Seychelles

The Republic of Seychelles is an archipelago of around 115 islands in the Western Indian Ocean, with a population of approximately 98,500 (National Bureau of Statistics, June 2020).

The Republic of Seychelles became an IOM member state in December 2011. Through its office based in Mauritius, IOM is supporting the Government of Seychelles to address migration challenges and leverage migration for socio-economic development.

The Seychellois are of African, European, Indian, and Chinese ancestry, with a majority having African ancestors who arrived in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This merging of origins and cultures took place during the French and British rules until Seychelles became an independent country in 1976. Seychelles is a country of both inwards and outwards international migration, with foreign workers fuelling the country’s economy and a large diaspora living in different parts of the world.

IOM has supported the Government of Seychelles in addressing the challenges of migration and capitalizing on migration as a tool for development through the implementation of activities and technical support in the areas of migration management, diaspora engagement, counter-trafficking, maritime security, health and migration, among others.

Migration Activities

Migration & Development – Diaspora Engagement

Supporting the Seychellois Government to strengthen link with the Seychellois Diaspora 

Seychelles believes that its dispersed community overseas is a precious asset to its national development. The immense knowledge and experience which members of the diaspora have acquired in their host countries represent invaluable potential resources for Seychelles. IOM is supporting the Government of Seychelles to develop a sustainable relationship with the diaspora, through study tours, workshops and capacity building

Border Management – Migration and Maritime Security

Supporting the Western Indian Ocean Mechanism for Maritime Security: Promoting Maritime Governance on Migration Issues in the Indian Ocean Commission Region

• Objective: Contribute to a reduction in risks and threats posed by migration-related transnational organized maritime crime, including migrant smuggling, in the Western Indian Ocean region.

• Partners: Indian Ocean Commission, Regional Maritime Information Fusion Center (RMIFC) and the Regional Coordination Operations Centre (RCOC)

• Donor: IOM Development Fund

• Scope: Regional (Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles)

Migrant Assistance and Protection – Counter Human Trafficking 

National Action Plan against Trafficking in Persons

IOM is supporting in the prevention and combat against trafficking in persons in Seychelles, by providing training to stakeholders in the country, in order to facilitate the identification of victims and ensure their protection. To contribute to this endeavor, IOM is also assisting in the finalization and implementation of a Counter-Trafficking National Action Plan. 

Labour Mobility

Bilateral Cooperation

Support and facilitation of bilateral exchanges on labour mobility

Ethical Recruitment and Responsible Labour Supply Chain Management

Ensuring that recruitment is conducted in an ethical manner is integral to the protection of migrant workers at all stages of the migration cycle and requires a collaborative effort of all relevant stakeholders. Therefore, IOM is working in close collaboration with the government of Mauritius and the private sector to promote and support ethical recruitment practices as well as responsible management throughout the labour supply chain. 

Migration Management

Migration Management in Southern Africa

• Objective: Improve migration management in the Southern Africa and Indian Ocean region. 
• Partners: COMESA, IOC, SADC, ILO, IOM, UNHCR, UNODC
• Scope: Regional (Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe)
• Donor: European Commission 

Migration Data

Efforts to prioritize the improvement of migration data are verified at the global level by the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), which puts the need to “Collect and utilize accurate and disaggregated data as a basis for evidence-based policies” as its first objective. The need for timely and reliable data to inform migration policies and programming within SADC has been evidenced by one of the recommendations emerging from the 2017 Ministerial Dialogue for Southern Africa (MIDSA), which encourages Member States to “Build capacities to collect and analyze migration data to strengthen evidence-based policy-making.”

Dialogue sur la Migration pour les pays de la COI (DiMOI)

• Objective: Facilitate informal, non-binding dialogue, information exchange and sharing of experiences and good practices on migration, capacity building in migration management, regional cooperation on migration matters and compilation and exchange of migration data and among IOC member States.
• Partner: Indian Ocean Commission (IOC)

Migration Governance Indicator

As part of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to prepare a biennial report on (a) the implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, (b) the activities of the UN system in this regard, and (c) the functioning of the institutional arrangements. The SG biennial report has been shared with Mauritius (through permanent missions in Geneva) in May 2020, inviting Member states to contribute to the preparation of this report.

Contact information

International Organization for Migration (IOM)
Office for Mauritius and Seychelles
Suite 501, St. James Court, Saint Denis street
Port Louis, Mauritius

Tel: +230 210 4250
Email: iommauritius@iom.int