|
|
17 October 1994
Doc. 7177
1403-13/10/94-13-E
REPORT
on the activities of the
International Organization for Migration (IOM)
in 1992 and 1993
(Rapporteur: Sir John HUNT,
United Kingdom, European Democratic Group)
Summary
This report gives an account of the activities of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in 1992 and 1993. During those years, IOM continued to foster the conditions for orderly migration throughout the world, and in particular to arrange for the resettlement or voluntary return of refugees, displaced persons and asylum-seekers. IOM has also sought to build up its capacity to provide migration services in the countries of central and eastern Europe. Recognising that Council of Europe member states have an interest in seeing IOM's objectives successfully met, the report recommends that all those which are not yet members of IOM should join, that co-operation between the two organisations should be stepped up, and that Council of Europe member states should support IOM both politically and financially.
I. Draft recommendation
1. The principal objectives of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are to foster the conditions for orderly migration throughout the world, to organise the resettlement or voluntary return of refugees, displaced persons and asylum-seekers, and to steer migration as a resource for social and economic development. IOM pursues these objectives in close collaboration with its fifty-two member states and forty observer states. It acts in partnership with the United Nations system, other intergovernmental bodies and non-governmental organisations.
2. Since it was set up in 1951, IOM has organised the transfer of over five million migrants and refugees, some 80% of them under humanitarian programmes, the remainder under programmes for the transfer of qualified human resources or national migrants. Almost one million people were moved by IOM in 1992 and 1993 alone, the overwhelming majority for humanitarian reasons, including refugees, internally displaced persons, returnees and individuals under special programmes, for example for the urgent medical treatment of victims of the war in the former Yugoslavia or the evacuation of third country nationals caught in the conflict in Yemen.
3. Recognising that international migration is an important factor in social and economic development, IOM has pioneered "migration for development" programmes to help developing countries meet their need for highly skilled labour. Since 1964, IOM has arranged for the transfer of over 42 000 highly qualified specialists and technicians, many returning to their own countries after acquiring their expertise abroad.
4. In seeking to establish a framework for the regulation of unbalanced, haphazard, migration flows, IOM favours a comprehensive approach, convinced that international development aid should be directed to migration-producing countries, that information campaigns should be conducted in those countries to dispel illusions about opportunities elsewhere, that government migration services should be strengthened, that migration policies should correspond more closely to reality, and that greater support should be given to the return of migrants to their home countries.
5. In recent years, IOM has made a particular effort to build up its capacity to provide migration services in the countries of central and eastern Europe, in recognition of the particular migration problems and needs of these countries and of their potential for disorderly migration flows. The emphasis has been on migration management training, advice on legislative reform, research, and information campaigns designed to correct would-be migrants' unrealistic expectations.
6. Maintaining funding for these tasks is a major challenge for IOM, whose operational budget is financed by voluntary contributions from governmental sources, from migrants themselves or their sponsors, and whose administrative budget is funded by its member states on a proportional basis. Council of Europe member states which are not members of IOM or which have not applied for membership — the Czech Republic, Estonia, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom — should, in consideration of their clear interest in seeing the objectives of IOM successfully met, contribute by becoming members.
7. The Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers
i. draw the attention of the governments of the countries referred to in paragraph 6 to the desirability of all Council of Europe member states joining IOM;
ii. through the appropriate intergovernmental committees and in the framework of the follow-up to the Conference of Ministers on the Movement of Persons from Central and Eastern European Countries, strengthen Council of Europe co-operation and co-ordination with IOM, in particular in the areas of:
a. technical assistance, research and information activities in the countries of central and eastern Europe;
b. the legal and human rights aspects of migration, territorial asylum and the movement of refugees and stateless persons;
iii. urge the governments of member states of the Social Development Fund to strengthen co-operation between the Fund and IOM in the implementation of projects involving the resettlement of migrants and refugees;
iv. urge all Council of Europe member states to provide political and financial support to IOM in the fulfilment of its tasks.
II. Explanatory memorandum
by Sir John HUNT
1. Introduction
1. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) was set up in 1951 under the name Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration (ICEM). Its purpose was mainly operational: to assist in the migration and resettlement of refugees and displaced persons in Europe and to facilitate the orderly movement of other European migrants. However, in recognition of the extension of its activities to a world-wide basis, ICEM was renamed Intergovernmental Committee for Migration (ICM) in 1980 and International Organization for Migration in 1987.
2. In order to meet its objective of helping to ensure, throughout the world, the orderly migration of those in need of international migration assistance, IOM describes its functions as follows:
—th e handling of orderly and planned migration of nationals, to meet the specific needs of emigration and immigration countries;—
—th e transfer of qualified human resources to promote the economic, social and cultural advancement of the receiving countries; —t
—th e organised transfer of refugees, externally and internally displaced persons and other individuals compelled to leave their homeland;—
—th e provision of technical assistance and advisory services;—
—th e provision of a forum for states and other partners to discuss experiences, exchange views, devise measures and promote co-operation and co-ordination of efforts on migration issues.3.
