Distinguished co-chairpersons,

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) welcomes the
opportunity to contribute to this important debate in relation to
the provision of assistance to persons in distress at sea.

Rescue at sea in the context of migration is most often linked
to desperate situations in which individuals find themselves.
Compelled by want or in hope of a better life elsewhere, they
travel on overcrowded, unseaworthy vessels, frequently used by
unscrupulous smuggling networks; and often fail in the most tragic
circumstances. Although there are no reliable figures on the number
of migrants who have died trying to make these sea journeys, they
undoubtedly reach into the thousands.

For IOM, the issue of rescue at sea is first and foremost a
humanitarian one; IOM has no role to play in law enforcement.
However, IOM's aims are to uphold the human rights and dignity of
the individual migrants, while also working to assist States and
other stakeholders in meeting their international obligations.

The respect for the human rights of all beneficiaries of rescue
at sea operations, regardless of their legal status is paramount.
The special needs of vulnerable groups, such as unaccompanied
minors, women, victims of smugglers and traffickers, and persons in
need of medical care must be given particular consideration in all
response activities:  i.e. during rescue operations, on board,
at disembarkation and thereafter. Moreover, the principles of
international protection must always be respected and any migrants
rescued at sea that request asylum referred to UNHCR and relevant
national authorities.

In many locations and under different programmes IOM provides
various modalities of protection and assistance for victims of
trafficking or for those wishing to return voluntarily to their
country of origin.  For such cases, IOM promotes a
comprehensive return assistance that includes, inter alia,
counseling on the possibility for voluntary return, documentation,
travel arrangements, reception upon arrival and reintegration
assistance.

Many migrants rescued at sea are victims of abusive practices
throughout the migration process. IOM's responses to trafficking
and smuggling are comprehensive and integrated – to seek to
prevent both phenomena through information and awareness-raising;
protect the victims through immediate assistance, shelter, access
to services, return and reintegration when appropriate; and enable
governments and agencies, through technical cooperation and
capacity development to better manage irregular migration
problems.

One of the major issues connected with the rescue at sea
operations involving migrants is the lack of adequate capacities of
law-enforcement officials, maritime guards, masters of ships and
other parties involved in rescue at sea operations with regard to
applicable international and human rights law. In this regard, IOM
offers trainings to government officials, border guards and other
stakeholders involved in international migration law (such as, for
example, the relevant provisions of UNCLOS, SOLAS, SAR and FAL
Conventions), the latest of such training organized in June 2008 in
Trinidad and Tobago).

The effective protection of those rescued at sea calls for a
coordinated response involving all concerned stakeholders,
including intergovernmental organizations. To this end, since 2002,
amongst other activities IOM has been cooperating with relevant
intergovernmental organizations, such as IMO, UNHCR, ILO, DOALOS,
and OHCHR joining an inter-agency network on the "treatment of
persons rescued at sea", and is in the process of entering into a
cooperation agreement with FRONTEX on responsibilities and
assistance measures related to rescue at sea operations and their
follow up.

One example of inter-agency work with respect to protection for
those rescued at sea is the "Praesidium" project on the island of
Lampedusa, and at other strategic points of the Sicilian
coast.  Implemented jointly by UNHCR, IOM, and the Italian Red
Cross, and  funded by the European Commission and the Italian
Ministry of Interior, the project provides assistance to those
rescued at sea in the form of legal counseling; identification of
vulnerable groups, such as victims of trafficking and unaccompanied
minors; counseling on family reunification; referral to competent
authorities (police, judicial authority); referral of international
protection concerns to competent entities; and monitoring of
reception centre conditions and the standards of treatment of
migrants in general.

Finally, long-term solutions to the problems of rescue at sea
will however require States to focus their attentions on
eradicating the root causes of irregular migration. This is one of
the key objectives conferred by States on IOM in June 2007 when
updating and adopting the IOM strategy. Member States asked the
Organization to support them, migrants and communities "in
addressing the challenges of irregular migration, including through
research and analysis into root causes, sharing information and
spreading best practices, as well as facilitating
development-focused solutions; they also requested IOM to "enhance
the humane and orderly management of migration and the effective
respect for the human rights of migrants in accordance with
international law".

Thank you.