Supporting Migrants Returning to Fragile Contexts: Lessons from Iraq and Somalia

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[00:00:00.11] - Camille Le Coz

Welcome everyone to a webinar, Supporting Migrants Returning to Fragile Contexts: Lessons from Iraq and Somalia. My name is Camille Le Coz. I am the director of the Migration Policy Institute Europe. And in the next hour, we'll delve into what it means for migrants to return to fragile environment, the specific challenge that they face, the type of support that is provided, and what else could be done to avoid that This return adds pressure to the environment, to the communities that are already strained. From the United States to European Union countries, the return of migrants without legal status is a top priority for government. And what's clear is that returns are significantly more complex when they involve fragile contexts, countries with weak government institutions, ongoing conflict, tension between communities, and deep economic vulnerability. And while most governments refrain from sending people back to countries that— where active conflicts are ongoing or a political transition is underway, like in Syria, regions have been opening to Somalia, to Iraq, and other countries where the conditions on the ground are very challenging. So in this webinar, we wanted to look specifically at why it matters for government in destination country to implement these returns, how they approach them differently, and what support, if any, is provided to the people who return.

Most government, we've seen that in the US context, very few returnees actually receive assistance after return. But it is different in Europe where people who opt for assisted return usually benefit from reintegration support, and even people who are forcibly returned can get some assistance. For the actors who assist these returnees, non-governmental organizations in particular, we wanted to delve into what the provision of reintegration support consists in exactly. And to address all of this question, we have three speakers with us today. First, Ola Henrikson, who is the Ambassador for Migration and Return at the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who has been following this issue for many years and is extremely knowledgeable about assisted return and reintegration. We also have Abdiah Abdi Kalla, who is the Protection Manager at the Danish Refugee Council and oversees all protection activities of DRC in Somalia. And finally, Hajjaj Mustafa, who is Program Executive of Reintegration Program at the NGO European Technology and Training Centre, the ETTC, in Iraq. And for many years now, ETTC has been a key partner of EU member states and Frontex for reintegration activities benefiting people returning from Europe. So let's get started. And I'll first turn to Ola to discuss the policy level, because, Ola, Sweden recently released a strategy on migrant— on migration return and voluntary repatriation.

With a list of priority countries that can be considered as facing fragile situation. At the same time, government agencies like the Swedish Migration Agency have been working with the Iraqi, with the Somali authority for quite some time now with initiative to strengthen migration governance. And Sweden National Development Agency, SIDA, is now to play a new role. In this field, as actually many other development agencies in Europe. So could you tell us more about Sweden's goals and also the process of rolling out this new approach?

[00:03:59.11] - Ola Henrikson

So thanks for inviting me, and I would like to say a few words on where we are on this and also a bit on the direction that Sweden is heading. And just to start off to say that we do have a reintegration support today, which is given to migrants who have been through primarily the asylum systems and have not— and have a final expulsion order. If they go back voluntary, and this applies to certain countries, not all countries, then they get money after coming back to their country of origin. So this is strictly on the individual basis. We work with IOM that provides the, the returnees with the funding when they come back. At the same time, as we all know, the EU has been working a lot on return and reintegration through big programs. And I, I was, prior to taking up this position, I was regional director for IOM in Brussels. So I work closely with EU institutions, but also with a lot of colleagues, not least in Africa, implementing the EU-IOM joint initiative, which was a three-pillar project, one on return, one on reintegration, and one on protection. And, and a lot of migrants were assisted in North Africa, going back to other African countries and being provided with reintegration support, and, and with a wider perspective more into development cooperation.

And in, in its development policy, Sweden do work on migration-related issues. And as you said, Camille, SIDA, the Swedish Development Agency, is the one that is responsible for this, for the implementation. So the governance from the government is through different strategies, and there are, I think, more than 10 strategies that encompasses goals on migration already. And in October last year, the government decided on a strategy, Sweden's Global Development Cooperation in Migration Returns and Voluntary Repatriation. This runs until 2028. Overall, it's 3 billion Swedish krona, which is roughly $300 million, a little less in euros depending on the exchange rate. And the two objectives set up for this strategy is to enhance conditions for increased return, including forced returns, voluntary repatriation, and sustainable reintegration, including through strengthening local capacity and infrastructure in countries of origin and transit. The other goal is, is not on return, but it is enhanced capacity for asylum and migration management in partner countries, including border controls with a focus on countering irregular migration. So this gives SIDA a new scope on working on a broader reintegration programming in, in countries of origin. For the time being, Sweden is targeting 8 countries and 4 routes for this strategy.

