Geneva, May 12, 2023 – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency are calling for a collaborative approach to better respond to the mixed movement of refugees and migrants throughout the Americas. IOM and UNHCR welcome positive initiatives to expand resettlement and other regular pathways in the region but express […]
International Organization for Migration
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IOM Report: Needs Growing for Over 8 Million Internally Displaced in Ukraine
Geneva, May 10, 2022 – The number of people internally displaced by the war in Ukraine has surpassed the 8 million mark, according to the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) latest report. This represents a 24 per cent increase when compared to the first internal displacement figures published on 16 March. Conducted between 29 April and […]
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Nairobi – The Horn of Africa is in the grip of the worst drought in decades – parching landscapes, heightening food insecurity and causing increasingly widespread displacement. An urgent and efficient humanitarian response is crucial to avoid large-scale deterioration throughout the region expected by mid-year. An estimated 15 million people are severely affected by […]
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IOM, UNHCR: Latest Caribbean Shipwreck Tragedy Underscores Need for Safe Pathways
Geneva – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency are deeply saddened by the latest loss of at least two lives after a boat capsized off Venezuela’s shores on Thursday 22 April. According to local authorities, at least 24 people including several children are believed to have been on board […]
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IOM Responds to Eta’s Aftermath in Central America: 2.5 Million People Affected
November 12, 2020 – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has joined the efforts of the United Nations System and other humanitarian and governmental actors to respond to Hurricane Eta, an emergency impacting 2.5 million people across Central America as authorities monitor a new storm emerging in the Caribbean. IOM personnel in Honduras, Guatemala, El […]
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2020’s deadliest shipwreck so far, sees 140 migrants perish off Senegalese coast
Saint-Louis, Senegal, Oct. 29, 2020 – At least 140 people have drowned after a vessel carrying around 200 migrants sank off the Senegalese coast, the deadliest shipwreck recorded in 2020. According to media sources, the Senegalese and Spanish navies, and fishermen who were nearby, rescued 59 people and retrieved the remains of 20 others. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is deeply saddened […]
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Immediate Action Required to Address Needs, Vulnerabilities of 2.75 Million Stranded Migrants
Geneva, October 9, 2020 - Effective international cooperation is urgently needed to address the circumstances of millions of migrants stranded worldwide due to mobility restrictions imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19, the International Organization for Migration said today. A three-month-long COVID-19 Impact on Migrants effort by IOM’s Returns Task Force reveals for the first time the scope and […]
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ICC, IOM Launch COVID-19 Guidance for the Protection of Migrants
Geneva/ Paris, August 10, 2020- The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) this week are releasing employer guidance for measures to protect migrants during COVID-19. Migrant workers are a crucial part of the global workforce, accounting for 3.5% of the world’s population, according to IOM. Worldwide, micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises […]
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IOM Mobilizes to Meet Needs of Families Made Homeless by Beirut Blast
Beirut, August7, 2020– The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is mobilizing to respond to the urgent needs of large sections of Beirut’s population who remain homeless after Tuesday’s catastrophic explosion in Lebanon, a country already gravely affected by dual COVID-19 and economic crises. “IOM expresses its full solidarity with the people of Beirut – among them many migrants […]
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IOM Raises Concern Over Increasing COVID-19 Cases Recorded in Greece Mainland Refugee and Migrant Camp
Athens, April 2, 2020 – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is concerned that twenty-three migrants have tested positive for COVID-19 in the Ritsona open accommodation site in Central Greece. The IOM-managed camp, which hosts 2,700 people, reported its first confirmed case on Tuesday. “This development confirms the fact that this fast-moving virus does not discriminate and […]
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IOM Launches Guidance to Improve Protection and Assistance for Migrants Vulnerable to Violence, Exploitation
Geneva, Feb. 20, 2020- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is launching today (20/02) a new suite of publications to support the identification of vulnerabilities associated with migration and improve the protection and assistance available to migrants. These tools are the first of their kind and will assist policymakers and practitioners by laying out clear operational direction on providing protection and assistance to migrants vulnerable to, or who have […]
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IOM Warns of Reaching 1,000 Migrant Deaths on Mediterranean in 2019
Geneva, Oct. 1, 2019 – The recent spate of Mediterranean Sea tragedies along all three migratory routes have brought the number of confirmed fatalities in 2019 to 994 men, women and children. An incident off Morocco this past weekend remains not fully accounted for. IOM is trying to confirm reports of as many as 40 migrants lost in that […]
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IOM-UNHCR: Situation of Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants Needs Greater Global Attention
Geneva, August 29, 2019 – The number of refugees and migrants from Venezuela has now reached 4.3 million and is growing by the day. As of today, there is no end in sight to this massive population movement, which includes an increasing number of people with vulnerabilities, many of them in need of international protection, […]
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Over 200 Migrants Drown in Three Days in Mediterranean — Death Toll for 2018 Passes 1,000
Geneva, July 2, 2018 – On Sunday (1/07), a small rubber boat packed with migrants capsized off AlKhums, east of Tripoli, with an estimated 41 people surviving after rescue. Some 100 people were reported missing by the Libyan Coast Guard. On Friday (28/06), three babies were among the 103, who died in a shipwreck similar to […]
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António Manuel de Carvalho Ferreira Vitorino elected as new Director General of UN Migration Agency
GENEVA, June 29, 2018 – On Friday 29 June 2018, the member states of the IOM, the United Nations Migration Agency, elected Portugal’s António Manuel de Carvalho Ferreira Vitorino as the International Organization for Migration’s next Director General. Mr. Vitorino, 61 (DOB 12 January 1957), succeeds the United States’ William Lacy Swing, who is leaving […]