ICMCEUROPE WelcometoEurope.pdf (5.89 MB)

93
and some programmes explicitly link
the content of pre-departure programmes
with reception and integration
programmes and services in
the resettlement country.
While refugees selected on a dossier
basis cannot normally attend a CO programme,
some resettlement countries
do provide written CO information in
these cases, generally in the form of a
leaflet or brochure. The Netherlands
established an innovative approach to
providing CO for dossier cases in cooperation
with IOM. The Netherlands
Cultural Orientation programme for
dossier cases (NLCO), implemented
since January 2010, aims to provide
refugees selected on a dossier basis
with factual information about the
Netherlands that creates realistic
expectations of their ‘new life’ there. In
a new phase of the project, NLCO II, the
CO programme has been extended to 4
days. A key element of the programme
is the website www.nlco.iom.int which
provides an updated curriculum and
training materials, and is accessible
as a remote tool for all IOM trainers
involved in the project.
It is not clear to what extent or to
what level of detail resettled refugees
understand or retain information
that they receive prior to
departure. Findings from the 2008
EU-funded MOST project (‘Modelling
of Orientation, Services and Training
related to the Resettlement and
Reception of Refugees’), led by the
Ministry of Labour in Finland, suggest
that activities undertaken in the predeparture
period do influence later
stages of the resettlement process in
the resettlement country. 37 However,
the consultation also found that stress
experienced by individual refugees
during the pre-departure period
caused them to be less receptive to
complex information.
4.3. Movement assistance
To travel from the country of asylum
to the resettlement country, resettled
refugees must first obtain travel documents.
The provision of travel documents
(laissez-passer, ICRC travel document
or transfer forms, depending
on the country) is usually facilitated
by the resettlement country through
embassies and consulates in the
country of asylum. Depending on the
country in which refugees are staying
in and/or transiting, exit permits and
transit visas may also be required.
At major airports, transit assistance is
normally provided to ensure that
refugees catch the correct connecting
flights. Transit staff also assist passengers
and notify receiving authorities
where flights are delayed or changed.
Arranging travel for resettled refugees
37 MOST project, Pre-departure Orientation for
Resettled Refugees: a Guide, 2008
CHAPTER IV
CHAPTER VI CHAPTER V
CHAPTER VII