The countries that are particularly interesting are Ethiopia, Somalia, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan. And also we will be looking at the Central Mediterranean Route, Western Balkans, Eastern Mediterranean Route, and the Silk Route. And there is the strategy is all in all 7 pages, so it's not extremely elaborated. What happens when a strategy has been decided by government? It is handed over to SIDA that takes— that brings forward an operational plan and then starts committing funding with implementing partners. And SIDA has a system for this. I mean, they do the due diligence, they look at what partners are the ones that are most likely to be able to deliver on the goals. and then they work with them. So among, I mean, I'm, I'm citing from, from the strategy, development assistance can contribute to sustainable reintegration and help create conditions for increased return, uh, positive contributions of returnees in development and in low and middle income countries. Successful reintegration can in some context be important, uh, factor in preventing combatting violent extremism and terrorism. At the same time, different forms of support for returnees must naturally be appropriate and not contribute to challenges. So I think this, this is some of the guidelines that government is given.

They are also asked to work closely with other Nordic countries and the EU. And of course, as I said initially, the EU plays a very important role in this. Although this, this is a lot of money by Swedish which means we know that, for instance, the NDICI program over 7 years has €8 billion on migration. And among the things that are being funded through NDICI is reintegration support. So right now, SIDA is, is finalizing its operational plan, looking at whom to work with, what specific projects and programs to fund, and then they would start, start the implementation that will go live of this strategy. And we will follow this, of course, closely from the MFA, but also the Ministry of Justice, which is the ministry responsible overall for migration policies. And we have formal dialogs 4 times every year. And then, of course, a lot of contacts over time with them to look at the implementation. So unfortunately, I can't bring to the table any specific experiences from the implementation of this project. I just wanted to say a few words on what you mentioned initially, Camille, and this might go more on the second objective of the strategy, and that is what the Swedish Migration Agency has been doing over the last couple of years.

[00:10:56.23] - Ola Henrikson

So A small proportion of Swedish ODA funding has been put to, to the Swedish Migration Agency. They have been conducting programs in Iraq and in Somalia. In Iraq, we have been cooperating to some degree with Norway and Denmark in the NORAQ project. This is aimed at capacity building for migration agencies, how to manage returns and readmission in those countries, also linking it with potential reintegration programs, because there are, as we all know, a bit of a plethora of different reintegration programs depending on where you're coming from. So you might have people returning from EU countries that are provided with reintegration support from Frontex, for instance, which can be the case in, in, in Iraq. So this is also something that we will have to take into consideration when implementing this. And, and I, I would to some degree wish the Commission would take a step forward and do a bit of a mapping study on this, because so much funding is, is being allocated for this, and we need to make sure it gives the best results possible. So these are a, a few words of introduction on, on where we are right now. If we meet again in a year, I'm sure I will be able to tell you much more in detail on what has been the experiences of implementing this strategy.

But right now we are just about to, to, to go live on, on signing contracts with the implementing partners. So I, I think I'll stop there. And then of course, if there are questions afterwards, I'm happy to respond if I can. Thank you very much.

[00:13:03.17] - Camille Le Coz

Thanks, Ola. It's helpful to understand, one, the rationale behind the strategy, and then how concretely Swedish public services are organized to deliver on these goals, and in particular, the new role of SIDA looking to work toward a development approach to reintegration along the line. Of other development agencies in Europe, in Germany, in Belgium, also in France, and of course at EU level. I now want to turn to Abdiah Abdi Kalla about the situation of people who are returning to Somalia, because Abdiah, the Danish Refugee Council has been involved in reintegration activity in Somalia for now over a decade. And I think I'd like you to complement Ola's intervention with some information about how concretely you operate. I mean, we all know that Somalia is facing specifically fragile condition marked by insecurity, climate shocks, displacement, repeated displacement of people within Somali borders, but also across borders. So my first question is around the specific challenge that people face when they return. Second, as we were preparing for this intervention, you've also mentioned that DRC has been applying its own vulnerability assessment, you know, a vulnerability screening to assess which person you can assist in Somalia. It would be helpful to understand what this screening process consists in and how that helps you to deliver better services to the people you're assisting.

