IOM’s Director General, Brunson McKinley, today began a
six-day visit to Sudan including North and South Darfur and Juba in
the south.



In addition to reviewing IOM operations in Sudan, the Director
General will also visit Klaimendo Village in Darfur, a Sudanese
civil-society project under the auspices of the Klaimendo
Development Organization. The project aims at reconciliation and
rehabilitation of victims of the ongoing fighting.



In Khartoum and Juba, Director General McKinley will meet
high-level government figures and representatives of partner
organizations.



IOM carries out a comprehensive programme of activities in Sudan,
operating out of 13 offices in all parts of the country with an
annual budget running to some USD 40 million. Programmes include
assistance to returning war victims, employment reinsertion of
qualified Sudanese, camp management and community enhancement. IOM
staff in Sudan number more than 700, overwhelmingly Sudanese.



As part of its active support of the North-South Comprehensive
Peace Agreement, IOM has assisted more than 42,000 IDPs since
February 2007 to return home in South Sudan, Northern Bahr El
Ghazal and South Kordofan, with medical screening, transport
assistance and overnight accommodation during the journey and
escorts. Over the same period, IOM has repatriated more than 22,000
refugees from neighbouring countries in partnership with the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).



To keep returns running during the rainy season, IOM is using a
barge on the White Nile to return internally displaced persons
(IDPs) from Kosti in the White Nile State to Malakal in Upper Nile
State. IDP returns by air between Khartoum and Juba are scheduled
to begin in July.



A joint programme coordinated by IOM, the Government of National
Unity, the Government of South Sudan and the United Nations aims to
assist some 64,000 IDPs this year.



“IOM is committed to working with the Government of National
Unity and the Government of South Sudan in implementing the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement,” said McKinley.
“Assisting the internally displaced and refugees to return to
their places of origin, and encouraging those with much-needed
teaching skills to engage in the rebuilding of the country, are two
areas in which IOM is very active. Rebuilding the infrastructure is
vital for lasting peace and stability to take root in Sudan.”




To help stability take root by improving the capacity of receiving
communities in Northern Bahr el Ghazal to absorb the returnees, IOM
is working with the South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation
Commission (SSRRC) in setting up programmes to improve basic
infrastructure and community services, especially water systems.




As part of on-going efforts to attract Sudanese professionals who
can help rebuild the South, IOM has assisted 75 displaced teachers
and more than 200 of their dependents to return from Khartoum to
South Sudan. Their return into productive teaching jobs is part of
a broader programme to attract qualified displaced individuals with
skills in health, education and engineering so they can take part
in the reconstruction of the country.



For more information, please contact

Mona Abbas

IOM Khartoum

Tel. +249 183 570 801

Email "mailto:mabbas@iom.int">mabbas@iom.int