3. Through its work, IOM promotes the human dignity and well-being of migrants. It encourages migration that can be a positive force for social and economic development. It acts in partnership with governments, the United Nations system, other intergovernmental bodies, non-governmental organisations and the migrants themselves.
4. IOM is governed by a Council which is composed of representatives of all its member states1 and which meets normally once a year to decide on policy, programmes and financing. An Executive Committee of eleven member states2 elected by the Council prepares the latter's work and makes recommendations on the basis of reports from the Sub-Committee on Budget and Finance and the Sub-Committee on the Co-ordination of Transport.
5. The IOM budget is divided into an administrative part, amounting to SwF 29 700 000 (about US$ 21 000 000) in 1994, funded by assessed contributions from all member states according to an agreed percentage scale, and an operational part, amounting to US$ 248 334 300 in 1994, financed through voluntary contributions from governmental sources, from migrants themselves or their sponsors. The administrative part covers the cost of headquarters and supervisory personnel in field missions, while the operational part covers the cost of programmes, transport and related services, plus the cost of operational staff responsible for programme implementation.
6. IOM's work is carried out by an international and locally recruited staff of over 1 000, of whom approximately 15% are assigned to headquarters in Geneva and the rest to more than seventy field offices throughout the world. The present Director General (re-elected for a second five-year term as from 1 October 1993) is Mr James N. Purcell, Jr. (United States of America), and the Deputy Director General, elected for a five-year term as from 1 September 1994, is Mrs Narcisa Escaler (Philippines). Your Rapporteur would like to take this opportunity to thank the Director General and his staff for their welcome and for their informative briefings on the occasion of his visit to IOM headquarters on 3 and 4 May 1993 in connection with the preparation of this report.
7. The activities of the Intergovernmental Committee for Migration (ICM), as it then was, were last debated by the Standing Committee of the Assembly in March 1989, when it adopted Resolution 914 (1989) in response to the ICM's 25th report covering the two years 1986 and 1987. This resolution called on ICM member States quickly to ratify the amendments to the organisation's Constitution and to increase their contributions to the operational part of its budget. The resolution also invited the governments of Council of Europe member states which were observers to ICM to consider joining and those which had no association with ICM to take part as observers. Since that time, Finland, France, Hungary, Poland and Sweden have joined.
8. ICM's 24th report (1985 and 1986) was the subject of an earlier debate following which the Standing Committee adopted Recommendation 1054 (1987). This called on the Committee of Ministers to examine the scope for extending co-operation between ICM and the Council of Europe, to urge its member states not members of ICM to join, and to request those that were ICM members to confer together with a view to unifying their positions within the Organisation.
2. Humanitarian migration
2.1. General
9. Traditionally at the heart of IOM activities, humanitarian migration includes voluntary repatriation of refugees; assisted return of unsuccessful asylum-seekers; resettlement of refugees; assistance to internally displaced persons; temporary evacuation of persons from danger zones; and medical assistance programmes. These are carried out in close co-operation with the countries concerned, with non-governmental organisations and with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). IOM's fairly wide mandate allows it to assist many who are in refugee-like situations but who do not qualify for assistance from UNHCR, for example the internally displaced. Both training and medical screening and assistance are important aspects of IOM's humanitarian migration programmes.
10. Out of a total of 418 318 individuals assisted by IOM in 1992, 407 551 were refugees or displaced persons under regular or special humanitarian programmes, that is 97,4%. In 1993 the figures were 494 921 out of a total of 509 747, or 97,1%. The cumulative figures for humanitarian migration since 1952 are 4 347 492 out of 5 460 369, or 79,6%.
11. Following the 1991 Gulf war, and in the light of developments in Europe, IOM set up an Emergency Response Unit (ERU). Operational from the end of 1992, its two main tasks are: to develop and institutionalise IOM's emergency preparedness and response capabilities and strategies, and to ensure rapid deployment of well-prepared and materially well-supported operational teams to emergencies IOM is called upon to deal with. The ERU has developed a computerised roster of world-wide human resources available for emergency deployment; established country data banks containing basic information on countries of destination; run an emergency training workshop for IOM staff; and produced an IOM Handbook for Emergency Management and Operation.
2.2. Africa
12. Africa harboured some 5 million refugees and displaced persons in 1992, mostly as a result of civil war, drought and famine. The situation has not improved since, as recent events in Somalia and Rwanda attest. IOM has helped alleviate the pressures in certain refugee camps by organising transport to less crowded centres, and has continued to perform its traditional functions of assisting in the resettlement of refugees outside the region and in the return of refugees to their own countries. For example, working with UNHCR in the South African Repatriation Programme, IOM assisted 6 341 South African exiles to return home in 1992.