And a third question on my side is the service you deliver in Somalia come with limitation given your access to the territory, also the number of organizations that are active on the ground, government services that are available, especially outside the capital, especially when people return to areas where the infrastructure, the transportation may not be there. How do you overcome these challenges with your network?

[00:15:19.05] - Abdia Abdi Kalla

Yeah, thank you very much, Camille. Very important questions there. As you've mentioned, the situation in Somalia, the continued armed conflict coupled with a very complex humanitarian situation often, you know, poses very serious concerns in terms of reintegration, but also in terms of just how sustainable enable their reintegration programming are. However, also, however significant the challenges are, we do believe that, you know, if we design context-based reintegration programs, then we are able to overcome or mitigate most of these challenges. Maybe just to mention a couple of challenges is Somalia continues to have a very active armed conflict in most part of the country with very big presence of non-state actors in some of these areas, which of course poses, you know, some restrictions in terms of where the returns— returnees would want to, you know, go back to. But it also, of course, has challenges in regards to basic needs. The resources are already very, very constrained. As you might know, Somalia has over 2 million internally displaced persons, which of course means most of the programming would go to IDPs. And thus, you know, very limited kind of funding is available for returns or returnees.

[00:17:00.08] - Abdia Abdi Kalla

Also, in addition to, you know, a lot of times the reintegration programming would include some aspect economic recovery, which means if you're looking at an environment that has already has, you know, very limited opportunities, it is very difficult for them to come in and, you know, sustainably integrate back into the communities. I think these are the very key challenges that we are seeing. However, we are trying to really continue working with with the partners that we have just to ensure that we are sort of having some tailored, uh, reintegration programming looking at a specific individual. Um, I think your next question was in regards to just the vulnerability criteria or the criteria, the selection criteria that we apply, uh, as an organization. Uh, DRC has a position on returns which is basically, um, looking at voluntary returns. So our programming is purposely targeting those persons who would want to voluntarily return, ensuring that the return process is safe, safely dignified, and, you know, their concerns have been taken into place. What we do is once we receive an applicant who would want to voluntarily return back to Somalia, then there is a Specific process that we undergo, one of them is to set up an interview with them where we are not only providing a pre-counseling session to them, but also we are providing information in regards to how the situation in the country is looking like, but also what opportunities are available.

And of course, we are able to provide any other specific questions or concerns that the returnee might have at that particular time. And then we also have specific criteria that we look at depending on the person who has applied for a return. We have a couple of, you know, things that we look at. This includes ensuring that, maybe if I could mention a couple of them, ensuring that a person has very strong family ties including clan ties within the country, also including social networks, just ensuring that we are able to clearly, you know, demarcate the social networks this person has, which will of course in turn later come to support in successful reintegration. We also do not accept unaccompanied minors who do not have family support within the country. Also persons that might have serious medical conditions including, you know, chronic conditions that— sorry, that would require, you know, constant medical care. We additionally also look at persons that might have been found guilty of crimes and maybe have yet to serve a full sentence in the country where they are at. We would not accept that person at the time. Additionally, we are also looking at people who might face detention upon arrival.

For those, we would also reject their applications. Anybody standing or at the time going through a trial will also not be accepted. In addition to a person maybe who has been commit— who has maybe been found guilty of committing serious human rights violations, especially against, you know, international human rights, maybe even within Somalia or abroad, we would seriously consider those people. And most of the time they would be rejected. Those are, if you look at the results, why it would just make sure that we are trying to ensure that by the time we are accepting a person into the program, then we are ensuring that we have mitigated the issues that would maybe affect later successful reintegration. But also, we do not want to put any person, you know, in danger later or putting them at further risk once they arrive in Somalia. I think you've had a very good question in terms of the limited services that we have, as I had mentioned previously. I mean, the country is currently still under armed conflict and also the serious humanitarian situation going on with a very large IDP population that already shows, you know, the serious basic needs issues maybe basic need issues, yeah.

