Practices by Stakeholder 6

Evacuation and relocation assistance

States may need to rely on international organizations to relocate or evacuate migrants. Establishing arrangements with States in advance of a crisis can clarify roles, responsibilities, and terms of partnerships and improves preparedness. Such arrangements could include criteria for evacuation or relocation, responsibilities for costs and funding, and information on other services to be provided (e.g., screening to identify migrants with particular vulnerabilities and victims of exploitation, trafficking, abuse and violence as well as referral and specialist services for those with particular needs).

Centralized portal or clearing house to log requests for evacuation by migrants or States and facilitate multi-State or multi-stakeholder cooperation on evacuations

Not all States of origin have the capacity to assist migrants in countries experiencing crises. Addressing needs associated with a short-lived crisis when migrants are able to receive assistance in the host State, may be manageable, but when large numbers of migrants need to be evacuated, international organizations may be required to provide support. In order to manage requests from States of origin, international organizations could consider establishing centralized portals for States to:

• Request assistance;
• Provide information on migrants to be evacuated, including their location and needs;
• Access reports on contact with and location of migrants;
• Receive information on where to evacuate migrants, including locations in States of origin;
• Request additional assistance for migrants with specific needs, and confirm if migrants have received it, including through referrals to specialized organizations or agencies in the host State;
• Request identity verification services;
• Post requests, messages, or enquiries from family members.