The International Organization for Migration

1

• The International Organization for Migration
• Unaccompanied Foreign Minors
• The Family Tracing Project as an additional Way
  to Improve the Understanding of the Phenomenon

2
IOM - International Organization for Migration

• Established in 1951
• Main intergovernmental organization in the field
  of migration
• 127 Member States
• More than 445 field locations in over 100
  countries

3
Family Tracing Activities and Assisted Voluntary
Return of Unaccompanied Foreign Minors residing
in Italy

• In support of the Italian Committee for the
  Foreign Minors (ICFM) in one of these duties as
  assigned by Law.
• Based on DPCM n. 535 of the 09.12.1999 Art. 2
  Duties of the Committee
• ..f) is tasked with all such a duties allowing
  for enhancing the identification of UAM family
  members in Italy, and in their Countries of
  Origin or in Third Countries, by cooperating with
  relevant public administrations and competent
  national and international organizations..
• IOM was assigned the task of family tracing in
  March 2008
• The Committee is not competent as for minors
  seeking international protection

4
Family Tracing Activities and Assisted Voluntary
Return of Unaccompanied Foreign Minors

• The Project involves IOM Missions in UAMs
  Countries of Origin in Europe (i.e. Greece,
  France, Germany, Spain), Eastern Europe (i.e.
  Albania, UNSC Res 1244 Admin. Kosovo, Moldova,
  FYROM, Serbia, Ukraine), Northern and Sub-Saharan
  Africa, (i.e. Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Burkina
  Faso, Senegal, Guinea Conakry, Ghana, Nigeria,
  Camerun, Ivory Coast, Togo), South Asia (i.e.
  Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan) and
  South America (i.e. Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil)
• Family Tracing activities in Morocco and Egypt
  have not yet started as not consent from the
  Governements has been given.

5
Family Tracing Activities and Assisted Voluntary
Return of Unaccompanied Foreign Minors

• Projects Activities no. 1 Family Tracing
• Some 900 family tracings completed by IOM based
  on minors profiles provided by the Committee.
• Family tracing is an useful tool to better
  support UAMs integration process, as it provides
  Italian social-workers with an in depth knowledge
  of
• UAMs migratory project, be it a familys
  venture or based solely on individuals
  expectations familys expectations and their
  reflections on minor s choices
• Context of origin possible problems /
  vulnerabilities within the family of origin
  and/or within the context of origin risks
  possible development opportunities in the area of
  origin
• From April 2008 to May 2009

6
Family Tracing Activities and Assisted Voluntary
Return of Unaccompanied foreign Minors

• Projects Activities no. 2 Family Reunification
• To be implemented through Assisted Voluntary
  Return and Reintegration (AVRR) programmes
• Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) of
  20th November 1989, Article 9
• States Parties shall ensure that a child shall
  not be separated from his or her parents against
  their will, except when competent authorities
  subject to judicial review determine, in
  accordance with applicable law and procedures,
  that such separation is necessary for the best
  interests of the child. Such determination may be
  necessary in a particular case such as one
  involving abuse or neglect of the child by the
  parents, or one where the parents are living
  separately and a decision must be made as to the
  child's place of residence.
• CRC, Article 10
• 1.In accordance with the obligation of States
  Parties under article 9, paragraph1, applications
  by a child or his or her parents to enter or
  leave a State
• Party for the purpose of family
  reunification shall be dealt with by States
• Parties in a positive, humane and
  expeditious manner. States Parties shall further
  ensure that the submission of such a request
  shall entail no adverse consequences for the
  applicants and for the members of their family.

7
Family Tracing Activities and Assisted Voluntary
Return of Unaccompanied foreign Minors

• Projects Activities no. 2 Family Reunification
  (2)
• In particular, family tracings are essential
  activities when the minor wishes to be reunited
  with his/her family and it is ascertained that
  family reunification upholds his/her best
  interests (according to the decision of the
  Committee and the other relevant judicial and
  local authorities).
• CRC Convention, Article 8
• 1. States Parties undertake to respect the right
  of the child to preserve his or her identity,
  including nationality, name and family relations
  as recognized by law without unlawful
  interference.

8
Family Tracing Activities and Assisted Voluntary
Return of Unaccompanied foreign Minors

• Projects Activities 3 awareness raising and
  information dissemination
• This activity aims at informing relevant
  actors and actual and potential beneficiaries
  about the services offered by the Project it is
  addressed to
• the Italian local authorities, NGOs and all
  those working with minor migrants and, when
  possible, also to UAMs themselves.
• CRC Convention, Article 12
• 1. States Parties shall assure to the child who
  is capable of forming his or her own views the
  right to express those views freely in all
  matters affecting the child, the views of the
  child being given due weight in accordance with
  the age and maturity of the child.
• 2. For this purpose, the child shall in
  particular be provided the opportunity to be
  heard in any judicial and administrative
  proceedings affecting the child, either directly,
  or through a representative or an appropriate
  body, in a manner consistent with the procedural
  rules of national law.

9
Family Tracing Activities and Assisted Voluntary
Return of Unaccompanied foreign Minors

• How the Project works
• ICFM receives the reports on UAMs compiled by the
  Italian Social Services, Police or other Public
  Authorities, and transmits them to IOM Rome
  together with an official request to start up
  family tracing activities
• IOM Rome analyzes, translates and records the
  information in a dedicated database and then
  sends minors individual profiles to IOM Missions
  in CoOs
• IOM Missions in CoOs contact the families and
  meet with them at their place of residence,
  conducting an interview and filling in an
  interview protocol that later will be inserted in
  the database then sends the report to IOM Rome.
  The interview protocol gives also an assessment
  over the feasibility of minors reintegration,
  taking into account all the information and a
  snap shot of the situation in the context of
  origin
• IOM Rome reviews and translates the family
  tracing report and sends it back to the
  Committee, which in turn forwards the report to
  the competent Social Services.

10
(No Transcript)
11
How the Family Tracing tool can be enhanced

• Through a better knowledge of the integration
  path followed by the minor, which can only be
  provided by the social workers directly involved,
  in order to have a more detailed picture of
  his/her story, starting from the minors own
  perception of the migratory project, needs and
  expectations.
• By this mean, the information obtained through
  family tracing activities can be effectively
  compared to the information on the minors
  present situation in Italy (i.e. his/her
  reception, quality of the family relationships,
  family members in Italy, etc.), thus better
  allowing for identification of possible
  vulnerability factors
• CRC Convention, Article 3
• 1. In all actions concerning children, whether
  undertaken by public or private social welfare
  institutions, courts of law, administrative
  authorities or legislative bodies, the best
  interests of the child shall be a primary
  consideration.

12
IOM..

• For more information on our Projects and
  Programmes
• http//www.italy.iom.int
• For more information on the Family Tracing
  Programme
• agiustiniani_at_iom.int ebartoloni_at_iom.int
  sspinuso_at_iom.int
• IOM Regional Office for the Mediterranean area
• Via Nomentana 62, 00161 Rome, Italy
• Tel [phone]
• Fax[phone]
• Email mrfrome_at_iom.int