But then also in terms of just, I think one of the key issues we are currently seeing is in regards to people accessing mental health care or support, which is already a very big issue within Somalia. The kind of capacity within Somalia to provide especially specialized mental health psychosocial support is very limited. So we are having these serious concerns when we bring in people and they're currently maybe at the time going through a phase where they would really require such psychosocial support or specialized psychosocial support care. We are having so much issues just to linking them. However, we do work within our programs. We've got an aspect of just ensuring that even though there is so many constraints on this, we work together with— we've got an aspect within the program where we are able to support, maybe pay for these services, whether even it includes, you know, looking at other— if not within Somalia, how best can we maybe support in terms of other ways, right? So those are the major issues, maybe, unless These are questions that you still want me to further highlight on. Yeah, over to my team.

[00:23:44.04] - Camille Le Coz

Thanks a lot, Abdiah. Just a follow-up question on this. Would you have an estimate of how many people DRC assists every year or in the past few years? And yeah, where they were coming back from?

[00:24:00.12] - Abdia Abdi Kalla

Yes. So currently we are supporting returns from Norway and Denmark. We are in partnership with the government from Norway and Denmark to support voluntary returns from those two areas for persons who have, you know, their area of origin was Somalia. In regards to the caseloads that we work in, about 30 persons per year, but this always is based on the needs and it could be, you know, about 20 to 30. Yeah.

[00:24:37.07] - Camille Le Coz

Thank you very much. This insight provided a much more concrete picture as to what is meant by providing assistance to people who return to Somalia and the range of challenges that they face and the difficulties of accessing services. And specifically on this topic, I want to turn to our last speaker, Hajjaj Mustafa, for a perspective from Iraq, because his NGO, the ETTC, has long been working to deliver assistance to returnees across the whole country through the local office. Hajjaj Mustafa is in Erbil. He's going back to Baghdad tomorrow. And Ola mentioned also that you've been work— I mean, the different program, we have different bilateral national program of people returning from member states, but there is also this EU-wide program that Frontex is managing, the EU Reintegration Program. And Hajjaj Mustafa, I would be interested in your thought on two aspects. One is how people prepare for returning to Iraq. Your organization sometimes engage with individuals before they return. They have what we call pre-departure conversation where people can ask questions. How important do you think it is to have these exchanges? What type of information is provided to people prior to their decision to engage in an assisted voluntary return and reintegration?

Program? And the other question is specific to the context in Iraq, because as in other post-conflict situations, it might be that people cannot go back to their home due to destruction or also remaining security risk. In previous research that my colleague Ravenna Sohst and I did, we found that some people actually relocated, were settling in camps for internally displaced persons. At your level, how do you work around the situation? How do you find resources to deliver adequate support to the people once they are back?

[00:26:44.12] - Hajjaj Mustafa

Thank you very much. Good afternoon. And we are very— thank you for inviting us to this important webinar. My name is Hajjaj Mustafa. I'm responsible for the Integration Program at ETTC, European Technology and Training Centre. Since 2009, ETTC have been working in the field of reintegration program, implementing different reintegration programs such as ERIN with one R and ERRIN with two R. And of course, since 2023, ETTC implementing Frontex with cooperation with different member states, Germany, Sweden, Finland, other member states. Regarding your question, of course, as ETTC, within our experience, we see that pre-departure counseling or communication with returnee, it is the foundation of success of reintegration program. Why? Because always ETTC try to be in contact with the returnee before departure to explain the current situation in the country of origin. This is One, the returnee to have sufficient information to whether decide to return or not. And the second is to make a trust between the ETTC as a service provider in the home country and the returnee. So in the current program, always we have a cash assistance to be provided upon return. So it means ETTC always in contact before departure with an individual, maybe single, woman-headed family, or family.

