IOM's Director General, Brunson McKinley will attend this week's
XVI Ibero-American Summit in Uruguay's capital Montevideo.

The yearly summit brings together leaders from all Spanish and
Portuguese speaking countries to discuss regional and international
issues of common concern and to strengthen cooperation.

"This year's theme, Migration and Development, is very relevant
to IOM and our work. Therefore it's important for IOM to take part
in this summit where the leaders will discuss the impact of
migration on countries of origin and destination, the human rights
of migrants, skilled migration, and remittances, amongst others,"
explains McKinley.

At the end of the Summit, the leaders will sign the "Montevideo
Commitment on Migration and Development" that will establish the
position of the Ibero American Community on the issue.

On Monday, in preparation for the Summit, IOM and the Uruguayan
Government brought together a group of international experts,
legislators and government officials to discuss the exploitation
and slavery of human beings for forced labour and forced
prostitution.

The participants exchanged ideas and best practices to combat
this phenomenon, and discussed ways for Uruguay to combat human
trafficking.  The outcome of yesterday’s forum will be
presented to the leaders meeting later this week.

From Uruguay, Mr. McKinley will travel to Argentina for an
official two-day visit 6-7 November.

For more information please contact:

IOM Montevideo

Tel: +592 2 9168043 / 9168058

E-mail: "mailto:iommontevideo@iom.int">iommontevideo@iom.int