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The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) is currently implementing a project funded by the European Union to reduce illegal migration from and through Sri Lanka by supporting the Government to manage and deliver an effective immigration control and enforcement program, IOM said.

The strategy of this project is, in the co-operation of the Government of Sri Lanka to increase control and enforcement measures at entry inland and exit points to create obstacles for illegal migrants with the goal of reducing their numbers; and at the same time, to support and enhance legal migration options for Sri Lankans.

While capacity building is an important exercise in reducing illegal migration, it is equally important to provide credible information to the potential illegal migrants about realities they will face in Sri Lanka and abroad. Information on the consequences of illegal migration and the benefits of undertaking legal means of migration can help potential migrants make realistic and responsible decisions about their futures; it might dissuade them from irregular means of migration, including being lured by smugglers, and induce them to seek legal options. The IOM launched an information campaign on migration issues on November 12 to complement the measures taken and address the needs identified, in its capacity building project.

Information plays a crucial role in the decision of an individual who intends to migrate. In Sri Lanka, many prospective migrants and their families have vague knowledge - if any at all - of legal procedures required to migrate, migrants' rights or actual situations with which they may be faced as illegal migrants. Objective and current information regarding the risks and consequences of irregular migration and the constraints of immigration and day-to-day realities in foreign countries will help to counterbalance misconceptions and deliberately misleading information provided by those involved in facilitating illegal migration.

As a direct benefit to migrants, this information will help avoid unnecessary suffering on their part, uphold their fundamental rights and give them a more realistic picture of possibilities for regular migration. In the longer term, it will also help contain and reduce the number of irregular departures.

The campaign will employ a combination of complementary and mutually reinforcing media to convey its message at a national and local level. The mass media campaign will be complemented by direct dissemination and discussions with community leaders, government officials and journalists. A telephone hotline will be the main mechanism to convey detailed information to prospective migrants and the interested public states the IOM press release.

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