	Ongoing Projects
	Assisted Voluntary Returns Technical Cooperation on Migration Counter Trafficking Migration Health

IOM KOSOVO Ongoing Projects

Assisted Voluntary Returns

(AVR)- is dedicated to creating an environment conducive to successful and sustainable returns, implementing complementary reintegration support measures and a range of capacity building activities that have already benefited, directly and indirectly, more than a million people.

IOM KOSOVO Ongoing Projects

Assisted Voluntary Returns

AVR is dedicated to creating an environment conducive to successful and sustainable returns, implementing complementary reintegration support measures and a range of capacity building activities that have already benefited, directly and indirectly, more than a million people.

Kosovo Humanitarian Returns Programme - Transport and Direct Assistance Components

Assisting in the organised repatriation of Kosovar returnees including local transportation of beneficiaries from the airport, or other arrival points, to their place of origin with particular attention to vulnerable cases. Directly assisting Kosovar returnees through reinstallation and reintegration support, either as a one-time cash payment or through a process of needs assessment in the areas of housing and basic survival with subsequent financial assistance.

The project is funded by multiple donors

Assisted Voluntary Returns for Vulnerable Cases to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and to Serbia and Montenegro including Kosovo and the Return Information Fund Component (RIF)

Facilitating the voluntary return of vulnerable persons originating from BiH, Serbia and Montenegro and Kosovo currently residing under the Swiss asylum regime in Switzerland.

Contributing to the sustainable return and reintegration of the vulnerable persons on a case-by-case basis including the provision of financial and employment assistance, social care, housing, medical support, return transportation, grants disbursement, secondary transportation, advices on the projects, and possibilities of training.

Answering information requests through the Return Information Fund (RIF) component of the Programme by providing IOM Bern with updated, accurate, reliable, objective and non-sensitive returns-related information supporting the returnees with the planning of their voluntary return and their sustainable reintegration in the country of origin.

The project is funded by FOM (Federal Office for Migration) Switzerland

Voluntary Assisted Return and Reintegration Programme (VARRP)

Facilitating sustainable returns of Kosovars residing in the UK to the country of origin by providing the following reintegration options: i) vocational training courses, ii) establishment of small businesses, iii) education support, iv) school fees for children, v) training/education support, vi) employment opportunities through referrals and/or on-the-job training.

The project is funded by the United Kingdom

Technical Cooperation on Migration

TCM component, the Mission closely cooperates with donor countries, local authorities, and international organizations to improve the conditions for the return and retention of ethnic minorities through targeted interventions in the field of transport, direct assistance, specific reintegration measures and income generation support as measures for community stabilisation.

Counter Trafficking

IOM Kosovo Counter Trafficking Unit, assist Victims of Trafficking VOTs for repatriation in their country of origin and coordinate with national agencies and relevant Embassies in facilitation for issuing travel documents for VOTs.

Kosovo Anti-trafficking Program (KAP)

The USAID Kosovo Anti-trafficking Program, implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Mission in Kosovo, in collaboration with the Academy for Educational Development ( AED), started in September 2008. It is a three year Program that will support reintegration services for victims of trafficking (VOTs) and will increase the participation of the community in the prevention of trafficking of human beings in Kosovo.

Specifically, this program will intervene to:

· Advance efforts to identify and secure a sustainable source of financing for victim support services as well as other anti-trafficking interventions;

· Ensure, in the short-term, the continued provision of a range of critical services to VoTs;

· Increase professional skills and advocate for greater specialization among shelter staff;

· Provide financial and technical assistance to shelters in setting up microenetrprises to obtain revenue, create employment and offer trainiing opportunities;

· Standardize and improve the quality of services offered to the victims;

· Support and empower youth, particularly those considered to be at high risk, by increasing their vocational skills, education, employment and business opportunities, as well as their access to and participation in social networks;

· Raise awareness in communities, especially in rural ares, about human trafficking and related topics such as family violence, youth rights, and safe employment opportunities.

Direct beneficiaries of this programe are:

Shelters, service providers, NGOs, “survivors” of trafficking, and people considered to be at potentially higher risk, as well as other victims of violence including domestic violence and sexual assault.

The main activities of this program are:

· A Resource Map

A Resource Identification Map will be created to map existing sources of assistance for victims of trafficking and other types of violence victims, including shelters, service providers, and NGOs, as well as to map projects in prevention of trafficking and violence.

· A Feasibility Study

A feasibility study on the options for sustained long-term support of victim services will be conducted, including an analysis of the different possible options for generating inncome and ensuring sustained financial support for the shelters, identifying advantages and disadvantages of various options.

· Grants to the shelters

Grants/ financial assistance will be given to the shelters to create or expand direct assistance for the social integration of kosovar and foreign victims of trafficking and victims of violence.

· Training of Shelter staff

Shelter staff will be trained to ensure the provision of quality services for their beneficiaries and good management of the shelters.

· Market Survey

A market survey on microbusinesses and self-employment opportunities in different sectors of the economy will be understaken to study the possibilites for employment and establishment of small businesses that generate income.

· Professional Training of the Victims

Victims of trafficking living in shelters or independently, will receive professional training for professions they have aptitudes for and that are requested in the labor market.

· Grants for Small Businesses

Based on the Market Survey findings, grants will be given to support micro-businesses and safe employment, the development and evaluation of business plans, and the start-up of income generating microbusinesses.

· Compilation of Minimal Standards for Victims’ Care and Standards for Shelter Services.

The Program will support the establishment and functioniong of working groups for drafting minimum standards for the care of victims of trafficking and violence, both for those receiving services in a shelter and those residing outside of shelters.

· Community Youth Mapping

A community youth map will identify the financial and social support resources for youth in three selected communities. Information will also be collected and analysed on the perceptions and attitudes of youth toward trafficking and violence.

· Giving of Grants for Youth Micro-initiatives

Grants will be given to youth for micro-initiatives such as income generation, professional training, education or youth information.

· Giving of Grants for Countettrafficking Awareness-Raising Initiatives.

Grants will be given to youth to develop informative awareness-raising campaigns for youth on the perils of trafficking.

· Discussion Forums

Discussion forums wil be organized for youth in the targeted communities to share information collected by youth and to raise awareness on the resources that can be used to prevent trafficking.

· Radio Programs

A 10 episode radio program will be aired ( both in Albanian and Serbian) to make youth aware of the topics related to trafficking, domestic violence, youth rights and employment opportunities.

The project is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Migration Health

Swedish Medical teams & Medical emergency Assistance for Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo

The Swedish Medical Programe (SMP) is an ongoing collaborative effort between the Swedish Government and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in continuous implementation since 1999. The program facilitates local capacity building to diagnose, treat, and care for medical and surgical patients, for whom such services are not available or adequate in Kosovo. Through the years of implementation, the aim of the SMP has changed, evolving from medical referrals and evacuation of patients from Kosovo to Sweden and Kosovo to Bosnia and Herzegovina ( BiH) to capacity building, training, and enabling the local professionals to realize greater achievements, with the assistance of the Swedish Medical Team (SMT) and ultimately improve their independent performance.

From 1995 to 2003, SMP was implemented through the successful cooperation between the Swedish Migration Board, the Medical Centre for Refugees and IOM. In 2004, the Swedish Government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs allocated part of its budget for global development to the Medical Centre for Refugees within the County Council of Östergötland to continue the SMP. The final phase of SMP was funded through the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA).

Achievements of the SMP programme in Kosovo 2000 -2009

92 patients successfully evacuated to Sweden

211 visits by 43 Swedish doctors, nurses and biomedical engineers to Kosovo,

Over 1136 patients have been examined and 215 patients have been operated locally.

40 Kosovar health professional have attended training sessions in Sweden,

Techniques improved for optimal use of available equipment and care.

The project is funded by Sweden

Medical Assistance for Complex Medical Cases.

IOM is acting as intermediating agency in securing access for treatment abroad for complex medical and surgical cases, for which treatment is not available in Kosovo. Various NGOs are covering the related costs. IOM assists them with patient selection and/or movement support.

The project is funded by IOM

Migration Health Assessment for Canada, Australia and New Zealand in Kosovo

The Migration Health Assessment Programme for nationals who are leaving the country under the various resettlement programs is established in IOM Kosovo since 2000.

The Migration Health Assessment programs implemented in Kosovo are for the for following countries: Canada, Australia and New Zealand. IOM provides the medical services in the fully equipped medical facilities.

The number of the applicants examined through the Migration Health Assessment Programs in Kosovo for the period January April 2010 was 117 cases.

The project is funded by USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia

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