13 April 2007

The IOM office in Sarajevo has launched an information campaign to notify military and civilian personnel from the Ministry of Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina who were made redundant over the past three years that they can benefit from a reintegration programme under the NATO/Partnership for Peace Trust Fund, which is run by IOM in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The programme, which is funded by NATO member states and led by the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Croatia, aims to assist 6,000 ex-soldiers and ex-employees of the Ministry of Defence with their reintegration into the civilian workforce by providing business counselling and training, job placement, agricultural tools and other trade-related equipment, or help them start small income generating businesses.

In order to benefit from this programme, demobilized soldiers must register with IOM by mail before 31 May. Information on registration procedures are being disseminated throughout the media and registration forms will also be available as of 16 April on IOM’s website www.iom.ba.

Once the identification and registration of former military personnel is completed, IOM will deploy staff in three field offices to carry one-on-one interviews with beneficiaries to assess their individual needs and to identify the best options for their sustainable reintegration into civilian life and the workforce.

The programme, which is scheduled to run for the next three years, builds upon a similar programme that has provided successful reintegration assistance to some 4,000 former soldiers who had been discharged from the armed forces in 2002.

Since the past five years, Bosnia and Herzegovina has been carrying out a defence reform process to access the NATO Partnership for Peace and, ultimately, become a member of NATO. Part of the defence reform process includes the downsizing of the armed forces from 33,000 in 2001 to some 10,000 in 2007.

For more information contact Regina Boucault, IOM Sarajevo, Tel + 387 33 611 738, email: rboucault@iom.int or Amr Taha, IOM Sarajevo, Tel: 387 61 215 839, email: ataha@iom.int.