People on the Move “Cornerstone of Development”: IOM Director General António Vitorino

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António Vitorino

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Migration and the 2030 Agenda

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Geneva, Switzerland

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SDGs

Region Country

SDG Summit: Statement of the IOM Director General

mgoloy — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 06:54:29 +0000

SDG Summit: Statement of the IOM Director General mgoloy 18 Sep 2023

The 2023 SDG Summit is a moment of truth and reckoning. Major global transformations – from climate change to digitalization – risk leaving billions of people behind. Human mobility can be part of the solution. It is imperative that we incorporate it into the rescue plan for the Sustainable Development Goals.

This is no easy task. Human mobility patterns are increasingly complex – driven and impacted by the changes we see in the world today. But international migrants, internal migrants, and displaced persons represent one in eight people in the world. And managed well, human mobility can become a cornerstone of development, prosperity, and progress.

Migrants are meeting the demands and needs of changing and tightening labour markets and mitigating divergent demographic trends within and across regions. They are driving entrepreneurship, including green transition initiatives – such as the Green Finance Facility in North Macedonia – and supporting adaptation to the impacts of climate change and conflicts. Further, people on the move can boost global value chains and development financing – through regular migration pathways, remittances and diaspora capital.

We need bold commitments and transformative actions to ensure these contributions are fully realized. We must further develop opportunities for safe and regular migration, while reducing remittance transaction costs; we must extend social protection and universal health coverage to all, while including migrants’ voices into national and local development plans; we must invest in skills development and recognition of qualifications for people on the move, while improving digital access and, we must build resilient and peaceful societies capable of adapting to the impacts of climate change and violence, while reducing conflict and climate-induced displacement.

The blueprints already exist. The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) and the Secretary-General’s Action Agenda on Internal Displacement set out the means through which fully inclusive governance of human mobility – leaving no one behind – can be achieved.

IOM will continue to support Member States, people on the move, and all other stakeholders to design, implement, and scale up new, and accelerated actions to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

Let’s act now, with migrants, for the benefit of all.

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António Vitorino

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Migration and the 2030 Agenda

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Location

Geneva, Switzerland

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Region Country

IOM Director General's Message on International Day of Family Remittances 2023

mgoloy — Fri, 16 Jun 2023 04:23:42 +0000

IOM Director General's Message on International Day of Family Remittances 2023 mgoloy 16 Jun 2023

Speaker Type

Speaker

António Vitorino

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Speech Type

Migration and the 2030 Agenda

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Location

Geneva, Switzerland

Themes

Migration Management

SDGs

SDG 1 - No Poverty

SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth

IOM Director General's Message on World Environment Day 2023

mgoloy — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 02:12:18 +0000

IOM Director General's Message on World Environment Day 2023 mgoloy 04 Jun 2023

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António Vitorino

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Environment and Climate Change

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Geneva, Switzerland

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SDGs

SDG 13 - Climate Action

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IDAHOBIT 2023: Message from IOM Director General António Vitorino

mgoloy — Wed, 17 May 2023 09:08:25 +0000

IDAHOBIT 2023: Message from IOM Director General António Vitorino mgoloy 17 May 2023

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António Vitorino

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Location

Geneva, Switzerland

Themes

Gender Equality

SDGs

SDG 5 - Gender Equality

Region Country

Statement by IOM Director General on the Death of an IOM Sudan Staff Member

mgoloy — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 09:17:15 +0000

Statement by IOM Director General on the Death of an IOM Sudan Staff Member mgoloy 21 Apr 2023

Geneva – It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the death of a dedicated IOM Sudan staff member this morning after the vehicle he was traveling in with his family south of El Obeid was caught in a crossfire between two warring parties.

I am deeply saddened by the death of our humanitarian colleague, and join his wife and newborn child, and our team in Sudan in mourning.

The safety and security of all IOM staff is my number one priority. We continue to work with our UN partners to update our security response.

The senseless deaths of civilians including humanitarians, which claimed the lives of three WFP employees in North Darfur on Saturday, must end and peace be restored.

The latest outbreak of violence has forced IOM to suspend its humanitarian operations in Sudan. All parties must ensure the safety of humanitarians and allow their unrestricted access to be able to assist those most vulnerable.

IOM has operated in Sudan since 2000, responding to the complex humanitarian needs in the country where an estimated 3.7 million people are internally displaced. Prior to the latest outbreak in violence, 15.8 million people in Sudan, one-third of the population, were in need of humanitarian assistance.

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For more information:

Paul Dillon, Spokesperson, +41 79 636 98 74, pdillon@iom.int
Safa Msehli, Spokesperson, +41 79 403 55 26, smsehli@iom.int

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Speaker

António Vitorino

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Location

Geneva, Switzerland

Themes

Crisis Response

SDGs

Region Country

Sudan

IOM Director General's Statement on the Ban on Afghan Women Working for the United Nations

Johanna — Thu, 06 Apr 2023 06:08:40 +0000

IOM Director General's Statement on the Ban on Afghan Women Working for the United Nations Johanna 06 Apr 2023

Geneva / Kabul – The International Organization for Migration strongly condemns the prohibition against Afghan women working for the United Nations in Afghanistan by the country’s de facto authorities.

Over the last year, the women and girls of Afghanistan have been subjected to increasingly restrictive orders limiting their participation in all aspects of social, economic and political life.

On 24 December 2022, for example the de facto authorities banned Afghan women from working for national and international non-governmental organizations. Earlier edicts denied women and girls access to higher education. This latest prohibition constitutes an unparalleled violation of women’s rights, a flagrant breach of humanitarian principles and international rules on the privileges and immunities of the United Nations.

While the country is reeling from a severe economic and humanitarian crisis, this directive will significantly hinder the delivery of critical assistance to those most in need.

Women's involvement in the delivery of aid is not just a principled response but an imperative for operational effectiveness as they play an essential role in IOM’s delivery of humanitarian assistance, especially to women and girls. We must ensure they have the needed access and support to continue their extraordinary work in safety throughout the country.

All IOM and UN national female staff will continue to receive their salaries, and women will not be replaced by men.

No durable peace, recovery, or stability is possible without women’s active engagement and participation in the social, economic, and political life of their country. IOM will continue to assist the Afghan people – two-thirds of whom are in need of life-saving humanitarian assistance, including 6.5 million internally displaced people and 5.7 million returning migrants.

IOM has maintained a consistent presence in Afghanistan since 1992 through conflict and humanitarian crises, and remains committed to stay and deliver to support the Afghan people.

Today, tomorrow, and every day thereafter, IOM stands with the women of Afghanistan.

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For more information please contact:

Paul Dillon, Spokesperson, IOM Geneva, +41 79 636 9874, pdillon@iom.int

Speaker Type

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António Vitorino

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