So just they will explain that, uh, the situation. Most of the returnees, they have different questions and different, uh, asking different questions, such as, for example, regarding, uh, you mentioned in the question security situation. Of course they are asking about the security situation. They are asking how, for example, when they are coming to the airport, are there any investigation, or what such kind of ID or passport they are needed. So in many times we advise that You should have a, let's say, new ID. And of course, sometimes they have, they will, the host country, they will make one visa, a one-way visa in order to check at the airport. So ETTC during receiving returnee at the airport, they will, let's say, find the final destination to advise them. So mostly they are asking about the security situation. In addition of that, they are asking other questions which is related to the services available after return. For example, let's say that how can they will go to the final destination, available service support, for example, health, education, reintegration, income generation, job opportunity, and how is the job market, how is the security situation in the area.

Some of the returnees who they have a kids, they are asking about the schools, availability of the schools, and some others They are asking about the health condition in the area. So as we have all the information in the country of origin, we are responsible to provide all the right answers and the right information to the returnee. So when they will get the right information, they will think about that. They will make a trust between the ETTC and the returnee, and then they maybe they will decide to return. And when they will return, when they see the right information. So maybe mouth to mouth, uh, it will be passed, this message, to other returnees, because all the returnees, they have a connection, uh, with each other. So I think this is what it is doing regarding the first question. Regarding the second questions, which, uh, you mentioned, that returnees, when they are returned unable to go back to home, ETTC is very flexible. Even sometimes, for example, some people when they were returned, for example, the original place in Baghdad, they want to settle in, for example, in Erbil. So we are very flexible because of some reason, maybe sometimes because of the security reason, maybe sometimes because the family members, they are living in other city, they want to stay with them.

But of course, we have a few cases that they cannot be able to go to their own places. Maybe they will be afraid, maybe they cannot have sufficient, let's say, accommodation or other. We don't have a lot. We have some of the cases, very few, in the Duhok area, which they are residing in the camps. But of course, ETTC following up the cases by providing them the reintegration program and also referring to the local authority in case if they need, for example, the ID, other things, anything which they— so it is the responsibility of ETTC to follow the cases. And sometimes when we have a pre-departure counseling sessions, for example, some case they don't have a places that to return in case. So at least for one week, ETTC, let's say, make accommodation accommodation for them after arrival. Then we will try to have to, to, to make for 6 months or more than others, uh, other months to make accommodation for returnee until he or she will settle in the best way. So it means it is the, the decision of returnee when they will return, if where he will stay. But in, in general, what we are dealing with most of returnee, most of them, they want to return to their own final destination, which previously he left in country of origin because of a lot of reason.

Very few cases they want to settle in other places. So this is my answer to the questions. So if there is any questions related to the reintegration, this is very brief because I think only we have 7 minutes. Why I'm in a hurry to complete on time. Thank you very much. If there is any question, I will be very happy to answer.

[00:33:28.21] - Camille Le Coz

Thank you very much, Hajjaj Mustafa. And I have a few questions lined up. And once again, it's helpful to understand how you, how you operate on the ground and the many opportunities to better connect with other development and humanitarian actors who have programs in Iraq. So I now want to open the floor for questions for the audience. As you might have seen, there is a Q&A chat box. There is also a chat, a dedicated chat box, and you can also send an email to [email protected]. And I'll first turn to Ola. We have a few questions from the audience that I've compiled because you've talked about Sweden, your strategy, and also, as you said, a lot is happening on the return and reintegration front at EU level. Return is a top priority in the context of the implementation of the new Pact on Migration and Asylum. The European Commission recently presented a proposal for a new return regulation. That's the policy that would be binding for member states on this issue. And at more operational level, there have been many investments to support assisted voluntary return and reintegration program. The European Commission has been encouraging member states to set a program.

[[FOR THE Q&A PORTION OF THE TRANSCRIPT, SPEAKERS ARE NOT IDENTIFIED BY NAME. PLEASE SEE THE RECORDING TO IDENTIFY SPEAKERS.]]

[00:34:52.21] - Speaker 1

We've discussed that Frontex is managing an EU-wide program. So from a member state standpoint, you know, what is your perspective on this effort? Specifically, we had a question on whether Sweden is using the Frontex EU Reintegration Program and then how your strategy is aligning with the needs and priorities of countries of origin?

