EU-IOM Joint Initiative

for Migrant Protection and Reintegration

Migrants transiting through Djibouti’s coastal town of Obock continue to benefit from the Assisted Voluntary Return programme funded by the European Union.

In May alone, 143 extremely vulnerable migrants returned safely to Ethiopia through four movements made possible through the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration in the Horn of Africa.

Together the returns were also among the largest number arranged through the programme in a single month.

The four groups consisted of 74 men, 12 women, six accompanied minors, and 51 unaccompanied minors.

Upon arrival in Ethiopia, the migrants were temporarily housed in a transit centre where they were informed of the available reintegration support and assistance to continue their journeys to their communities of origin.

Scores of mostly Ethiopian migrants continue to travel between Djibouti and Yemen with the aim of reaching Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states where they hope to find work.

As a result, Obock continues to receive migrants making the return trip from Yemen because of the dire conditions in the country. From Djibouti they usually make their way back to Ethiopia, with some appealing to IOM for assistance.

In May, 337 migrants were assisted with hygiene items, food, water, temporary shelter and psychosocial support at the IOM-run Migration Response Centre (MRC) in Obock. IOM’s mobile health unit that also operates in the area supported 671 migrants.

‘‘Migrants are still trying to make the journey to Yemen while others transit to Obock on their way back home,” said Stéphanie Daviot, Chief of Mission of IOM Djibouti. “IOM is committed to continue to offer a range of services, through the MRC in Obock, to respond to the needs of vulnerable migrants and adapt its programmes to the current COVID-19 pandemic context ensuring migrants return voluntarily in respectful conditions of human dignity.”

About the EU-IOM Joint Initiative

Launched in December 2016 and funded by the European Union (EU) Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, the programme brings together 26 African countries of the Sahel and Lake Chad region, the Horn of Africa, and North Africa, the EU, and IOM around the goal of ensuring migration is safer, more informed and better governed for both migrants and their communities.

For more information please contact Abdallah Mohamed, email: amohamed@iom.int, or at Regional Office: Julia Hartlieb, email: jhartlieb@iom.int and Wilson Johwa, email: wjohwa@iom.int