The Government of Japan and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) delivered two training manuals to the Government of South Sudan to improve border and migration management across the country.

Following its independence in 2011, South Sudan inherited one of the weakest border and migration management regimes in Africa. From 2010–2014, IOM conducted an overall evaluation of the migration management system of the country, which indicated that South Sudan has suffered from a chronic lack of infrastructure, equipment, training, policies, processes and coordination.

The manuals are part of a USD 5.4 million multi-year project, funded by the Government of Japan and implemented by IOM, aimed at improving South Sudan’s capacity on immigration policy and operations in line with international standards.

The Japanese Ambassador to South Sudan, Kiya Masahiko asserts: “Japan is committed to ensuring that South Sudan reaps the benefits of integrating itself into the regional and global economic order. In order to boost border security, thereby enhancing safe movements of people, the training manuals for officers in charge of border posts are the fundamental step forward for South Sudan’s development.”

The first manual, Immigration Policies and Procedures, consolidates relevant law, policies and procedures enacted by the Government of South Sudan and other bodies. As these laws are spread across many sources, the manual provides immigration officers with quick-and-ready access to policies and procedures to facilitate and improve their daily work.

The manual is the first of its kind for South Sudan’s Department of Immigration of Directorate for Nationality, Passports and Immigration (DNPI) and will be updated regularly. 2,000 copies of this manual will be donated to DNPI.

Additionally, the DNPI received an Immigration Training Manual, developed by IOM to support implementation of the Immigration Policies and Procedures manual. The training manual includes chapters on law, entry procedures, refugees and stateless persons, victims of trafficking, fraud and security, departure formalities and data collection and reporting. In October 2015, IOM conducted a three-week “training of trainers” for senior immigration officers on the new manuals.

“Effective migration and border management require a delicate balance between facilitation and enforcement. South Sudan has come a long way in improving its border management system and IOM hopes to see it continue on this path,” says IOM South Sudan Chief of Mission David Derthick.

Since 2013, the Japanese-funded Immigration and Border Management (IBM) programme has enabled IOM to construct and rehabilitate 10 land border posts, train law enforcement and immigration officers on border issues, and install border management information systems at the Juba International Airport and 10 land border posts.

Through a further contribution of USD 1.5 million from the Government of Japan committed in January, IOM will continue its effort to improve border control and expand the IBM project through 2016 with the construction of new border posts and additional training of law enforcement officials on immigration policies. Such efforts will help improve cross-border cooperation with neighbouring Kenya and Uganda, aiding South Sudan to further strengthen collaboration on migration and border management.

This year the Japanese Government donated USD 3.5 million for IOM’s emergency operation, including lifesaving primary health care support, distribution of relief items and camp management at displacement sites across the country, where more than 1.69 million people are internally displaced due to the conflict that erupted in December 2013.