Since 2009, Mauritanian authorities have made enormous progress in managing challenges related to transit migration. The establishment of new border posts, as well as an integrated system for collecting information on entry and exit in Mauritania, enhanced capacity in terms of border management, but also an awareness of migrants' rights and obligations States are among the priority projects for the country. Since 2006, IOM has been operating in Mauritania to support the Government in the aforementioned activities. However, challenges remain especially in the city of Nouadhibou, a city on the border between Mauritania and Morocco and at 1000km from the Canary Islands and Nouakchott, where migrants transit to continue their journey.
Since the beginning of 2018, the Mauritanian navy has intercepted several canoes bound for the Spanish coast, carrying more than 350 migrants, which indicates a resumption of irregular migration in the Atlantic Ocean.
The overall objective of this project is to strengthen the governance of transit migration in Mauritania, specifically in the cities of Nouadhibou and Nouakchott. This objective will be achieved through four main axes:
1) Capacity building of national authorities (police, gendarmerie, navy, coast guards, etc.) on obligations and practices of rescue at sea, humanitarian aid and assistance and protection of migrants;
2) Profiling of migrants living in Nouadhibou for a better understanding of their migration path, living conditions, needs and types of vulnerabilities;
3) Analysis of the national legislation on the issue of residence and work permits and identification of practical recommendations;
4) Development of a mechanism for coordinating issues related to the protection and assistance of migrants in the cities of Nouadhibou and Nouakchott for a better dialogue between the actors of the government, the civil society and the United Nations Agencies to maximize the effectiveness of support to the Mauritanian authorities in direct assistance to vulnerable migrants.