Skip to main content
News - 
Global

IOM Director General Welcomes Uzbekistan as 173rd Member State

Geneva — The 109th Session of the UN Migration Agency’s Council, which opened today in Geneva, has voted to support the application of the Republic of Uzbekistan to join IOM as a Member State, bringing the total membership to 173.

“With profound pleasure I welcome Uzbekistan into the IOM family,” declared new IOM Director General António Vitorino. “Your country is on one of the world’s oldest and most auspicious trade routes, so you have been crisscrossed by migrants since time immemorial. This is the first time I have had the honour to welcome a new Member State and I hope to welcome many more during my tenure.”

The item was included into the Council Session agenda on the request of the Uzbek Government, which is represented by Bahodir Nizomov, Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Relations.

Uzbekistan is the most populous of the Central Asian states, and the last to join IOM.

“In migration terms, the region is one of the most dynamic and fast-changing in the world,” commented IOM Regional Director Argentina Szabados, who has just returned from Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where she addressed the first Asian Human Rights forum.

“Based on everything I have seen and learned in Uzbekistan, I am wholly convinced that the partnership between IOM and the Government will bear rich fruit in terms of responding to the challenges and opportunities of migration management. This will be of immense benefit nationally, regionally and globally.”

At last week’s Human Rights forum, safeguarding the rights of migrants was included into the Samarkand Declaration of Human Rights, on IOM’s initiative. The relevant text reads: “States shall strive to ensure the respect, protection and fulfilment of the human rights of all migrants, regardless of their migration status and in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.”

“Our partnership with Uzbekistan started in 2003, when IOM began delivering direct assistance to victims of human trafficking and vulnerable migrants from Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries. Since 2015 the cooperation has been steadily growing, with two joint work-plans accomplished so far, and earlier this year we had a two-year Cooperation Roadmap for 2018-2019 approved by the Uzbek Government,” noted Dejan Keserovic, IOM Sub-regional Coordinator for Central Asia and Chief of Mission.

Uzbekistan borders Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. With a population of almost 33 million, the country is not only the most populous but also the most migrant-sending in the region. Now with opening borders, it is also becoming a transit territory for migrants from neighbouring countries. Its current high growth rates may eventually lead to it becoming a destination country for migrants.

For more information please contact Joe Lowry at the IOM Regional Office in Vienna, Tel: +436603776404, Email jlowry@iom.int

Share this page via:

Regions
Office type
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Angola
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Asia and the Pacific
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas (The)
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cabo Verde
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Central African Republic (the)
Chad
Chile
China
Colombia
Comoros (the)
Congo (the)
Costa Rica
Côte d'Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czechia
Democratic Republic of the Congo (the)
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic (the)
East and Horn of Africa
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Eritrea
Estonia
Eswatini
Ethiopia
Europe and Central Asia
Fiji
Finland
France
Gabon
Gambia (the)
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Global Office in Brussels
Global Office in Washington
Greece
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
IOM Office at the United Nations
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Iraq
Ireland
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Lao People's Democratic Republic (the)
Latin America and the Caribbean
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Manila Administrative Centre
Marshall Islands (the)
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Micronesia (Federated States of)
Middle East and North Africa
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nepal
Netherlands (Kingdom of the)
New Zealand
Niger (the)
Nigeria
North Macedonia
Norway
Pakistan
Palau
Panama
Panama Administrative Centre
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines (the)
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Republic of Korea
Republic of Moldova (the)
Romania
Russian Federation (the)
Rwanda
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
Sao Tome and Principe
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Sudan
Spain
Sri Lanka
Subregional Office in Brussels
Subregional Office in Pretoria
Sudan (the)
Sweden
Switzerland
Syrian Arab Republic (the)
Tajikistan
Thailand
Timor-Leste
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Türkiye
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)
United Republic of Tanzania (the)
UNSC Resolution 1244-Administered Kosovo
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
Viet Nam
West and Central Africa
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe