November 20, 2003

IOM COUNCIL

Statement by
P. Michael McKinley
Department of State
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration

Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Colleagues:

Introductory Remarks

We welcome Ambassador Karklins of Latvia as Chair and Ambassador Albin of Mexico and Ambassador Umer of Pakistan as Vice-Chairs as well as Mr. Ejinaka of Nigeria as rapporteur. We join others in welcoming one new member state as well as four organizations as new observers to the Council.

DG and DDG's Statements

I would like to thank the Director General and Deputy Director General for their comprehensive overviews. We welcome this year's focus on migration in a global context, and the stimulating discussions and panels that have taken shape. We encourage IOM to continue to work closely with other organizations who are also working on these issues and thank the Geneva Migration Group for their presentations on Tuesday.

Migration and Management Issues

As we look to the issues that will most challenge us as policy--makers in the years to come, there can be no doubt that migration figures prominently in our calculations. It is the quintessential cross-cutting issue, lying beyond the reach of any one nation's grasp. In our view, IOM grows stronger, more diverse, and more capable with each passing year. We will continue to look to IOM to serve as a cornerstone for efforts involving regional and inter-regional initiatives to build migration cooperation and partnership.

On the managements side, we appreciate the Director-General's review of IOM's internal organizational structure within the past year and commend Jorg Stuwe's work as Director of Management Coordination. As IOM grows in the variety of services it provides, in project base, and in membership, we note that the rate of growth - one that at times overtaxes IOM's stretched administrative and operational support services - is a challenge for any organization. Reflection and focus on mandates and core service areas is key to properly managing growth. We must take care not to make IOM a victim of its own success, stretched too thin for too many tasks.

We acknowledge IOM's position that the continuation of zero-nominal growth (ZNG) will require IOM to absorb costs and statutory increases and thereby reduce core staff positions and essential expenditures. We are willing to work with the IOM Administration and Members States to review the ZNG policy for the administrative part of the budget for 2004 and beyond. We note, however, that Member States should also live up to their responsibilities and work on repayment plans for arrearages, which would assist the Administration in covering some of these costs and statutory increases.

Partnerships

On institutional matters, the United States endorses IOM's enhanced collaborative work with international organizations and the UN, and in particular, with UNHCR. We believe that this enhanced collaborative approval can positively and sufficiently address the issues raised by IOM in its paper and discussion about IOM's relationship to the UN. We encourage IOM's partnership with UNHCR on unraveling the complexities of the migration-asylum nexus. We have also seen strong IOM-UNHCR humanitarian partnerships in the field, for example in organizing voluntary return of Angolan refugees in Zambia.

Likewise, we encourage IOM partnerships with NGOs, an essential element of any humanitarian response. We know these partnerships are being put into within IOM. They should not be solely about funding and filling gaps but should be founded on a real commitment to working together as equal partners to assess needs, to achieve better care and protection for beneficiaries, and to better more structure the transition from relief to development.

IOM's Work

The United States has also worked closely with IOM in transition countries such as Macedonia and Afghanistan. IOM and the U.S. Agency for International Development have teamed upon assessments and hundred of community-based reconstruction, micro-enterprise training programs, and media outreach small grants projects that show immediate peace dividends to populations and governments during new peace processes. Rapid response projects fill the gap between relief and development - biding time so that longer-term development programs can begin with greater credibility.

Afghanistan

In Afghanistan, we have been witnesses to one of the largest repatriation operations in history, with over two and a half million Afghan refugees, as well as 600,000 internally displaced persons, who have returned home, most of them with the assistance of UNHCR. We appreciate lOM's good work and vital role in assisting with returns and reintegration programs in Afghanistan. The U.S. is investing more than a billion dollars to help the Afghan people through humanitarian assistance activities, the strengthening of civic institutions and the reinforcement of democracy and stability. Many of these activities, including working with the Ministry of Women's Affairs to construct 14 women's centers and with the local NGOs to provide training and job opportunities for women across the country, are being implemented by the talented team that IOM has put together in Afghanistan.

Iraq

Let me acknowledge the valuable contributions made by IOM in Iraq, particularly with assistance to IDPs and implementation of programs to strengthen civil society. Security remains the biggest challenge to humanitarian action, to reconstruction, and to the building of a safe and prosperous, democratic Iraqi society. Over the past few months, humanitarian agencies including IOM, in Iraq, have been targeted in a series of unprecedented attacks. Nonetheless, International Organizations and NGOs have not stopped helping Iraq. They have simply had to change the way they implement programs, becoming less visible and managing programs by remote control. As we have noted before, these incidents underscore the dedication of humanitarian workers around the world and the daily dangers they face.

Conclusion

Finally, Mr. Chairman, I want to acknowledge the hard work done by IOM's local and international staff. Humanitarian work is becoming more and more dangerous. The old rules no longer apply. We have to find a way to balance the need to do our jobs with the security risks. We salute all of you who, despite the risks, continue to give your best, often in extremely difficult circumstances.