Tunis, 29 July 2016 - IOM hosted a one-day workshop in Tunis, Tunisia to mark the completion of its four-and-half-year, European Union-funded regional programme: “Stabilizing at-risk communities and enhancing migration management to enable smooth transitions in Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya (START).”

The event shed light on the outcomes of the START programme in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia, in addition to highlighting the lessons learned. Challenges and best practices were also identified during the implementation of the activities. The workshop also acted as forum to share experiences and defined recommendations for future programming in the field of migration management and governance at the national and regional levels.

“Over 54 months of implementation, the START programme managed to remain relevant and successfully lay the groundwork for strengthening migration management in North Africa in the face of unprecedented shifts in the dynamics in the three countries and across the region,” said Amr Taha, START Programme Manager.

“START has contributed to ensuring that governments are more ready to tackle issues related to migration management and governance. This is no little achievement, especially as migration has been, and will continue to be a critical topic for the years to come! Not as a problem to be solved, but a reality to be managed for the best interest of sending countries, as well as receiving countries alike,” added Taha. “This of course would not have been possible without the generous support of the European Union Delegations in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia,” concluded Amr.

In Egypt, START supported four employment centres to conduct counselling and referral services on an ongoing basis. Over 3,000 job seekers in communities at high-risk of migration received livelihood training of which 21 per cent secured employment. In addition, 771 youth and community members attended 39 awareness-raising sessions to address perceptions about blue-collar jobs that negatively impact employment, based on which a career development booklet targeting blue-collar workers was produced; 71 employers received work-ethic trainings to combat low placement and retention rates; and 241 young entrepreneurs received entrepreneurial training and mentoring, of which 19 received 9 in-kind grants to realize their business start-up ideas. IOM also set up an online platform, Bosla, which provides information to migrants on services available to them in Egypt.

In Libya, IOM established a network of NGOs covering all four corners of the country to meet the basic needs of more than 4,000 displaced Libyan families and over 10,000 stranded migrants while supporting rescue at sea operations in addition to establishing governmental Legislative and Policy Task Force on migration management. Additionally, IOM has been able to reach over 30,000 beneficiaries to address the deplorable living conditions of those most affected by crisis and instability inside Libya through its emergency response interventions, including more than 10,000 migrants and 20,000 IDPs. IOM also evacuated 888 particularly vulnerable migrants, many of whom had been detained for many months and were eager to return home, from Libya to 15 countries.

In Tunisia, IOM has supported the implementation of a pilot project to equip 35 border entry points with a software that optimizes border management while working with the Tunisian Government to provide short term assistance to  over 1,000 migrants rescued  at sea; helped over 300 stranded migrants voluntarily return to their countries of origin; enhanced government  counterparts’ preparedness to handle migration crises; supported five local NGOs in creating 176 community projects in the most disadvantaged regions of Tunisia; and provided capacity-building to governmental and non-governmental organisations in migrants assistance and raised awareness on migrants rights.

IOM's four-and-half-year EU-funded START programme aimed at stabilizing at-risk-communities throughout Libya, Egypt and Tunisia by strengthening migration management and overall governance, providing timely and critical relief to irregular migrants and by providing technical assistance to relevant government bodies to enable them to anticipate and address emerging migration challenges.

For further information, please contact Mr Amr Taha at IOM Egypt. Tel: +202-27365140, Email: iomegypt@iom.int.