International Organization for Migration

34th Session of the Standing Committee on Programmes and Finance

12-13 June 2024

Item 5 - Presentation by the Director General

Statement on behalf of the European Union and its Member States

Chair,

I am speaking on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The candidate countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina[*] and Georgia, and the EFTA country Norway, member of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this statement.

Director General,

1. We thank you for your report and congratulate you on the results achieved during your first nine months in office.
2. IOM is a key partner for the EU and its Member States. We highly value our partnership which is based on a comprehensive and humane approach to migration. We therefore welcome the creation of an IOM Global Office in Brussels as a recognition of the strength of the partnership and of our commitment as a donor, having contributed over 1 billion USD to IOM last year. This Office will enable a strategic dialogue with the EU and will serve as a tool to further improve our joint efforts.
3. We welcome the clear vision the Strategic Plan sets out for IOM and that it has been used to inform the revised Strategic Results Framework and the restructuring of the Organisation. We also welcome the consultations and communication with Member States on all these processes and look forward to continued information and consultations on their implementation.
4. We appreciate your continued advocacy on protection, the respect for human rights of migrants and regular migration in IOM public speeches. We also encourage further efforts to achieve a balanced and comprehensive approach to migration policy that also includes the fight against human trafficking and migrant smuggling, the prevention of irregular migration as well as increased returns.
5. We appreciate the revised Strategic Results Framework with core indicators which will allow for aggregate reporting, including to IOM governing bodies. Further we hope that the Framework will also be used to guide prioritization within IOM.
6. At the EU level, we have achieved an agreement with the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum. Our focus is now on implementation, and we appreciate your support in this endeavour.
7. We welcome IOM’s efforts to stay an efficient and responsive organisation addressing urgent needs in the field. This includes IOM’s role as a strategic facilitator to support EU countries in policy implementation, building on successful experiences, lessons learned globally and bringing innovative solutions.
8. The new headquarters’ structure will help make IOM’s vision a reality, with an increased focus on private sector partnerships, climate action, mobility pathways and protection. We also appreciate your emphasis on important internal management and oversight aspects, some of which follow from MOPAN recommendations.
9. We thank you for the recent briefings on implications of IOM participation in the International Civil Service Commission and the Joint Inspection Unit, and encourage regular updates
10. We believe that a ‘One UN’ approach is needed to better address migration globally, with enhanced coordination with all relevant agencies. We therefore value the recent IOM and UNHCR joint effort, in full respect of their respective mandates, to develop a route-based approach. We would appreciate regular updates on its operationalisation and on progress made regarding its implementation
11. We support your enhanced focus on data and its use for informed decision-making and action, and we count on IOM’s work on data sharing and interoperability with other UN agencies to better prioritise and increase the effectiveness of the overall response to migration and forced displacement.
12. We encourage you to continue efforts to ensure and strengthen an inclusive and gender-responsive approach across both the formulation and implementation of all programmes and projects. We also underline our support to your work to ensure inclusivity and promote gender equality within IOM.
13. Director General, we welcome your frequent visits to field offices and engagement efforts, demonstrated also by launching the Strategic Plan from Chad, and the World Migration Report from Bangladesh.
14. Last, we appreciate the second round of regional review for Europe organised by the UN Network on Migration in March and look forward to the next biennial report of the UN Secretary General.
15. We are looking forward to continuing our valuable strategic partnership with IOM.

Thank you!

[*] North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.