UNITED NATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MIGRATION SIGN COOPERATION AGREEMENT
Press Release
SG/2024
UNITED NATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MIGRATION SIGN COOPERATION AGREEMENT
19960625 The following is released jointly by the United Nations and the International Organization for Migration:GENEVA, 25 June -- Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali and the Director-General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), James N. Purcell, Jr., today signed an agreement aimed at enhancing and strengthening cooperation between the two organizations.
The Secretary-General welcomed the agreement as an important recognition of the need for close cooperation on global issues, especially those involving the movement of people affected by complex or natural disasters. The IOM Director-General said the agreement underscored the close ties between the two organizations and held the promise of continued improvement in the international community's handling of issues involving migration, refugees and displaced persons.
The IOM was originally established in 1951 as the "Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration" to help solve the post-war problems of refugees and displaced persons in Europe, and to support orderly migration. Today, with more than 100 member and observer States, the IOM assists in meeting the operational challenges of migration worldwide, advances understanding of migration issues, encourages social and economic development through migration, and works towards effective respect for the human dignity and well-being of migrants.
The IOM has been involved in many humanitarian operations around the world, in close cooperation with the United Nations, and enjoys operational links with its agencies in the field, particularly the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The IOM is also a member of the main United Nations humanitarian coordinating body -- the Inter-Agency Standing Committee -- comprising the United Nations agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Federation of Red Cross and Crescent Societies and three coalitions of non- governmental organizations.
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