IOM Director General William Lacy Swing yesterday met with
Ambassador Dharar Abdul-Razzak Razzooqi, Kuwait's Permanent
Representative at the Organization's headquarters in Geneva.

The meeting took place on the occasion of the Government of
Kuwait's contribution of USD $500,000 in support and recognition of
IOM's global humanitarian activities. The contribution, formally
presented by the Ambassador, is Kuwait's ninth annual contribution
to IOM. 

"This contribution is in appreciation of the invaluable work
done by IOM and its staff to alleviate human suffering in many
parts of the world," said Ambassador Razzooqi.

IOM Director General William Lacy Swing thanked Ambassador
Dharar Abdul-Razzak Razzooqi noting that "IOM is deeply
appreciative of Kuwait's renewed financial commitment, which
further strengthens our partnership and underlines Kuwait's
commitment to global humanitarian cause."

In addition to implementing global humanitarian projects through
funding from the Government of Kuwait, IOM has this year worked
with the Government to train police officers and law enforcement
officials on human rights, contractual labour and prevention of
human trafficking, as well as providing technical assistance to
strengthen national management systems.

Earlier this year, IOM under the auspices of the Kuwaiti
Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour brought together government
representatives from the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates) to discuss alternatives to the current
sponsorship system.  The workshop underlined the need for
collaborative approaches between labour sending and receiving
countries to manage temporary contractual labour.

For further information, please contact:

Iman Ereiqat

Tel: +965 25308164

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