Skip to main content
News - 
Global

Humanitarian Flight Safely Returns Ethiopian Migrants From Yemen

Sana’a/Addis Ababa – The International Organization for Migration (IOM), with the authorities in Sana’a, Yemen, and the Government of Ethiopia, successfully transported 79 Ethiopian migrants, including 19 women and 14 children to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia today (03/08) in its first Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) flight from Sana’a since 2019.

“IOM stands ready and willing to continue this collaborative return effort in line with international protocols and standards, and hopes this movement is the first of many from Sana’a,” said Carmela Godeau, IOM’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Today’s flight comes four days after World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, which aims to combat all forms of exploitation around the world.  Migrants in Yemen face grave risks to their safety and dignity and are routinely impacted by smuggling and trafficking. They also face many barriers to accessing essential services and support.

IOM’s VHR programme is one way the Organization assists migrants in the country and prevents them from falling victim to further abuse and harm.

“Greater efforts are urgently needed to ensure that all migrants in Yemen who wish to come home have the opportunity to do so in a dignified and voluntary manner,” said Malambo Moonga, head of IOM Ethiopia’s Migration Management Unit. 

IOM carries out medical and protection screenings prior to departure to ensure that returnees are fit to travel and provides essential humanitarian items to those in need.

In coordination with the Ethiopian government and civil society organizations, IOM has set up a reception centre in Addis Ababa where the migrants will be provided with assistance and protection services including mental health and psychosocial support. The migrants will also receive cash and onward transportation assistance to help them reach their communities of origin.

The Organization also supports family tracing and the reunification of unaccompanied migrant children. IOM also provides life-saving support to migrants through health care, food and water across the Horn of Africa and Yemen.

Today’s voluntary return flight is funded by the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), the humanitarian bureau of the U.S. State Department and the German government. Post-arrival assistance in Addis Ababa is supported by the European Commission's Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), and by the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian (OCHA) Affairs Ethiopia Humanitarian Fund.

For more information, please contact:

Avand Hasan at IOM Yemen, Phone: +967 730 556 688, Email: avhasan@iom.int
Mohammedali Abunjela at IOM’s Regional Office in Cairo, Phone: +20 100 300 4406, Email: mmabunajela@iom.int  
Kaye Viray at IOM Ethiopia, Tel: +251993531220, Email: kkviray@iom.int

Share this page via:

Related SDGs

SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals
Regions
Office type
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Angola
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Asia and the Pacific
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas (The)
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cabo Verde
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Central African Republic (the)
Chad
Chile
China
Colombia
Comoros (the)
Congo (the)
Costa Rica
Côte d'Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czechia
Democratic Republic of the Congo (the)
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic (the)
East and Horn of Africa
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Eritrea
Estonia
Eswatini
Ethiopia
Europe and Central Asia
Fiji
Finland
France
Gabon
Gambia (the)
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Global Office in Brussels
Global Office in Washington
Greece
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
IOM Office at the United Nations
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Iraq
Ireland
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Lao People's Democratic Republic (the)
Latin America and the Caribbean
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Manila Administrative Centre
Marshall Islands (the)
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Micronesia (Federated States of)
Middle East and North Africa
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nepal
Netherlands (Kingdom of the)
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger (the)
Nigeria
North Macedonia
Norway
Pakistan
Palau
Panama
Panama Administrative Centre
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines (the)
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Republic of Korea
Republic of Moldova (the)
Romania
Russian Federation (the)
Rwanda
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
Sao Tome and Principe
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Sudan
Spain
Sri Lanka
Subregional Office in Brussels
Subregional Office in Pretoria
Sudan (the)
Sweden
Switzerland
Syrian Arab Republic (the)
Tajikistan
Thailand
Timor-Leste
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Türkiye
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)
United Republic of Tanzania (the)
UNSC Resolution 1244-Administered Kosovo
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
Viet Nam
West and Central Africa
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe