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Facts and Figures
Latest News Overview Migration ActivitiesIOM Vienna was established in 1952, when Austria joined IOM as one of its first Member States. Since then, the IOM Mission in Vienna has worked to assist migrants and promote adequate responses to migration issues, bearing in mind the well-being of migrants and the interests of States and their societies. Since 2011 Vienna hosts two IOM offices: the Austrian Country Office and the Regional Office for South-Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The main responsibility of the IOM Country Office Vienna is to analyse national migration issues and emerging trends and to develop and implement projects and programmes to address these. It includes five departments: the Department for Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration; the Counter-Trafficking / Vulnerable Groups Department; the Research Department; Operations Department and the Administration and Finance Department. The main activities are described below. The Regional Office is one of the eight IOM Regional Offices worldwide and is tasked with providing programmatic and administrative support to the 20 countries within its region as well as formulating regional strategies and plans of action. The Regional Office employs technical experts in four fields of migration management: Migration and Development, Facilitating Migration, Regulating Migration and Forced Migration. The Regional Office staff also deals with various cross-cutting issues and puts this technical knowledge at the disposal of the country offices in support of their local activities and thereby also to the governments of the countries in the region. The Regional Office Vienna also undertakes liaison with the Vienna-based international organizations such as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the International Centre for Migration Policy Development, etc. National Contact Point Austria in the European Migration Network Donors
The European Migration Network (EMN) is a network coordinated by the European Commission in cooperation with National Contact Points (NCPs) established in each Member State, plus Norway. Its purpose is to provide up-to-date, objective, reliable and comparable information on migration and asylum with a view to supporting policymaking in the European Union in these areas, as well as to the wider public. Since 2003, IOM Vienna has served as the National Contact Point Austria on behalf of the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior. The work of the NCP entails migration policy–related research activities and the collection of information on migration and asylum (statistics, laws, publications and research, contact information) in Austria and its dissemination, as well as networking with relevant institutions and organizations. For more information, please consult the websites of the NCP Austria and the EMN. Best Practices for a Coordinated Approach to Assist Unaccompanied Minor Asylum Seekers and Former Unaccompanied Minors in the EU Member States (CAUAM) The overall objective of the CAUAM project is to contribute to the creation of a common approach for better addressing the needs of vulnerable asylum seekers who are unaccompanied minors (UAMs) and former UAMs. In this regard, IOM Vienna carries out desk and field research and produces a national country report to illustrate the situation of (former) unaccompanied minors in Austria with regard to crucial issues such as the asylum procedure, guardianship, family tracing and reunification, accommodation, schooling and education, employment, leisure time and integration. Main Projects
General Humanitarian Return Programme for Voluntary Returnees Donor
On the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding, signed by IOM and the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior in 2000, the IOM Country Office Vienna organizes at the request of NGOs and Austrian authorities the Voluntary Return of persons whose asylum application has been rejected, who have no residence status in Austria, who are recognized refugees or subsidiary or temporary protection holders, or who have applied for asylum in Austria and would like to withdraw their application. In addition, the Operations Department provides departure, transit and arrival assistance at the Vienna airport to migrants flying under the auspices of IOM. Main Project
Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration Donors
In addition to the General Humanitarian Return Programme, IOM Vienna also implements country-specific Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) projects. Currently, IOM Vienna implements AVRR projects in four selected countries of origin – Nigeria, Georgia, Iraq and the Russian Federation / the Chechen Republic – and in UNSC Resolution 1244-Administered Kosovo. In the framework of these projects, beneficiaries are offered tailored in-kind reintegration measures which aim to equip them with the necessary means and skills to sustainably reintegrate into the home society and economy. In addition, IOM Vienna coordinates the Austrian National Stakeholder Network of the "VREN – Voluntary Return European Network", a project funded by the European Union under the European Return Fund Community Actions 2010 and implemented from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2013 in the EU Member States, Norway and Switzerland. Assistance for the Voluntary Return and Reintegration of Returnees to Georgia In July 2011, IOM Vienna started implementing the project “Assistance for the Voluntary Return and Reintegration of Returnees to Georgia”. The project supports voluntary returnees to Georgia in engaging in income-generating activities, taking into account their individual skills and needs. Additional support can be provided to returnees with special needs (single-parent families, unaccompanied minors, persons with medical needs, etc.). Assistance for the Voluntary Return and Reintegration of Returnees to the Russian Federation / the Chechen Republic In 2009 structures for