Key Considerations

Coordination

The establishment of a coordination structure when planning the movement is important to ensure that all relevant stakeholders are engaged, able to share information and carry out their respective responsibilities. Stakeholders include: representatives from the host Government, representatives from Governments of the country of origin of migrants, sectoral partners (e.g. Health, WASH, and Protection partners), the potential beneficiaries and affected communities.

In conflict situations, coordination with non-state actors to ensure access and transport permits is also essential. This coordination should be carried out in close collaboration with the Humanitarian Country Team. OCHA plays a vital role in coordinating humanitarian partners' efforts to gain access.

Coordination within the Country Office is also important. For example, in situations where a Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) programme is active, DTM teams may further augment the capacity of operations teams in completing manifests for movements as the methodology is similar to registration activities. The information on movements can also complement the data being gathered through DTM and can be reported in DTM products.

Moreover, particularly for international movements, it is essential that the Country Office engages with other IOM Offices if the itinerary of the movement involves transit or arrival in countries with IOM presence. Along the same lines, it is important to ensure that the relevant Regional Offices are informed and regularly updated on international movement operations.

Operations

Validating Manifests

Manifests that were created during the pre-departure phase should be checked at this stage and updated in case of any changes. Individuals may decide not to show up on the intended date of departure. The manifest should be reviewed and updated accordingly to ensure that it reflects an accurate summary of the caseload being moved. Upon departure, the final manifests should be shared with the relevant stakeholders at transit and arrival points. When sharing this information, it is important to comply with data protection principles and to avoid sharing sensitive data where it is not required.

Movement Escorts

There are two types of escorts: 1) Operational escorts or 2) Medical escorts. Escorts need to be constantly vigilant, checking in on the group regularly to troubleshoot any problems that may arise, to make sure people are using the facilities correctly and are comfortable. Escorts should also communicate regularly with beneficiaries, providing updates and explaining the phases of the movement operation.

Below is a brief overview of the general responsibilities of escorts in movement operations: 

1) Operations Escorts: Though no minimum requirements exist for when an escort is needed or not, it is recommended that IOM operational staff accompany all movements. Ideally one IOM Operations Escort should be provided for a caseload of up to 45 individuals. For instance:

In the event that IOM is moving vulnerable caseloads (e.g., children, pregnant women, survivors of gender-based violence), the operations team should consider increasing the number of escorts as appropriate.

Responsibilities of operations escorts include:

• Coordination with all relevant stakeholders before departure
• Confirm the number of people being transported and ensure that this is consistent with what is reported in the manifest
• Explain to the beneficiaries the importance of staying together as a group, and provide updates on travel time, rest stops and other important information related to the itinerary
• Coordinate with stakeholders in transit locations where appropriate
• Send out Departure, Delay (if applicable) and Arrival notifications
• Update the IOM Movement Team if issues arise that may affect any of the activities planned for the operation
• Complete and submit the escort duty report form. A template is available in the Guidance Documents and Tools for Transport Assistance entry.

Operations Escort's travel items:

• E-ticket, for air movements
• Communication equipment: e.g. mobile phone with roaming, satellite phone
• Operational escort duty report pre-filled with contact numbers
• IOM visibility items (e.g. IOM t-shirt, IOM jacket, IOM cap). Operations staff should have IOM visibility displayed on their person throughout the journey, so that they can be easily identified by other IOM staff, airline crew, migrants, partners and other passengers
• Emergency contact numbers (operational and medical). A list of all relevant emergency contacts should be developed by the operations team and provided to escorts
• For air movements, passport and visa for transit and destination countries

Escorting Unaccompanied Children

The escort must be gender appropriate. For children under 12 years, the escort should be identified within the pool of female IOM staff. Children must be able to access sanitation facilities, be fed and probably changed during the journey.

Upon completion of escort duties the escort should make sure the Minor Handover Form is duly signed and flag any issues encountered during the journey. The escort form is available on the RMM portal within the IOM intranet portal.

The escort should be informed of the child's special needs, if any, and be able to communicate in the mother tongue of the child. The escort is expected to be with the child at all times and cannot leave the child unattended. The escort is expected to sit right next to the child during the duration of the journey. More information on escorts for movements by air is available on the RMM portal.

Medical Escorts: Medical escorts may also be necessary depending on the profile and vulnerabilities of the caseload being transported. On occasions where a beneficiary has been deemed "Not Fit To Travel", but travel cannot be delayed, a medical escort should be assigned, using the following guidelines:

• A medical escort (either a physician or a nurse) is assigned to situations where an individual or group of travellers need or may need medical assistance. Note this also includes cases where long journeys are planned through remote areas where health services are not accessible.
• The medical escort must be specifically trained and is selected by the most senior member of IOM medical services at the post where the escort is engaged. This is usually the Chief Medical Officer.
• The medical escort will provide as much medical support to the migrant as possible.
• The medical escort will accompany the patient until the agreed upon point of separation, and when the patient can be handed over to a responsible entity, either family member or a health service provider. Medical escorts should ensure that any onward travel connections are understood by accompanying family members.

The use of armed escorts in complex emergencies and insecure operating environments: The use of armed escorts should be considered as a last resort. The decision to use armed escorts for a movement operation must be made at the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) level as it may have implications on the actual or perceived neutrality, impartiality and independence of the humanitarian community as a whole. The Country Office should also consult with headquarters (DOE) if the use of armed escorts is being considered.

In the event that armed escorts are used for movement operations, the use of IOM logos should be evaluated as this may affect the community's perception of IOM's neutrality and have significant implications on the safety of staff and IOM's ability to carry out programme activities in the future.

Departure Notification

For ground and water movements, once the vehicle has departed a departure notification should be completed and shared with the relevant stakeholders including IOM teams and partners in transit and arrival points. Departure notifications can be shared through various methods depending what is most accessible to the operations teams. This can include email, text messages or using messenger applications. Group contact lists can be created to systematize information sharing.

Sample structure of a departure notification message that can be sent by text or messenger application:

Delay Notification

In the event that there are delays in the ground or water movement, below is a sample of a delay notification message that can be shared to update the movement teams.

A measurable indicator to define a delay should be agreed upon. e.g. a movement is considered delayed if movement has not yet commenced one hour after the planned departure time.

Sample structure of a delay notification message that can be sent by text or messenger application:

Lessons Learned / Best Practice

Tools and guidance documents that have been developed and used in different movement operations are available in the Guidance Documents and Tools for Transport Assistance entry.

Contacts

For more information on movements by air and for additional guidance on use of the operations templates provided in this chapter contact the Resettlement and Movement Management (RRM): RMM@iom.int.

For more information on movements by land and water contact the Preparedness and Response Division (PRD): prdcore@iom.int.

For guidance on protection issues contact the Department of Operations and Emergencies (DOE) Protection team: DOEProtection@iom.int.

For information on pre-departure health checks and other health related concerns contact the Migration Health Division (MHD): mhddpt@iom.int.