IOM and Japan support immigration training center in S. Sudan
March 8, 2016 (JUBA) – The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the Government of Japan are reportedly working with South Sudan’s Directorate of Nationality, Passports and Immigration (DNPI) in the Interior Ministry, to improve migration policies and implementation through a new training facility in Rambur, Juba.
The center, managed by DNPI, was inaugurated on 7 March and provides a venue with technology for training, accommodation and a library for reference materials.
DNPI rolled out the first training at the center on 27 February, which lasts two weeks and equips immigration officials with up-to-date information on international standards for migration management. In November 2016, IOM trained 29 immigration officials at the IOM African Capacity Building Centre in Tanzania to become trainers, 10 of whom are now fully functioning as trainers at the new center.
“I hope that DNPI will maximize the use of the training center and nurture it to a point of becoming indeed a center of excellence,” IOM South Sudan Chief of Mission William Barriga remarked at the inauguration ceremony.
“Facilities at the training center and regular access to internet will enable trainers to consistently update their knowledge with changing migration dynamics so that they can in turn update the knowledge of their fellow officers.”
The training center ensures that women have equal access to training facilities, including through a specified accommodation area for female officers.
The water system in the training center will reportedly not only benefit the trainees and instructors but also the local population in Rambur within Luri County.
Japan’s ambassador to South Sudan Masahiko Kiya and Barriga also donated a light vehicle to DNPI to facilitate transport and logistics required to ensure the training center is used effectively.
Through IOM, Japan has reportedly supported migration management projects in South Sudan since 2012, aimed at improving South Sudan’s capacity on migration policy development and operations in-line with international standards.
In 2017, for instance, the Japanese Government has reportedly donated more than USD 2.5 million to IOM to continue migration management programmes, as well as to IOM’s emergency operation, including lifesaving primary health care support, distribution of relief items and displacement tracking for vulnerable populations across South Sudan, where more than 7.5 million people are in need of assistance.
(ST)