As the principal intergovernmental organization in the migration field, the

International Organization for Migration (IOM) began its operations in Ecuador in

1965, working closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental
partners in different but important programs to promote an ordered migration,
reinforce the well-being of migrants and reduce the main issues linked to the
trafficking in persons due to the currently triple immigration status that Ecuador has:
country of origin, transit and destination (IOM, 2014).
Is in this context of social inclusion and development that the current
government has initiated a campaign that seeks to promote and generate social
commitment within the Ecuadorian companies with the objective of create working
places for disable persons, refugees, unemployment people or simply to gather a
general budget in order to allocate money for the purposes of the different
programs contemplated within the plan del buen vivir.
Thereby, this report aims to build up a structural and tangible working plan for
the Ecuadorians that make use of the voluntary return program within the IOM and
the Italian Ministry of Internal Affairs.

1. INTRODUCTION
From 1997 to the first years of the 2000s, Ecuador experienced a phenomenon
of particular importance to its structure; it was the mass migration of citizens to the
United States and Europe as a response to the economic crisis which directly affect
the wealth of the Ecuadorian homes. This fact also caused an important growth of
poverty and indigence in the country, decreasing the purchase power of the families
to minimum levels, increasing the percentage of unemployment, causing the
household income to not even cover the basic necessities and also presenting a
series of economic issues that contracted the economy nationwide.
However, according to the National Secretariat of the Migrant (SENAMI), this
panorama has taken a new direction the last four years due to the worldwide
economic crisis which affected most of the countries that the Ecuadorians chose as
destination to offer their workforce (MREMH, 2012). This fact has resulted in the
decision of many Ecuadorians to return to the country or face the decision to re
emigrate, basically for the consistent lack of job and opportunities or the lack of a
banking history that allow them to opt for a loan to start a new business.

The IOM mission in Ecuador works together with the Government of Italy in the
promotion of the program on voluntary return and assisted reintegration PARTIR,
which is launching its sixth edition this 2015 (IOM, 2014). During the last five years,
the purpose has helped lots of Ecuadorians to return to their homeland, pay the
rent of an apartment and its basic services, buy food or in some cases, startup a
small business. This type of assistance includes the payment of the air tickets from
Italy and is only given in the form of money.

2. ABOUT THE VOLUNTARY RETURN PROGRAM

As one of the main programs managed by the IOM within its headquarters in
Latin America, this assistance provides a flexible and rapid humanitarian aid to
stranded migrants who are experiencing difficult circumstances or cannot be
immediately assisted through existing support programs or their own governments
(LATAM, 2012).
The IOM works with different return programs between Europe and Latin
America, guaranteeing in this case, a safe return for Ecuadorians to their
motherland, within a framework of respect for their rights, reduced psychosocial
and economic impact during and after their arrival, development through economic
incentives that allow them to use the knowledge, skills and abilities learned during
the years they were outside the country and reflected in sustainable and productive
projects to ensure their reintegration into society, preventing somehow, the irregular
migration (OIM, 2013).
Below, there is a flow chart of the processes to follow so that a returnee could
access to the benefits of the program:

Flow chart No. 1: Processes of the return program

IOM Italy

Case
assessment
Acceptance

Ministry of Internal Affairs

IOM Ecuador
Coordination
(Italy) with other
Organizations to
support the
Management
migrant during
and purchase of
its trip
the return
tickets

Coordination
with other IOM
missions for
accompaniment
and welcoming
at the airport

Acceptance of
the business
plan or
purchasing order
+ money

Returnee
reception and
business plan
building

Disbursement
and delivery of
transferred
money

Evaluation and
monitoring

Source: Made by the author based on information of the IOM program on Voluntary Return and
Assisted Reintegration PARTIR IV.

Who can benefit of the program?

Vulnerable cases: (single mothers and their children, older people,

people with medical needs or issues, homeless people)

Victims of human trafficking, people with serious illnesses, asylum
seekers, persons under international protection or humanitarian

reasons.
Foreigners that cannot renew their residence permit
Foreigners who has been notified with a deportation order and who were
granted a period for voluntary departure

What does it offer?

Advice on return and definition of the type of assistance that will be

granted
Management, organization and financing of the returning trip
400 per person to be delivered in cash before their return
Up to $ 2,000 to finance the reintegration project. This money is given in
kind after completing a series of steps that prove that the money is going
to be used for the welfare of the individual or family group

Thus, the organization aims to encourage an orderly return of migrants inside

an environment of dignity and humane conditions, especially for those who are
unable or unwilling to remain in their host countries meanwhile the IOM intervention
seeks to help to their social and economic reintegration in a sustainable manner.

3. THE NEEDS
According to Alejandra Gmez which is the current Officer in charge of the IOM
program on Voluntary Return and Assisted Reintegration, the continuity of the
program has been affected due to the exit of the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) form Ecuador and due to the strong economic
crisis affecting the host countries with which the IOM manages its programs.
Now (2015), the crisis has caused massive unemployment in Spain and Italy,
the main destinations for Ecuadorian migrants, and has been the reason why most
of them are now looking for returning programs. According with the IOM statistics it
is expected that the number of returnees continue to grow during this year even
without the help of international organizations and programs that help Ecuadorians
with their returning costs. The economic crisis in destination countries has also
affected Ecuador itself, since the remittances from outside the country have also
declined in recent years, from $ 3,100 million in 2007 to $ 2,700 million by 2012
(IOM, 2014).
As can be seen, it would be very important the implementation of a new
strategic plan that allows the IOM program on Voluntary Return and Assisted
Reintegration to have the continuity that the Ecuadorian migrants who are in risk
situation need, despite the lack of funds that the plan used to receive from USAID
and regardless the decrease on the budget given by the Italian government for the
operation of the project.

If the main issue has to do then, clearly with the resources that the program has
stopped receiving from its contributors, which in practice means an eventual
reduction of the staff working in the different areas of the project, a reduction on the
number of Ecuadorians that could be benefited of the plan and consequently a
negative impact on the psychosocial and economic aspects of the returnees, then
the problem could be also solved through new ways of financing that can be
obtained from the companies that are willing to incorporate policies of social
commitment and development to their structure.
The IOM should be open to the possibility and opportunity to collaborate with
new countries and institutions if what they want is to improve the mechanisms of
cooperation between countries of origin and countries of destination, and contribute
to the economic development of the returned migrants to ensure their reintegration
into Ecuadorian society with innovative programs.

4. BIBLIOGRAPHY
IOM. (2014). IOM Ecuador. Retrieved on February 26th, 2015, from
http://www.oim.org.ec/drupal/es/OIM%20en%20Ecuador
LATAM. (2012). Red Latinoamericana de Retorno Voluntario. Retrieved on
March 2nd, 2015, from http://www.retornovoluntariolatam.org/italia
MREMH. (2012). Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana.
Retrieved on February 27th, 2015, from
http://www.cancilleria.gob.ec/ecuatorianos-residentes-en-estados-unidos-ycanada-conocen-servicios-consulares-que-ofrece-la-cancilleria/
OIM. (2013). OIM Ecuador, Retorno Voluntario y Reintegracin Asistida.
Retrieved on February 27th, 2015, from http://www.oim.org.ec/drupal/es/retornovoluntario-y-reintegraci%C3%B3n-asistida