Somalia - IOM last week trained 13 immigration officers from Bossaso seaport in Puntland, Somalia, on tackling human trafficking and humanitarian border management (HBM). 

The training, which was funded by Japan, focused on registration of arrivals without formal travel or identification documents, data entry and reporting, data protection, principles of human rights law and the detection of trafficking in persons.

HBM is a concept developed by IOM as a response to migration crises that push large numbers of migrants across borders. Along Somalia’s Gulf of Aden coastline, an increasing number of undocumented migrants arrive at ports of entry as part of mixed migration flows. They include refugees and returnees from Yemen, and deportees from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The training aimed to equip Bossaso frontline immigration officers with the skills to better respond to vulnerable migrants arriving at the seaport by raising their awareness of trafficking in persons and international human rights law.

The officers were trained on how to detect, interview and refer cases of human trafficking and smuggling to the appropriate authorities. They also gained skills in how to handle arrivals and implement the basic protection-based principles of international human rights law.

The training also provided them with the skills to efficiently register all migrants, and in particular undocumented migrants, using IOM’s Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS).

For further information, please contact IOM Somalia. Tagel Solomon Tel: +254 0712 835 079, Email: tsolomon@iom.int or Neil Roberts, Email: nroberts@iom.int