On 24-27 November 2020, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean attended the 111th Session of the IOM Council. Inaugurated with a Report of the Chairperson of the Council, the three-day Council Session included panels on three topics, namely: the Report of the Director General; building peace and creating conditions for development: Internal Displacement Stabilization and Reintegration of Migrants; and Mobility Dynamics during COVID-19 pandemic.
In their capacities as Permanent Observers to the United Nations in Geneva and Vienna respectively, Ambassadors Gerhard J.W. Putman-Cramer and Ambassador Peter Schatzer represented PAM”.
During this year’s session, Mr António Vitorino, Coordinator of the UN Network on Migration and Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), highlighted the extraordinariness of 2020, a year dominated by a dramatic global change. In a wide-ranging speech, he stressed the impact of Covid-19 pandemic had on the most vulnerable persons, particularly migrants, further threatening their rights.
“The response to the virus has affected all countries, territories and areas, fundamentally impacting mobility and causing damage to the health and livelihoods of millions. COVID-19 has exacerbated the existing vulnerabilities of migrants, and yet also opened up new spaces for innovative solutions to migration challenges”.
The Director General encouraged Member States to take all the necessary measures to guarantee a safe and regular migration, ensuring that the respect of rights of migrants. In terms of its mandate, the IOM is magnifying its effort in support of migrants, negotiating human corridors, offering travel assistance, and investing in innovation technology to correlate stranded migrants.
As stated by Mr Vitorino, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the world was recalled a common knowledge: that transboundary challenges are met only through multilateral efforts!
With echoes of a potential vaccine, the DG also urged for dedicated effort to ensure “equitable access to a COVID-19 vaccine for people on the move”.
The Council Session resulted in an exhaustive general debate on the future challenges of migration management, including the urgency to address the root causes of forced displacement; the need for a common approach to migration – reinforcing the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration; and, last but not least, the necessity to invest in response preparedness.
According to IOM statistics, in 2020 there are 50 million Internally Displaced Persons, of which 2.75 million are stranded migrants – the highest number ever recorded. While appreciation was expressed by many delegates for IOM’s activities in the field, there were simultaneous, reiterated, calls for the root causes of forced displacement to be duly addressed.
Member States encouraged further organisational reforms to reinforce the IOM’s policy capacity. In the coming months, two Deputy Directors-General shall be appointed.
The IOM Council also accepted the Russian application for membership and the Malaysian application for observer status.