Trinidad becomes latest Caribbean country to join IOM

Trinidad and Tobago has joined four other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries in becoming full members of the Geneva-based International Organisation for Migration (IOM), according to a report on www.cananews.net.



A statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Monday said that the country was admitted as a full member late last month and joins the Bahamas, Belize, Haiti and Jamaica.



The Dominican Republic also has full membership status while Cuba and Guyana enjoy Observer status.



The statement said that as a result of being a full member, Trinidad and Tobago can now seek to benefit from additional training and programmes in areas such as best practices in migration management; assistance with voluntary returns of displaced and trafficked persons; assistance with counter-trafficking in humans and migration data collection and related research activities to ensure greater appreciation for migration trends in the region.



The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the country has already benefitted from a number of IOM programmes and has participated in several IOM activities as a non-member State since April 2005.



Three years ago, the Trinidad and Tobago government \"agreed to a Technical Cooperation Plan on Strengthening Technical Capacity in Trinidad and Tobago to Enhance Migration Management and Regional Security, which facilitated several capacity building programmes for officials who address migration matters.



\"An Agreement concerning the Legal Status of the International Organisation for Migration in Trinidad and Tobago was also concluded, which resulted in the establishment of an IOM office in Port of Spain in December 2006, the statement added.