Original Language
English
Number of Pages
33
Reference Number
ENG0348
Date of upload

24 sep 2015

2013 Monitoring Report (October 2012-October 2013) RAS - Reintegration Assistance from Switzerland

The Reintegration Assistance from Switzerland (RAS) programme, financed by the Federal Office for Migration and administered by IOM, provides reintegration support in the form of financial assistance to set up a specific project (business-related, accommodation, medical support, etc.) upon return of migrants. IOM monitors these cases by making on-site visits after payment of the cash grant. IOM conducted 149 monitoring visits in 42 countries between October 2012 and October 2013. The recommendations drawn up in this report are based on the statistical findings and on a more detailed analysis of the situation in four countries of particular significance in terms of their high level of voluntary return take-up and their geographical distribution: the Gambia, Sri Lanka, UNSC resolution 1244-administered Kosovo and Tunisia. The findings have highlighted the importance of maintaining and reinforcing one-to-one support and the possibility of tailoring projects to the individual needs. In this regard, Swiss counselling on the return process is important and should have access to the right tools. Regular communication with local stakeholders should be stepped up to improve the flow of information. Support in countries of origin is also crucial to the successful implementation of a reintegration project. Making return assistance contingent upon an educational or training component increases chance of success. Recommended measures to consolidate the financing of reintegration projects include encouraging links with financial institutions, increasing the cash grant given as return assistance, and pooling beneficiaries together for a joint project or loan application.

  • Summary
  • Outline
  • List of figures
  • Introduction
  • Method and general overview
  • Results of the 2013 period of systematic monitoring
  • Comparison between the two periods of systematic monitoring
  • Recommendations
  • Annexes