13. Mozambique has been a major area of IOM activity, as part of the United Nations inter-agency operation following the end of the civil war there in 1992. In particular, IOM has developed a project of assistance to vulnerable internally displaced groups. Since the start of the programme in August 1993, 24 707 people have been helped to return home and to reintegrate. The potential number of internally displaced people in need of such assistance is estimated to be over 250 000. IOM has also given return transport and other assistance to some 24 000 Mozambican refugees from Swaziland and is returning an estimated caseload of 200 000 to 300 000 from the Republic of South Africa. IOM is also responsible for the transport and logistics aspects of the demobilisation of several hundred thousand military personnel in Mozambique.
14. Where voluntary repatriation has not been possible, third country resettlement has been organised, although the numbers involved were relatively small. For example, out of some 1,5 million Liberians displaced by the civil war, 690 were resettled in the United States in 1992.
2.3. Asia
15. In the Asia region, one of IOM's main activities in the period under review was the continued implementation of the Comprehensive Plan of Action (CPA) adopted at the International Conference on Indochinese Refugees in 1989, described in Mr Atkinson's 1993 report to the Assembly on Vietnamese migrants and asylum-seekers in Hong Kong ("boat people").3 IOM's role consists mainly in
—ma naging the Orderly Departure Programme (ODP) for those leaving Vietnam in response to offers of residence abroad; a total of 60 059 people were assisted under the ODP in 1993, a drop of 27% compared to 1992; the United States was the destination for the vast majority, followed by Canada and Australia.—
—re settlement in third countries of Indo-Chinese in first-asylum countries in the region (19 125 in 1993); again, most went to the United States, Australia and Canada; —
—me dical screening and transport for Vietnamese leaving camps in the region and returning to Vietnam under UNHCR's voluntary repatriation programme: 12 245 returned in 1991, 16 939 in 1992, and 19 235 in 1993. 16
16. All Indo-Chinese remaining in first-asylum countries in the region will in principle be resettled or returned relatively soon since the refugee-status determination procedure is due to be completed in all the countries concerned by the end of 1994. Your Rapporteur wishes to emphasise here the importance of ensuring, as called for in the Assembly's Resolution 1000 (1993), that fundamental human rights principles and internationally recognised determination and appeal procedures are respected at a time when the authorities concerned have decided to reduce the numbers of asylum-seekers in first-asylum countries in the region.
17. In other parts of Asia, IOM began in 1992 to assist Afghan refugees repatriating from Pakistan and Iran under agreements with UNHCR. However, with renewed fighting in Afghanistan in 1993-94, far fewer returned than originally planned.
18. There was also a reduction in the number of Sri Lankans reunited with their families, mainly in France.
2.4. Europe
19. IOM's largest humanitarian migration operation in 1993, organised by its Processing Centre (MPC) in Moscow, involved the resettlement of some 45 000 people from the former Soviet Union who were granted refugee visas by the United States of America.
20. IOM also operated an Emergency Humanitarian Return Programme for students from developing countries stranded in Russia and other former communist bloc countries as a result of the dramatic changes there since the late 1980s.
21. IOM's humanitarian migration activities have for many years included programmes to assist the return or resettlement of rejected asylum seekers, under which transport and reintegration benefits are provided. Under the Return and Reintegration of Rejected Asylum Seekers from Germany (REAG) programme, some 10 600 such persons were assisted in 1991, over 13 500 in 1992 and some 17 200 in 1993. Similar programmes were conducted for Belgium (REAB) and the Netherlands (REAN) and are being set up with Hungary and Switzerland. Co-operation with other governments in the field of assisted return is being explored.
22. An important part of IOM's activities centred on the former Yugoslavia. Between July 1992 and December 1993, IOM helped some 26 000 refugees or displaced persons, many of them children, to move from conflict areas to safe locations in the region or outside it. In co-ordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and UNHCR, 7 400 ex-detainees and their families were taken in 1992 to countries offering them temporary or permanent protection. In 1993, nearly 5 200 family members left the former Yugoslavia under the Family Reunification Programme to rejoin ex-detainees in third countries.
23. IOM also operates a Special Medical Programme which provides specialised treatment abroad for war victims from the region of the former Yugoslavia. The programme builds on experience gained by IOM with similar operations on behalf of Afghan and Kurdish patients. Focusing on medical cases for which adequate treatment is not available in the region, and after selection by international and local medical staff in co-ordination with the United Nations, patients and accompanying family members are evacuated to countries that have offered free medical care. Since September 1992, IOM has arranged medical treatment in twenty-nine countries for 659 patients from the former Yugoslavia.
2.5. Latin America
24. IOM assisted 12 003 persons under its humanitarian migration programmes in Latin America in 1992 (4% more than in 1991) and 11 761 in 1993, of whom 7 349 were resettled and 4 412 were repatriated.
25. The assistance provided by IOM depends on the country and programme concerned. It includes completing emigration dossiers, pre-screening to establish compliance with the immigration requirements of the host countries, arranging interviews and interpretation facilities for visiting selection teams from resettlement countries, and making all the necessary arrangements to ensure transfer by the safest, most direct and economical means.
