Kuwait - In close coordination with the Government of Kuwait, IOM has ‎provided Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) services to two victims of human trafficking from Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

The two women have been living at Kuwait’s Government Shelter for Foreign Workers for five months and are IOM’s first AVRR cases from Kuwait.

Within the framework of the Joint Programme to Support the Capacity of the Public Authority of Manpower, IOM Kuwait has conducted a feasibility assessment on the implementation of AVRR activities in Kuwait and tailored a country-specific process that could be replicated in other GCC Countries.

The government has recognized the value of AVRR as the most humane, dignified, and sustainable return option and is now holding internal discussions on how to institutionalize it. 

Falah Al Muteiry, Head of the Government Shelter for Foreign Workers said: "We are proud to have worked in close collaboration with IOM to provide AVRR services to these cases. In observance of international legal instruments on the protection of victims of trafficking, the government has consciously chosen to take responsibility by providing these victims with protection."

In 2015 Kuwait took significant steps towards combatting human trafficking, including establishing a specialized counter trafficking unit in the Ministry of Interior, passing Domestic Worker Law 68/2015 to regulate working conditions, and most recently by establishing the Government Shelter for Foreign Workers.

The Shelter can house 500 residents who are provided with free accommodation, food, legal advice, psycho-social support and sustainable exit strategies.

For further information please contact Iman Ereiqat at IOM Kuwait at Tel: +965 25 30 81 64, Email: iereiqat@iom.int