the reintegration of voluntary returnees were developed in the Russian Federation / the Chechen Republic. Since 1 July 2010, IOM has been implementing the project “Assistance for the Voluntary Return and Reintegration of Returnees to the Russian Federation / the Chechen Republic”, which assists voluntary returnees to the Chechen Republic with the help of local partner organizations that provide legal and social counseling, along with tailored reintegration measures (e.g., continuing education, support of business start-ups, purchasing of tools or materials, etc). Additional support can be provided to returnees with special needs. Voluntary Return and Reintegration Assistance for Nigerian Nationals Since September 2009, IOM Vienna has been implementing the project “Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration for Nigerian Nationals in Austria”, which assists voluntary returnees in engaging in income-generating activities in Nigeria. Prior to the return, a vocational orientation session in Austria is offered for interested participants. Furthermore, IOM supports reintegration measures with in-kind assistance such as vocational training, business training and support for starting a small business or the purchase of necessary tools and equipment. Additional support can be provided to returnees with special needs. Return and Reintegration Assistance for Voluntary Returnees to Kosovo Since September 2008, IOM Vienna has been implementing the project “Return and Reintegration Assistance for Voluntary Returnees to Kosovo”, which aims to support the voluntary return and sustainable reintegration of Kosovar citizens residing in Lower Austria, Tirol or Carinthia. Project participants receive comprehensive and innovative reintegration measures especially focusing on the start-up of small enterprises. Networking activities and capacity building in the agricultural sector enhance the returnees’ possibilities to successfully reintegrate in Kosovo. MAGNET – Austria, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Switzerland toward a joint approach in the field of job placement promotion for Iraqi returnees The MAGNET project, which started on 1 January 2012 and is managed by IOM in France, aims to contribute to strengthening the coordination and cooperation among four EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, France and the Netherlands) in the field of reintegration of Iraqi rejected asylum seekers – and Iraqi irregular migrants when applicable. The project’s objective is to set up a common system that will help facilitate the reintegration of Iraqis voluntarily returning to Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in the field of job placement promotion. Main Projects
For more information, please consult the IOM Vienna's website. Counter-Trafficking / Vulnerable Groups
Donors
The counter-trafficking department of IOM Vienna is actively involved in different projects tackling the crime and organizing events, trainings and workshops on this topic. In addition, counter-trafficking staff liaises with Austrian authorities, International Organizations such as UNODC, OSCE, UN.GIFT, etc. based in Vienna, national and international NGOs, law enforcement, judiciary and other stakeholders in this context. Enhancing multi-stakeholder cooperation to fight human trafficking in countries of origin and destination In February 2011, IOM Vienna, in cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the NGO EXIT, started a new project to prevent and combat human trafficking from Nigeria. Bringing together origin and destination countries, the project aims to build cooperation among various stakeholders. Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Nigeria, Switzerland and the United Kingdom are participating in the initiative. The project lasts for 18 months. iYouth – Models for Integration and Prevention of Exclusion: Empowering Migrant Youth Coordinated by IOM Helsinki, IOM Vienna is implementing this project with two national partners (Interface Vienna and the Austrian National Youth Counsel) since September 2011 until February 2013. The project aims to empower migrant youth organizations to better work towards integration and prevention of exclusion of young migrants through three main activities:
Improving the Quality of Unaccompanied Minor Asylum Seekers’ (UAMAS) Guardianship and Care in Central European Countries Coordinated by IOM Budapest, IOM Vienna is developing a handbook and curriculum for guardians of UAMAS. The project aims to contribute towards the enhancement of the quality of guardianship and overall care of UAMAS in the targeted countries (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia). It seeks to monitor and improve the quality of guardianship and care in order to ensure the best interest of the child. The project lasts from September 2011 to August 2012. CulTrain The project CulTrain offers cultural orientation trainings to Unaccompanied Minor Refugees in Austria. The aim of the project is to provide the target group with a comprehensive cultural orientation via trainings in order to assist them to successfully integrate into Austrian society. These trainings will provide Unaccompanied Minor Refugees with basic insights into the Austrian way of life. The trainings will be carried out in six modules and will cover topics such as culture, the country and its people, everyday life, living together, justice and injustice, and relevant authorities and their contact information. Main Projects
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Principal IOM Offices
International Organization for Migration (IOM)
Regional Office for South-Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe and Central Asia
Nibelungengasse 13/3
A-1010 Vienna
Austria
| Tel: | +43.1 581 22 22 |
| Fax: | +43.1 581 22 22 30 |
For information on IOM activities in Austria:
IOM Country Office, Vienna
Nibelungengasse 13/4
A-1010 Vienna
Austria
| Tel: | +43.1 585 33 22 |
| Fax: | +43.1 585 33 22 30 |
Educational Toolkit
A toolkit teaching young people about migration and asylum in the European Union