26. The main areas of activity were Central America and the Caribbean. There was increased repatriation to El Salvador and also to Chile. The large number of Haitians applying for admission to the United States as refugees led to the establishment of an IOM office in Port-au-Prince in October 1992 to provide comprehensive migration services in Haiti. In 1993, 1 533 Haitians were resettled in the United States and 333 were repatriated from the Caribbean.
27. The major receiving countries for humanitarian migration from the area were the United States, Australia, and Canada.
2.6. Middle East
28. Although not a United Nations agency, IOM assisted those displaced by the Gulf war as part of the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force set up to provide relief to the area. IOM assistance was provided in Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Kuwait and Egypt. Third country nationals were returned by air to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Philippines and Egypt. The majority of refugees and displaced persons assisted after the Gulf war were Iraqi Kurds who had fled to border areas close to or inside Iran and Turkey. Subsequent return to Iraq was organised by surface transport for over half a million Iraqi Kurds in 1991. In 1992, IOM helped 2 824 refugees to resettle overseas, for the most part in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and the United States. By the time IOM ended its Gulf operations at the end of 1992, it had assisted a total of 955 324 people. Since then IOM has continued to assist third-country nationals displaced by the Gulf war and resettled a small number of refugees.
3. Migration for development: transfer of qualified human resources
29. Because international migration is seen as an important factor in social and economic development, IOM has pioneered "migration for development" programmes at the request of its member states as a form of international development co-operation to help developing countries, mostly in Latin America but also in Africa and Asia, to meet their immediate needs for highly skilled labour not available locally. Since 1964, IOM has arranged for the transfer of over 42 000 highly qualified specialists and technicians under these programmes.
3.1. Latin America and the Caribbean
30. As in previous years, the number of Latin American professionals returning to their country of origin or to the region under IOM's Return and Reintegration of Qualified Latin American Professionals programme continued to represent a substantial proportion (1 566 or 70% in 1992 and 1 514 or 62% in 1993) of the total volume of these programmes for Latin America. This testifies to the importance attached by member states to reversing the negative effects of the "brain drain". The region thereby benefits from the skills and experience acquired by the returnees while they were abroad.
31. In 1992 and 1993, eighty European professionals were recruited and transferred for fixed periods to Latin America and the Caribbean under IOM's integrated experts programmes. These target key development sectors of the economy whose requirements cannot be fully met on the spot. The experts are integrated into the work force and thus enhance both productive output and local know-how. In addition, seventy experts were transferred to the region under the German Integrated Experts Programme, which has been in operation since 1974.
32. In the framework of IOM's Selective Migration Programme, 210 highly qualified professionals, technicians and migrants with capital moved permanently from the industrialised countries to Latin America in 1992 and 236 did so in 1993.
33. Mention should be made here of the IOM's Support Programme for Technical Co-operation Among Developing Countries (TCDC) in Latin America, the main objective of which is to contribute to the development process through the transfer and better use of existing human resources in Latin America in accordance with the concept of "collective self-reliance" of developing countries. Thus in 1992 and 1993 IOM facilitated the co-operative exchange of 132 governmental experts for short-term advisory missions within the region in critical development sectors: science and technology, environment, health, forestry, energy, food and agriculture, as well as international co-operation projects.
3.2. Africa
34. In 1983, IOM received grants from the European Communities and the United States to run experimental projects designed to help reverse the outflow of talented individuals and to assist African countries to meet their requirements for qualified personnel through the return of their skilled nationals residing abroad. This evolved into an IOM/European Community Programme for the Reintegration of Qualified African Nationals, under which suitably qualified nationals living abroad are approached with job offers and, in some cases, incentives such as integration assistance, travel expenses, or salary supplements. The programme, which first covered six target countries — Ghana, Kenya, Somalia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe — has also benefited thirty more African states, signatories of the Lomé Convention. The programme is being extended for a four-year period and will target the following eleven countries: Angola, Cape Verde, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Over 1 200 qualified Africans have returned under the programme since its inception.
35. Similar programmes are funded by the Government of Luxembourg for the return of qualified South Africans, and by the Italian Government for the return of qualified Eritreans.
3.3. Asia
36. Programmes for the transfer of qualified human resources were initiated in Afghanistan in 1989 and in Cambodia in 1991. The objective is to provide urgently needed skilled manpower from abroad for relief and reconstruction projects. However, the Afghan Experts Programme, which helped twelve expatriates to return in 1993 to work on medical, civil engineering, mine clearing, and education projects, has been temporarily suspended because of the security situation and lack of funds. The Khmer Experts Programme facilitated the return of twenty-nine specialists to Cambodia, mainly to fill positions in government or non-governmental organisations.
37. IOM co-operates with the Governments of Pakistan and the Philippines to meet the need for qualified expatriates. A new programme concept, the Return of Knowledge and Technology, has been developed for the Philippines, consisting of repeated short-term returns of highly skilled Filipinos over a period of several years. This is designed to ensure a continuous transfer of the latest technological and scientific developments.
