SWITZERLAND - Sharing Responsibility for Respecting Migrants' Human Rights - The practical protection of the human rights of migrants as an essential component of migration governance in the 21st century is the focus of IOM's International Dialogue on Migration that takes place next week at the International Conference Centre Geneva (CICG).
The two-day gathering starting 25 March which brings together IOM member states, observers, international and non-governmental organizations, civil society and the private sector, will look at ways to overcome the obstacles preventing migrants fully enjoying their human rights.
The Dialogue will examine existing legal frameworks addressing migrants' human rights and their implementation before looking at specific issues that demand attention including migrants' right to health and health services, fighting discrimination and xenophobia, and human rights in the context of labour mobility.
Ghanaian migrant in Ukraine and president of the Africa Centre in Kiev, Charles Asante-Yeboa, will also address the Dialogue on his personal experiences of xenophobia and on integration challenges. Ukraine is home to the Diversity Initiative, a partnership between many international and national organizations including IOM and UNHCR, aimed at promoting understanding among different cultures and countering xenophobic violence.
Participants will examine how partnerships such as these and at other levels can effectively address and redress human rights issues as a shared responsibility.
A second part of the Dialogue on the human rights of migrants in July will examine human trafficking and exploitation of migrants.
For the agenda and background documents, please go to http://www.iom.int/jahia/Jahia/pid/2162
For further information, please contact Philippe Boncour, IOM Geneva, Tel: + 41 22 717 9264/+ 41 79 635 2347
HAITI - Helping Families Improve Their Food Security - In a bid to help Haitian families improve their food security, several IOM projects are supporting backyard gardens in Cap-Haitien and Les Cayes.
About 1,600 households are benefitting from these projects which aim to improve nutrition through the planting of fruit and vegetable plots in the families' gardens. The projects are part of IOM's Programme de Revitalisation et de Promotion de l'Entente et de la Paix (PREPEP)
"The gardens, managed by women, not only improve people's general health by providing fresh vegetables that complement staple foods, but also family livelihoods. Children, women and older people are taking a special interest in the care of these gardens with many people now convinced that gardening can also help them to earn a little money. More and more residents are requesting to be included in these projects," explains Vincent Houver, IOM Chief of Mission in Haiti.
In Les Cayes, the home gardens programme is also working with community-based associations to carry out training workshops on the nutritional value of plants and production methods. Local agricultural technicians will follow up with the families on a regular basis. Households with family members living with HIV or AIDS are also benefitting thanks to US$ 2 million funding from the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
In Cap Haitien, working with the Ministry of Environment and the Haitian Red Cross, IOM is providing fruit and forest tree saplings, vegetable seeds/seedlings, tools, and training to local agricultural groups. The programme is also raising awareness on environmental conservation.
Last April, violent demonstrations protesting a 50% increase in the price of rice, beans and fruit, led to several deaths and the ousting of the Primer Minister.
The United Nations Human Development Index (2004), ranks Haiti 153 out of 177 countries with 55% living on less than US$1 per day and 76% of Haitians on less than US$2 per day. The World Food Programme reports that chronic malnutrition is widespread among the most vulnerable, with severe or moderate stunting affecting 42% of children under five. Food supply covers only 55% of the population and daily food insecurity affects 40% of Haitian homes.
Along with Afghanistan and Somalia, Haiti ranks as one of the three countries in the world with the worst daily caloric deficit per inhabitant (460 kcal/day). About 2.4 million Haitians cannot afford the minimum 2,240 daily calories recommended by the World Health Organization.
Since May 2004, IOM's PREPEP and Haiti Stabilization Initiative (HSI) programmes have been working with vulnerable communities and the Haitian national and municipal authorities to help stabilize volatile neighbourhoods by rehabilitating key infrastructure. This includes the building or rehabilitation of irrigation and drainage canals, street paving as well as carrying out social/cultural activities.
With funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), almost 1,900 PREPEP and HSI grants have been awarded totalling more than US$38 million.
For more information on IOM activities in Haiti, please visit: http://www.iomhaiti.org/
For more information, please contact Frislain Isidor, IOM Port-au-Prince, Tel: +509.245-5153, Ext 118 Email: fisidor@iom.int
