Africa and the Middle East

IOM Today

An intergovernmental organization established in 1951, IOM is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society.

  • 146 Members and 98 observers
  • More than 450 field locations
  • More than 7,800 staff working on more than 2,700 projects
  • More than US$ 1.3 billion expenditures in 2011

IOM Worldwide


Quick Links

Warning - Internet Scams

Beware of fraudulent offers of migration assistance in the internet or email marketing.

Individuals considering migrating for whatever purpose or destination should take extreme caution in dealing with internet offers or email marketing in light of recent surge in fraudulent schemes.

  Republic of Congo   

Facts and Figures

IOM Member State since 2001

Capital: Brazzaville
Population (2011): 4.1 million
Area: 342 000 sq km
Language: French
Currency: CFA franc (XAF)
GDP per Capita PPP (2010): USD 4,285
HDI Rank (2011): 187 of 187
Remittances (2011 estimate): USD 16 million
Net Migration Rate (2010-2015): -2.1 migrants/1000 population
Immigrants (2010): 3.8%
Women as a Percentage of Immigrants (2010): 49.4%
Population under 15 (2011): 40.6%
Adult HIV Prevalence (2009): 3.4%

 

Overview

Years of civil war have had a negative impact on Congo’s socio-economic development and good governance capacities at all levels of public service and civil society. The Congolese government has decided to put Congo back on the track of sound integrated development. Much remains to be done, starting with security issues which also impact on the return and reintegration of displaced populations. The country hosts important populations of refugees displaced by conflicts and stranded migrants whose presence impacts on host regions already drained by the past civil war. Managing migration is considered as a priority and the government relies on IOM’s support to develop and implement the technical cooperation projects needed in response. Another priority IOM and the government have agreed to address is the fight against HIV/AIDS in mobile and displaced populations in the country.

Regulating Migration

Donors

  • Government of Belgium
  • Government of Italy
  • Government of the Netherlands
  • Government of Norway
  • Government of Switzerland

Assistance to Voluntary Return. IOM developed projects to give a human response to the management of irregular migration in countries of destination or transit and to assist migrants including Congolese to return in dignity to their country of origin.

The objective of the IOM project “Voluntary Assisted Return and Reintegration of Irregular Migrants in Morocco to Their Country of Origin” is to provide assistance to irregular migrants who volunteer to return to their country of origin. The reintegration concerns irregular migrants stranded in Morocco who decide to resettle in their home countries (Senegal, Guinea and Congo Brazzaville). The results of the assessment mission, conducted in August 2009 on the reintegration of Congolese returned volunteers will be available soon.

Project

  • Voluntary Assisted Return and Reintegration of Irregular Migrants in Morocco to Their Country of Origin

Facilitating Migration

Whether in terms of capacity, resources, legislation or proceedings, the Republic of the Congo does not have sufficient resources to administer and manage the process of migration. At the request of the Government of Congo, IOM implemented in 2008, with funding from the the 1035 Facility, the project “Technical Support to Improve Migration management of Two Border Posts in the Congo”. The project focused on preliminary evaluation actions, reflection and action to strengthen the institutional and technical capacity of the Government of Congo to address the challenges of migration management. This approach enabled an inventory of policy, legislative, administrative and operational framework, with recommendations for the short, medium and long term, as well as training on the priority themes of migration management. An evaluation of the management of the airport of Maya Maya and the port of Beach Point, also was implemented, with recommendations and the setting of equipment and procedures for collecting automated information on the entry and exit from the territory.

The results obtained have encouraged IOM to develop and submit a second phase of the project which falls within the framework of technical support for improving border control and migration management in Congo.

Project

  • Technical Support for Improving Migration Management in the Congo – Phase II

Last updated:
Main text: December 2009
Facts and figures: May 2012