38. Under the Integrated Expert Programme in Asia, IOM provided its services to the German Centre for International Migration and Development in arranging placement of German experts in Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.
3.4. Europe
39. In countries of central and eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, IOM has provided advisory and operational services aimed at promoting orderly migration as a positive contribution to social and economic development and technological adjustment.
40. In 1993, in co-operation with the Russian Federal Migration Service, IOM started pilot projects in two regions (oblasts) for the planned resettlement of migrants, particularly Russians returning from other former Soviet republics. Furthermore, IOM provided direct assistance with a view to making migrant communities in Russia self-sustaining.
41. IOM continues to assess the migration-related needs of these countries. Technical co-operation is described in section 4 below.
4. Technical co-operation
4.1. General
42. At the request of governments, IOM carries out technical co-operation activities related to migration and human resources, with the aim of strengthening national and regional institutions that deal with migration and of helping to integrate the migration dimension into the process of policy formulation and implementation. Such co-operation contributes to a better knowledge and understanding of migration and facilitates the search for solutions to specific problems. Technical co-operation takes various forms and focuses mainly on the provision of advisory services to governments and institutions, the gathering and distribution of information on migration matters, and the training of government officials dealing with migration matters.
4.2. Africa
43. An information system on intra- and interregional migration flows in North Africa is being set up, with emphasis on movements in the Mediterranean basin. With initial funding from the Italian Government, IOM is seeking to assess the determinants of emigration pressure, having due regard to such factors of economic, social and political change as rapid population growth, expanding urbanisation and degradation of the environment.
4.3. Asia
44. In the former Soviet republics of Central Asia, IOM conducted training programmes during the period under review to remedy structural deficiencies in the area of emergency migration and relief management. It also initiated a pilot project to set up a data base for early warning and general information on relief supply and population movements.
45. In 1993 IOM had extensive talks with the authorities of the People's Republic of China, particularly on the subject of the return of illegal migrants.
4.4. Europe
46. Russia concluded a co-operation agreement with IOM in March 1992, and acceded to observer status with the organisation in May of that year. Since then, IOM has conducted several short- and medium-term activities through the IOM office in Moscow. In addition to the resettlement programmes mentioned above in section 3.4, these activities included assistance with a view to strengthening Russia's institutional capacity to cope with migration problems, and preparation for the establishment of systems to collect reliable data on migration.
47. In Armenia and Georgia, IOM ran specialised management training projects for government officials dealing with migration and emergency humanitarian assistance, beginning with a comprehensive assessment of humanitarian needs in those countries.
48. In the Baltic States and Belarus, IOM's office in Helsinki launched a comprehensive programme of co-operation in migration, asylum and refugee issues at the request of twelve governments and involving regional cooperation with UNHCR, designed to strengthen capacity to deal with uncontrolled migration over the Baltic Sea.
49. With regard to Albania, IOM helped draft a new migration law as well as visa, passport and emigration regulations. It provided the government with information on migration legislation in western European countries and gave technical assistance with a view to strengthening the country's migration management capacity. IOM has continued to give logistical and transport support to the programme of temporary emigration of Albanians to Germany.
50. In Bulgaria, following an assessment of technical co-operation needs in January 1993, IOM organised a training workshop for government officials on the "formulation and implementation of migration policies" in May.
51. Discussions with a view to setting up technical co-operation programmes are being held with the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.
4.5. Latin America
52. In Latin America, IOM provided technical assistance to a number of countries in connection with the revision of their migration legislation and regulations, as well as human resource policies. It also concluded negotiations with the European Commission on the project "Migration instruments for Central American integration" begun in January 1994.
53. Information on migration, refugees and human resources in the region is provided to member governments, intergovernmental organisations, universities and research institutions by the Centre for Information in Latin America (CIMAL), set up by IOM in Santiago, Chile, in 1983.
54. Training courses were organised for government officials in several countries including Argentina, Chile, El Salvador and Nicaragua.
55. IOM co-operated in the negotiation of an agreement between Costa Rica and Nicaragua regulating the admission and settlement of seasonal workers so as to avoid excess or lack of labour during the different agricultural seasons. IOM plays an operational role in recruitment, orientation and transport, as well as a supervisory role in the protection of workers' rights.
56. Finally, IOM also researches investment opportunities for potential migrants with capital.
5. Migration of nationals
57. Besides assisting migrants who have special qualifications under its programmes for the transfer of qualified human resources, IOM also assists in the movement of other national migrants. IOM provides counselling, help with formalities such as visas, training and integration assistance. Those who are able to do so are asked to pay IOM for the cost of its services, but for needy cases IOM's travel loan fund is available to the extent that resources permit. All migrants benefit from the low fares negotiated by IOM with the major carriers.
58. Normal migration of nationals represents a small fraction of the total number of migrants assisted by IOM since 1952.
