Return - IOM Publications - International Organization for Migration

Return Migration: Policies and Practices
2.3 STATISTICS ON VOLUNTARY RETURN
Public Assistance for Reintegration (Aide publique à la Reinsertion – APR)
According to OMI statistics, from 1984 to 1998, 32,862 migrant workers (representing a total
of 73,595 persons with their relatives) returned to their country of origin. This flow has been
decreasing since 1998.
Only 50 beneficiaries returned under this programme in 2000.
Invitation to Leave the National Territory (Invitation à quitter le territoire)
Beneficiaries: around 10,500 to date, and 602 in 2000.
Humanitarian Repatriation
Beneficiaries: 1,629 to date, and 214 in 2000.
Local Development/Migration Programme (Programme Développement Local
Migration)
On 31 December 1999, the French authorities approved 49 micro-projects in Mali and 20 in
Senegal.
2.4 BEST PRACTICES AND LESSONS LEARNED
Why Programmes Have or Have not Worked
Successful initiatives to promote the voluntary return of rejected asylum seekers in France have
been limited. Between 1991 and 1998 a programme to assist the voluntary return of removable
foreign nationals only benefited about 20 irregular migrants and unsuccessful asylum seekers.
Another programme, which was also established in 1991 targeting primarily rejected asylum
seekers, initially succeeded in attracting a number of Romanian, sub-Saharan African and Algerian
asylum seekers, although this number has been steadily declining as of the late 1990s.
Up to 1998, about 750 foreigners returned through this programme each year, whereas in 1999
the figures decreased to 651, and 643 in 2001. Low rates of uptake among eligible target groups
were also recently reported by OMI during the European Commission Refugee Fund Conference,
in regard to the Voluntary Return Programme of Assistance for returnees to Mali, Senegal,
Romania and Moldova, which assisted approximately 680 returnees in the last five years. 6
134