[00:35:19.10] - Speaker 2

So thank you. Yes, we are working with Frontex and they do provide reintegration support in numerous countries. And as I said initially, this strategy is targeting or focusing rather on a limited number of countries where we have where we face sometimes higher numbers of arrivals and where we face to a certain degree challenges on the return side. And the challenges can be multifaceted and we see scope for closer cooperation with those countries. And of course I mentioned also routes in there. I think we are very much aligned with overall EU priorities. So I think this is complementary in a way to what is already provided. And, and this gives us an opportunity to, to again, to focus and, and to see if there are particular gaps in reintegration support or enhancing capacity among migration agencies in countries of origin to manage migration. I mean, this, this is also a main in line with, with the Global Compact on Migration for safe, regular, and orderly migration, which also has an objective on returns. I think this is what we are looking at. And of course, we have been, been looking carefully about what, where other countries have been doing, and not least Denmark, which I know has had quite an elaborated work on this for a number of years.

[00:36:58.04] - Speaker 2

So we, we look at cooperating with them as well.

[00:37:03.16] - Speaker 1

Thank you very much. I have another question for Abdia in relation to the Somali authorities, because we often see local authorities are at the forefront of addressing the needs of returnees. They often come under pressure from communities to provide assistance. And of course, there is a demand from the national government as well. Somalia being a federal state, each state having their own internal dynamic. There have a question on how do you operate? We had a question specifically on, you know, what you think are the main obstacle for Somali authorities in terms of legal framework, standard operating procedure? First question, and then a second question, if you can tell us again the condition for you to be involved in supporting people who return to Somalia? and whether DRC, but you know, this is a case for IOM or UNHCR, should be involving forced return. Can you clarify under what condition DRC considers that a person has had the chance to make a decision about the condition of their return?

[00:38:14.15] - Speaker 3

Yeah, thank you for those questions. In regards to maybe just to leave the government and maybe the challenges, I think one thing I would like to mention is that we are seeing a political will within the government of Somalia to discuss issues around returns and migrations. We've seen quite a number of policies being developed. Case in point, I think even as late as last year, we've seen the National Strategy for Migration, National Durable Solutions strategy, among others. This already reflects that the government is looking into, you know, not only ensuring that the conditions back home for those who would want to return are, you know, are conducive. I think the government is okay with the voluntary returns or returns per se, as long as they are done in voluntary aspect, their safety and dignity has been considered. I think the main challenge that we foresee and something that you've already mentioned is because Somalia is, you know, a federal government with about 8 other member states which have its own president. And so, you know, the working between the two between the federal and the member states is sometimes challenging, with every member state having its own, you know, ways of working, capacity, and resources, which of course this has challenges if you are trying to work especially at, not at Mogadishu level, but at the other member states level.

[00:40:10.15] - Speaker 3

I think we've seen some strength in coordination where the government is clearly working with not only the UN but also with other stakeholders, including INGOs, just ensuring that there are policies in place, but also there are other protect— especially protection programs that are able to come in to support those who are returning. Unfortunately, I think There are still issues or challenges with these, all these coordinations, because of the many different issues like I've already mentioned with the capacity, the resources, but also maybe with sometimes we, because of the humanitarian crisis that is very recurrent, flooding, droughts and all that, the focus sometimes shifts into supporting these other crises and, you know, sometimes maybe issues around returns and migrations could fall back for a while. I think you've mentioned in regards to— maybe if you could repeat your last question, Camille, sorry.

[00:41:24.21] - Speaker 1

Yes, of course. So there was another question on the condition for you as DRC to be involved in supporting people who are returning. Here to Europe or from Europe, but also could be from North Africa, and whether you're involved in forced return. And if you could clarify, you know, under what condition you at DRC considers that the person has had the chance, has had the information and the time to make a decision about this.