59. In 1992 and 1993, 2 888 Portuguese emigrants received such assistance, making them the major beneficiaries of the scheme. In the Netherlands, help was given to some 1 850 persons, either Dutch nationals wishing to resettle overseas or other nationals qualifying for assisted return migration.
6. Support activities
6.1. Language and cultural orientation training
60. Since its beginning, IOM has provided pre-departure training programmes for migrants. These now include language training and cultural orientation courses enabling participants to acquire or upgrade language skills, adapt to new environments and enter the labour market. In 1992 and 1993, IOM Migrant Training Services organised a variety of programmes that benefited some 16 000 migrants and refugees.
61. During the period under review, IOM provided language training and cultural orientation courses in English, French and German for national migrants in Italy, Portugal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, and also for refugees in Europe (Austria, Greece, Hungary, Italy and the former Yugoslavia), Africa (Botswana, Kenya), and south-east Asia (Hong Kong, Philippines, Thailand).
6.2. Medical services
62. Besides running the Special Medical Assistance Programme for former Yugoslavia described above in section 2.4, IOM's medical services work closely with national health authorities and the World Health Organisation (WHO) to examine, treat and make the necessary administrative arrangements for migrants and refugees in order to meet the admission requirements of the receiving countries.
63. Thus, for example, in 1992 IOM screened over 75 000 migrants from the former Soviet Union prior to their departure for the United States of America. This service was carried out under agreements with four medical establishments in Moscow, with a staff of more than fifty local doctors and nurses under the supervision of two IOM medical officers. A similar agreement was signed in 1992 for migrants to Australia.
64. Medical services are an integral part of IOM's operational activities in south-east Asia, where IOM staff carry out extensive medical examinations including physical examinations, chest X-rays, tuberculosis treatment, leprosy treatment, vaccination, treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, Hepatitis B testing and vaccination as well as psychiatric evaluations. Some countries may have additional requirements, such as HIV testing for those leaving for the United States and Australia.
65. In 1992 and 1993, IOM medically screened more than 258 000 persons in the region, including some 143 000 Vietnamese emigrants under the Orderly Departure Programme (see above, section 2.3).
66. Although in 1993 UNHCR reduced the level of its health-care provision to the population of the First-Asylum Camp on Palawan in the Philippines, transferring certain aspects of provision to the Philippines Government, IOM has continued to operate the in-camp out-patient clinic and to screen residents returning to Vietnam under the Voluntary Repatriation Programme.
67. In August 1992, a medical team was attached to the Afghan Repatriation Assistance Programme (ARAP). In co-operation with UNHCR and WHO, the team checked Afghan returnees for tuberculosis, trained them in providing treatment, and distributed oral rehydration salts and water purification tablets. Medical assistance was given to over 120 000 people under ARAP in 1992 and 1993, including more than 63 000 children under nine years of age.
68. In Latin America, IOM has pioneered free medical and accident insurance for Chilean exiles returning under IOM's sponsorship. The scheme, financed through donations from the Governments of Belgium, Italy, Norway and Sweden and the European Community, has provided cover for almost 3 000 Chileans since it was launched in 1989. In 1993, IOM also insured returnees to several other Latin American countries.
69. Finally, an IOM manual for medical escorts was produced in 1992 and the medical manual was revised. The two manuals include information on procedures for the prevention and control of communicable diseases, medical aspects of travel and a summary of the national guidelines for the major receiving countries.
6.3. Transport services
70. According to the IOM's "Report on transport", appended to the Director General's report for 1993, in that year IOM moved 509 747 people from 135 departure points to 153 final destinations worldwide, as compared with 418 318 in 1992.
71. IOM's regular programmes accounted for 234 700 of the total movements in 1993 (as against 251 970 in 1992), as follows:
—22 4 230 under humanitarian migration programmes;—
—4 982 under migration of nationals programmes;—
—5 488 under transfer of qualified resources programmes.72
72. In 1993, a total of 275 047 persons were assisted under special programmes, of whom 210 028 under the Afghan Repatriation Assistance Programme, 51 715 under the United Nations Humanitarian Assistance Programme for Mozambique, and the remainder, some 12 000, under a variety of other programmes.
73. Air transport was used for the majority of passengers. For reasons of economy and because of the nature and time-frame of some operations, charter arrangements were preferred, even though special concessional fares (often over 50% reductions) and additional baggage allowance are applied on normal commercial flights under agreements negotiated with over eighty airlines. A total of 259 charters were contracted for a total of 57 333 passengers. Where appropriate, passengers are asked to pay or promise to reimburse their fares, in full or in part. Certain monopolistic practices such as the "Fly American Act" requiring IOM to use only United States airlines for passengers to the United States distort the free market search for the most advantageous fares. Nevertheless, average costs have tended to fall.
7. Information, research, and forum activities
7.1. Information
74. Reference has already been made to the Centre for Information on Migration in Latin America (see section 4.5), which answers requests for information on migration matters in the region.
