September 19, 2024

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IOM launches campaign to help Haitian migrants

September 18, 2024

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has launched an information campaign aimed at improving access to essential identity and travel documents for Haitian migrants.

The “Alo Enfo” (Call for Information) campaign across border towns between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, supports the Haitian government’s efforts to ensure that migrants have a legal identity, necessary for the protection of their rights and for safe, orderly and regular migration.

The campaign is co-funded by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the US Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, as part of a larger initiative to strengthen good migration governance in Haiti.

“Migrants face many challenges in obtaining the documents needed for travel, which can expose them to exploitation and human trafficking, and block their access to State services,” said Grégoire Goodstein, Head of IOM Haiti.

“This campaign aims to raise awareness among migrants about the information they need to obtain their identity documents, which are crucial for their safety and rights.”

The “Alo Enfo” campaign uses radio, a toll-free hotline, social media and community outreach to highlight the importance of identity documents such as passports, extracts from archives and National Identification Cards (CIN).

The campaign provides clear information on how to obtain these documents through the Identity Document Reception and Delivery Centres (CRLDI) supported by IOM.

These centres will be equipped with new billboards and signage to facilitate access to identity services for the Haitian population.

In addition to the campaign, IOM supports state institutions in enabling the opening of new CRLDIs across the country.

It said this support includes the rehabilitation of existing infrastructure as well as material, technical and logistical assistance to the services that comprise them, including the donation of equipment and the transport of identity documents from the capital to the rest of the country.

The strategic approach to decentralising legal identity services targets in particular border areas and areas with high concentrations of displaced persons, with a focus on vulnerable groups such as women, children and border residents.

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