[00:41:54.05] - Speaker 3

Yes, thank you. So DRC has a very strong position on returns. We only would support voluntary returns. And within our programming we have put, as I said, there is an interview that we do with an applicant. There are series of questions that are asked, and we are critically looking at if it is a voluntary or forced returns. The agreement with our partners is also in Norway and Denmark is that it has to be a voluntary return, otherwise It does not come through the DRC program. Also, DRC has the final say in terms of who is accepted into the project. So we have to look at the criteria that we have already set forward and ensure that the key issues that we had already mentioned, I had already mentioned before, is, you know, being met before we accept or reject somebody into the program. As of now, we do not deal with any forced— and this is DRC globally— we do not deal with the forced returns part of, you know, reintegration. However, we do believe that every person, whether a refugee, a returnee, or migrant, has, you know, they have human rights. Rights and should be supported wherever they are.

[00:43:23.22] - Speaker 3

So once, if there was a forced return and they would be already in the country, if the opportunity is there for us to support these, this population, we could come in to just ensure that there is a dignified and protective response that is provided. However, for now, we are just focusing on voluntary returns coming from two countries. Yeah.

[00:43:53.05] - Speaker 1

Thank you very much. And I'll now turn to Hajjaj Mustafa. I want to specify that here we're talking about people whose asylum application have been rejected, among others. But Hajjaj Mustafa, back to you with two questions. One is, how do you ensure the protection of vulnerable people, for instance, women, children, people with disability or who are facing chronic disease upon their return? And the other question, which is connected to that, it's what, what are the limitations that you see of these individual approaches? Because a number of these programs, you can provide assistance to the person returning as part of an individual package. This is a case, for example, of the EU Reintegration Program managed by Frontex. How can you try, or have you tried, to better involve local communities, government services, civil society, other civil society actors, in facilitating the reintegration of these people?

[00:44:56.16] - Speaker 4

Thank you very much for the questions. Regarding the first question, protection of the women, children, and disabled people, of course, ETTC policy and mandate to support and to take into consideration the people, the returnees, who they are return with, especially when we have a woman-headed family and the children. So always take into consideration, for example, the children. If the family, they will return during the counseling sessions or before departure, we will of course have a session with all the family members. So it means all the family members, even the parents and the children, they have a right to have a discussion with the ETTC counselors, for example. And sometimes the children, they need, for example, schooling or other things which is totally different. So always we refer to the, let's say, suitable school for the kids. And the women, for example, sometimes the women, they are vulnerable and they have a headed family with some kids. Of course, ETTC take more and more looking for women when referring to the some local authority or referring to the women union or other who related to their issue in case if they are needed. And sometimes in case we see that the women or other people, they need more counseling sessions, we have expert in the, say, social worker to make a different counseling session in regarding the women especially because they are vulnerable and they need more take care to them.

[00:46:45.18] - Speaker 4

So of course we take care of this and we will follow during the period of time and until we make sure that she got the things that she want after returning in order to reintegrate with the community or with the family. Of course, always we try to take into consideration regarding the Disabled people, of course, before departure, if we have some, of course, during implementation our process, we have some disabled people. So we will make sure what type of disability, maybe they need wheelchair or other things, which is maybe something they, he or she need, it will be not available in our country. So we will make sure that the thing is that this returnee need, we will inform the focal point in the host country, that if it is available or not available. So always we will make a connection before departure and after departure regarding the most players who they are playing, let's say they are involving in the reintegration program. This is regarding the first question. Regarding the second questions, uh, Better how to reintegrate with the community. Of course, the community after returnee, they return, they will, the people, they are asking a lot of questions to returnee.

[00:48:16.02] - Speaker 4

Why he or she return, a lot of, so our role doing the counseling sessions to inform returnee about all of such kind of things it will happen with the returnee. So, and then always we will try to involve, for example, sometimes we have a seminar, we will involve the host, the community within the returnee to mix them in order to understand each other and the situation. And then of course we have a referral mechanism with local authority, the JCC, of course we have a good communication in case because it is not a matter just providing a in-kind assistance or cash assistance. I think it is connected all together. So maybe sometimes the kids, they need ID, or some others, they want to renew the ID, national ID, or other things. So always we will try to connect with the local authority. So the local authority, they have a different department in case some of the Kids, they need education, we will refer to the education department. In case some of the cases they need a health condition, we have a public and private hospital. So we will make sure that they will get and they involved in this process because ETTC cannot alone do everything for returnee.