75. IOM runs migration information programmes in certain countries with a strong emigration potential in central and eastern Europe, designed to disseminate clear and credible information to potential migrants about actual migration opportunities and conditions in potential target countries, including legal requirements and procedures and the implications of illegal immigration. Such programmes are operating in Romania and, jointly with UNHCR, in Albania. The idea is to dispel mythical perceptions that may pertain in those countries. Dissemination is through national radio and television broadcasts, newspapers and direct grass-roots networking efforts. Late in 1993, IOM and UNHCR completed the planning for a major concerted information programme for Russia.
7.2. Research
76. IOM also aims to provide policy-makers with timely and well-documented research information. In 1992 IOM undertook a survey in Albania, Bulgaria, Russia and Ukraine to develop profiles of potential migrants, their motives and perceptions. A similar study on "Profiles and Motives of Potential Migrants in Romania" was completed in 1993. The provision of such information, together with other elements such as a system to give early warning of potential migratory flows, were identified as crucial in a feasibility study recently prepared at the request of the Council of Europe. This study resulted in 1993 in the establishment by IOM in Budapest of a Migration Information Programme (MIP) on central and eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The main goals of this programme are to conduct rapid, targeted research on profiles and motives of migrants and potential migrants and to establish an early-warning system to alert governments to social and political situations which could cause large-scale migratory flows. The first results, studies on transit migrants in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and the Russian Federation, have now been published.
77. Further research activities focused on analysing trends in international migration, keeping up to date with national migration policies and legislation, and studying the human resources requirements of individual countries. A four-year research project to analyse present and future emigration dynamics in developing countries, financed by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), was started in 1993. A project to analyse the relationship between foreign direct investment, trade liberalisation and international migration, carried out jointly with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), has now been completed. At the end of 1993 studies were begun on "International migration pressures on developed countries: main causes, prospects and implications. Possible policy and operational responses" and on "International migration beyond the 1990s: issues, policies and measures". In the course of 1993, four studies were published analysing the impact of migration on Canada, Italy, Switzerland and Venezuela. Similar studies on the United Kingdom and New Zealand are in preparation. A series of studies is planned on the economic roles of female migrants in several developed and developing countries. Finally, in 1993 IOM drew up a proposal for the establishment in Geneva of an international centre for health and migration to carry out research and disseminate information on migrants' and refugees' health.
7.3. Forum activities
78. IOM provides an international forum for discussion on migration issues among governments and international governmental and non-governmental organisations. The following meetings were held in 1992 and 1993:
—Ev aluation Seminar on the Programme for the Reintegration of Qualified African Nationals (Harare, Zimbabwe, February 1992). This seminar recommended that the programme be extended (see section 3.2 above) and strengthened.—
—Wo rkshop on Migratory Policies in Paraguay (Asuncion, April 1992). At this Workshop, specific proposals were made to encourage Paraguayans to stay in the country and to return.—
—Se cond International Conference on Migration and Health (Brussels, June-July 1992). This conference addressed the problem of health inequalities between migrant communities and the host population.—
—Tr aining Seminar on Migration Policies and Practices (Moscow, July 1992). The objectives of this seminar were to enhance the knowledge of migration issues among officials, facilitate policy formulation and implementation and identify Russia's priority needs and interests.—
—Te nth IOM Seminar on Migration: "Migration and Development" (Geneva, September 1992). A major conclusion of this seminar was that national and international policy co-ordination mechanisms should be set up to ensure that migration issues receive due attention when trade, aid, investment, environment or population policies are being worked out.—
—Co nference on "Japan and International Migration: Challenges and Opportunities" (Tokyo, October 1992). This conference was held to discuss foreign labour issues in Japan in the light of global migration patterns.—
—Se minar on "International Migration in Egypt and the Arab World" (Cairo, November 1992). This seminar stressed the need for co-operation between sending and receiving countries to combat illegal migration and protect the social rights of migrants.—
—In ternational Seminar on "International Recognition of Skills" (Melbourne, December 1992). Given the increased internationalisation of the economy and the resulting rise in international labour mobility, the seminar underlined the growing need for the efficient and fair recognition of skills acquired abroad.—
—La tin American Regional Seminar on "Migration Policies, Integration and Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean: the Challenges and Opportunities of the Present Decade" (Punta del Este, Uruguay, March 1993). Two challenges identified at this seminar were to develop links with the private sector in the region through migration for development programmes and to disseminate information on international instruments on the rights of migrants.—
—Co nference on the Health Impact of Mass Migration (Moscow, April 1993). This conference focused on how to cope with the additional burden that the already fully stretched health services will have to bear to protect the health of migrants and refugees.—
—Co nference on Migration Trends, Social Change and Co-operation in the Baltic Region (Helsinki, May 1993). This conference brought together experts on migration, minority issues, citizenship and economics to discuss needs and possible future IOM activity in the Baltic region.—
—Se minar on "International Migration in El Salvador, Present Situation and Perspectives for the Formulation of a Migration Policy" (San Salvador, October 1993). This discussion was held in the context of Central American integration.—
—Co nference on Measurement of International Migration in Latin America (Bogota, Colombia, October 1993). The purpose of this conference was to identify sources of data and to discuss measurement difficulties and ways to stimulate the exchange of such data.—
—Wo rkshop on Citizenship and Related Issues in the CIS and Baltic States (Dagomys, Russia, October 1993). Co-sponsored by the CSCE and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, this workshop focused on international standards, national legislation and future cooperation in the matter of citizenship and related issues.—
—XV th Inter-American Course on International Migration (Mar del Plata, Argentina, November 1993). The course aimed at enhancing professionals' knowledge of migration issues in the region and at streamlining the administration of migration procedures.8.
