Study of Case Management Practice in the Context of the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration

The EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration2 (hereafter referred to as JI) is a leading programme of IOM that has implemented a new model for return and reintegration through the integrated approach to reintegration with diverse capacity building and community development components. The JI operates across 26 countries in Africa. A central focus of the JI is to provide voluntary, safe and dignified return to migrants and most commonly to stranded migrants. This includes the provision of Voluntary Humanitarian Returns (VHR) in Libya and Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) in the other pre-return3 countries. Returnees frequently experience challenges and abuse in their migration including trafficking, kidnapping, extortion, time in prisons or detention, starvation, dehydration, sexual and gender-based violence and witnessing death or other traumatizing events. Upon return, beneficiaries have different levels of needs and may have struggles reintegrating within their families and/or communities. The level of need is often high and caseworkers at IOM are responsible to provide comprehensive assistance to facilitate beneficiaries’ reintegration process.
This study focuses on case management in the JI. It is the first study to explore the provision of case management services delivery within the JI, and more generally within return and reintegration assistance within IOM. In 2017, IOM adopted the integrated approach to return and reintegration, and the JI was the first programme to implement the integrated approach. The integrated approach to sustainable reintegration (IOM, 2017) incorporates individual …