[00:49:45.11] - Speaker 4

So altogether it is maybe we can do something for returnee in a better situation. So the most important, ETTC make a paid road to returnee to show this is availability in the country of origin after return. So please go ahead with this topic, with these services, with this relationship within the community. Even ETTC as a part of, they say, reintegration, always they have a good communication with the local authority making different seminars and workshops and sometimes awareness or for to how to reconnect the returnee with the community after returning to the home country. So always we ETTC take into consideration All these aspects in order to make sure that the returnee, they got enough information and available services after returning to the home country. Thank you very much.

[00:50:57.10] - Speaker 1

Very much. And we have time for two last questions. So first, Abdia, quickly. There's been a lot of questions about the livelihood program that you offer to migrants, whether it's only cash, what type of of assistance you provide. So if you could elaborate a bit on that and just confirm whether your program also operates in Somaliland. And then Ola, just a quick question on if you can clarify, if you can explain a little bit the profile of the people who are applying for assisted voluntary return in Sweden. First, Abdia, and then Ola, and then we'll close for today.

[00:51:40.10] - Speaker 3

Thank you. Yes, we do work in Somaliland and we do support reintegration within Somaliland and any other part of Somalia, as long as it's not an area that is not under the control of the state. Then in regards to the kind of support we are providing, so once a returnee arrives We would support with reception, we would support with temporary accommodation until they are linked with their families or until they reach the area of location or final destination. And then after that, or before they get to final destination, we do provide a specific amount of cash to support with them to start maybe reintegrating, and then we would have the livelihood support that would come in, or the in-kind reintegration support that would come in later, where we work with the returnee to look at the business environment, what kind of economic opportunities would they want to pursue. We do work closely with them to develop a business plan and then fund for this. Of course, there is a specific amount of money that would fund towards that business opportunity. I think I've seen a lot of questions around monitoring and also sustainable— what is sustainable reintegration?

[00:53:16.18] - Speaker 3

So we do keep in touch with the returnees for even up to 2 years. We would do joint monitorings with the government, but also individual monitoring as DRC. We'll also have some evaluations done at the end of the year And also if there are issues maybe that raise to within a year or so, we could still come in and see how to support. Unfortunately, there is some restrictions in terms of how much we can support, but we are always available to see if we can maybe further link them to other services or service providers for more support.

[00:54:01.06] - Speaker 1

Thank you very much. Ola, over to you.

[00:54:04.05] - Speaker 2

Yeah, so, so the current support that is for, for individuals is managed by Swedish Migration Agency together with IOM in most cases, and it's paid after return. And people eligible for this are people with a final expulsion order, and it's, it's from certain countries of origin: Afghanistan, Central African Republic, DRC, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan. So it's a limit in, in terms of eligibility, and the maximum per person is 30,000 Swedish krona. A family can get the maximum of 75,000, and this is for, for voluntary return. So if, if you have the final decision, if you opt to go, this is what you can get if you come from these particular countries. I don't know more about the specific profile. I don't have the figures in front of me on, on how much is being dispersed, but this is an option for, for, in most cases, people who have been through the asylum system. With the strategy, it's, it's a bit of a different take on this. It's more linked to, or it's obviously linked to development assistance. It's supposed to be by and large, I mean, there's a small scope for things that are not ODA, but I think to the absolute most degree it has to be ODA on the spending.

[00:55:50.24] - Speaker 2

So this is the current system which is targeting a smaller population, and then you will have a much wider scope for, for the strategy. I hope that answers your question.

[00:56:03.10] - Speaker 1

Thank you very much, and thank you all for, for joining today. Thank you for our 3 panelists for these rich insights. Apologies for the question we could not answer. We try our best in the time allotted, and as always, an audio and a video recording will be available on the event website. We also have related resources online. I saw a few questions on the United States. My colleagues actually just wrote an article about this that you can see on the— and you can find the link on the slide on your screen. And reporters on the call can also contact my colleague Michelle Mittelstadt. The address is also on the slide with any question that you may have. Thank you all.