IOM's Capacity Building in Migration Management (CBMM) project in
Haiti is today handing over 10 all-terrain vehicles and pickups, 19
motorcycles and IT equipment to the Haitian Immigration Service.

"This handover of operational transport by IOM and the Embassy
of Canada will certainly contribute to the improvement of our
officers' work in the field and enhance a regulated management of
migration flows all over the national territory," said Paul Antoine
Bien-Aimé, Minister of Interior and Territorial
Collectivities of the Republic of Haiti.

"The handover of the vehicles marks the halfway point of the
CBMM project," explains Vincent Houver, Chief of the IOM Mission in
Haiti. "The refurbishing of checkpoints, providing them with solar
generators, radio and computer equipment, and numerous vocational
training courses are proceeding right on time.  Now we look
forward to the cross-border activities, which will get underway in
the near future as these will allow Haitian immigration officials
to address border security issues of common concern with their
colleagues from the Caribbean region."

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"/jahia/webdav/shared/shared/mainsite/media/docs/reports/CBMM_haiti_info_sheet.pdf"
target="_blank" title=""> "background-color: rgb(153, 204, 255);">Capacity Building in
Migration Management in Haiti

The CBMM is a one-year comprehensive migration capacity-building
programme created to strengthen and enhance Haiti's migration
management capacity to handle regular and irregular migration
flows.

CBMM is providing a broad range of assistance to the Haitian
Immigration Service, including office and IT equipment, document
examination tools, expert assistance in developing Haitian
immigration and border agencies' legislation, procedural manuals,
management skills and facilitating cross-border cooperation and
discussions on matters high on the Caribbean regional agenda.

The project covers all air, land, and sea ports of entry in
Haiti. While conditions and infrastructure differ with airports
being better equipped than the other checkpoints, all entry points
face acute shortages of even the most basic equipment. 

Haitian immigration officers work in particularly difficult and
challenging conditions at the four busy land checkpoints along the
border of the Dominican Republic.  With a few exceptions, no
checkpoint has stable electricity or reliable means of
communications.

While the situation in Haiti is becoming increasingly stable,
migration and border control agencies continue to face significant
challenges and their effectiveness remains limited. 

The Dominican border remains an issue of particular concern,
with a record of irregular migration flows, drug and weapons
smuggling, and other trans-border crime.

The handover ceremony taking place today at the historical Sugar
Cane Park in Port-au-Prince will be attended by senior Haitian
officials and Canada's Ambassador in Port-au-Prince, His Excellency
Claude Boucher.

The CBMM project is funded by the Foreign Affairs and
International Trade Canada's Stabilization and Reconstruction Task
Force (START).

For further information, please contact:

Erik Slavenas

IOM Port-au-Prince

Tel: +509.245.5153

E-mail: "mailto:eslavenas@iom.int">eslavenas@iom.int