Officials from the 11 countries that make up the Regional
Conference on Migration (RCM) are this week holding their annual
meeting in the southern border city of Tapachula, Mexico, a gateway
for Central Americans migrating to Mexico and the United States.

At the four-day meeting, beginning today, vice ministers of
foreign affairs and interior, and senior migration officials, will
exchange information, share experiences and best practices, and
carry out consultations to promote regional cooperation on
migration issues.

IOM's Deputy Director General, Ambassador Laura Thompson
traveled to Tapachula to take part in the conference. "I am happy
to be here to celebrate, along with all countries that make up this
regional consultative process, 15 years of fruitful and candid
discussions on migration-related issues of concern to all," 
Ambassador Thompson says, and she adds, "The RCM is at the
forefront as a regional migration dialogue and has consolidated
itself as a forum where all members openly discuss and take action
on migration issues impacting all countries."

This year's conference will focus on migration and the impact on
the families, as a follow up to a seminar on the same subject held
in Tijuana, Baja California in April.

"At this recent seminar the participants analyzed migration
realities but with a focus on the family and the impact that
migration has on different members of the same family, especially
children and adolescents," explains Jorge Peraza, Coordinator of
the RCM Technical Secretariat.

According to Peraza, migration can have an economic,
psychological, social and cultural, impact on a family and the
public policies that are in effect to address this
phenomenon.  "But this does not mean that it can be a negative
experience.  On the contrary, participants are looking at the
positive elements in order to maximize them," adds Peraza.

IOM provides technical and logistical support to the RCM
Technical Secretariat and receives overall policy direction and
supervision from the incumbent Presidency Pro- Tempore to follow up
on the mandates and instructions issued at the end of the annual
meetings.  IOM also implements projects related to migrant
smuggling and human trafficking and provides return assistance to
vulnerable migrants on behalf of RCM member countries.

Since the creation of the RCM, also known as the Puebla Process,
in Puebla, Mexico in 1996, officials from Belize, Canada, Costa
Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras,
Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and the United States, as well as
observers from international organizations and civil society, meet
on a yearly basis to discuss migration issues.

For information on the Regional Conference on Migration, please
visit their website: href="http://www.rcmvs.org/" target="_blank" title=
"">http://www.rcmvs.org/ or contact:

Jorge Peraza

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