A group of 28 Sri Lankan migrants left stranded in the West African
state of Togo by people smugglers will voluntarily return home to
Sri Lanka with IOM on Saturday (4/2).

The 28, part of a larger group of 209 migrants intercepted by
the Togolese authorities in Lomé, the Togolese capital in
November, were allegedly en route to Canada.

Following their arrest, the 209, which included 18 women and 11
children, were detained in a Lomé stadium in the care of the
Togolese Red Cross, which provided them with basic shelter, food
and medical care.

The Togolese authorities subsequently asked IOM and UNHCR to
carry out a needs assessment. During the assessment, Tamil-speaking
IOM staff briefed the migrants on their options, including the
possibility of requesting voluntary return to Sri Lanka with
IOM.

To date, 164 of the group have decided to accept voluntary
return and reintegration. They include 9 who have already departed;
the 28 who will depart on Saturday 4th January; 67 who have signed
voluntary return declaration forms and completed IOM medical
screening; and 45 who have signed voluntary return declaration
forms, but have yet to complete medical screening.

The voluntary returnees will travel to Sri Lanka with
Tamil-speaking IOM escorts and will be met by IOM Colombo staff,
who will facilitate entry procedures and their post-arrival
reintegration. IOM's voluntary return and reintegration programme
has received contributions from Canada.

Three migrants who decided to request asylum in Togo were
referred to CNAR – the Coordination Nationale de l'Assistance
aux Refugiés – the body which normally deals with
asylum claims in Togo – and UNHCR.

A further 42 migrants from the group have not yet decided
whether to return home voluntarily, apply for asylum or seek other
options. Another four absconded from the stadium and their
whereabouts are currently unknown.

For more information please contact:

Richard Danziger

IOM Colombo

Tel: +94.773.171077

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