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud (Siilaanyo).

The project will enable the Administration of the Somaliland Department of Immigration to better deliver integrated border management services.

The USD 250,000 building, which was funded by the Government of Japan, will also house a central database for a passport registration and data collection system. The system, known as the Personal Identification and Registration System (PIRS), was installed by IOM.  

Mr. Atsushi Yonezawa, First Secretary of the Japanese Embassy in Nairobi said: “Japan is ready to contribute to the nation building of Somalia, working with all the partners including the newly established Federal Government, Somaliland and Puntland, who are willing to make concerted efforts for the future of the Somali people. It is our wish, that the recent political developments in Mogadishu will lead to peace, stabilization, reconstruction and human security - in short, a better future for the whole of Somalia.”

IOM has been working with the Somaliland authorities to improve essential migration management capacities through practical training of hundreds of immigration, security and civil aviation officers, provision of equipment and IT systems for passenger inspections and  the rehabilitation of four selected ports-of-entry, including Hargeisa, Wajale, Borama and Berbera.

The Somaliland Immigration Department was also provided with five base stations and repeaters, as well as 48 VHF radio handsets, to secure communication between Immigration Headquarters in Hargeisa and major ports-of-entry. Walkthrough and hand-held metal detectors and new uniforms for 100 immigration staff were also provided.

Apart from the capacity building for migration management initiatives in Somaliland, which form part of an overall USD 6 million dollar programme funded by the Government of Japan, IOM has also provided similar assistance to important key ports-of-entry in all three regions of the country.

The porous border situation seriously affects ordinary Somalis and thousands of migrants as it allows for trans-national crime, including trafficking and smuggling of human beings, smuggling of goods, arms trafficking and terrorism.

For more information please contact  

Simona Opitz
IOM Somalia
Tel: +254 738561175
Email: sopitz@iom.int