8. Co-operation with the Council of Europe
8.1. Nationality and citizenship issues
79. Not only was the Council of Europe represented at the above-mentioned Workshop on Citizenship and Related Issues in the CIS and Baltic States held at Dagomys, Russia, in October 1993, but IOM takes part as an observer in the meetings of the Council of Europe's Committee of Experts on Multiple Nationality (CJ-PL). This committee is in the process of drawing up a draft European convention on nationality and military obligations in cases of multiple nationality to take account of:
—re cent developments in the legislation and practice of member States, in particular in the light of migratory movements in Europe and the opening of the Council of Europe towards the countries of central and eastern Europe; and—
—di fficulties experienced in the application of the 1963 Convention on the Reduction of Cases of Multiple Nationality and Military Obligations in Cases of Multiple Nationality.8.
8.2. Migration questions
80. IOM takes part as an observer in the meetings of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography of the Parliamentary Assembly, in those of the European Committee on Migration (CDMG) and in the work undertaken as a follow-up to the Conference of Ministers on the Movement of Persons from Central and Eastern European Countries; this co-operation has resulted, for example, in the establishment in Budapest of the Migration Information Programme on Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS (see above, section 7.2). Such cooperation is to be welcomed in order to ensure that the needs of the various European countries facing migration problems are properly identified and that the two organisations, as well as others such as UNHCR, act in unison in the search for solutions.
8.3. Social Development Fund
81. In the past, the Assembly has recommended that IOM should be associated with projects for the resettlement of migrants or refugees financed through the Council of Europe's Social Development Fund. For example, Recommendation 1207 (1993) on population movements between the states of the former USSR invited the Fund to widen its scope to enable appropriate non-governmental organisations in countries whose parliaments enjoy special guest status to benefit from financing by the Fund, in co-ordination with IOM. The Assembly also invited the governments of all the member states to join IOM and to donate generously to its special projects in Russia and other states which were de facto part of the former USSR. Since the adoption of that recommendation, the Fund has established a special emergency account which allows it to make interest-free loans even in non-member countries to meet the urgent needs of refugees and displaced persons who are victims of exceptional circumstances such as war or generalised violence. The Fund's member states, in co-ordination with IOM, might envisage submitting and guaranteeing projects suitable for funding through this account.
9. Conclusion
82. The International Organization for Migration has continued in 1992 and 1993 to provide a valuable service to a growing number of member states and to hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees, in keeping with its major objectives of fostering the right conditions for orderly migration throughout the world and of helping to ensure that migration contributes to social and economic development.
83. In seeking to establish a framework for the regulation of unbalanced, haphazard, migration flows, IOM favours a comprehensive approach, convinced that international development aid must be directed to migration-producing countries, that information campaigns should be conducted in those countries to dispel illusions about opportunities elsewhere, that government migration services should be strengthened, that there is a need to revise migration policies to correspond more closely to reality, and that greater support should be given to the return of migrants to their home countries.
84. In pursuing these objectives, IOM must be in constant touch with the migration situation throughout the world and with migrants' needs. That is why IOM has adjusted its staff structure so that the overwhelming majority are deployed in the field, while only a relatively small number are assigned to headquarters in Geneva.
85. Moreover, IOM has in recent years made a particular effort to establish a presence in several countries of central and eastern Europe, including Albania, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, and Russia, in recognition of the particular migration problems and needs of these countries and of their potential role with regard to disorderly migration flows. With a similar objective, a new office has also been established in Finland with regional responsibility for the Baltic States.
86. Maintaining adequate funding for these tasks is a major challenge facing IOM, and it is to be hoped that countries which clearly have an interest in seeing its objectives successfully met but are not yet members will soon be in a position to contribute by joining the organisation.
87. It is also to be hoped that IOM will continue to enjoy good working relations with the now considerable number of international organisations active in the field of migration, including the Council of Europe, and that every effort will be made to ensure that their activities are properly co-ordinated.
88. IOM plays an important role in a world characterised by considerable migration pressures that will undoubtedly grow as population and international travel possibilities increase. Everything should be done to ensure that it is in a strong position to meet the challenge.
APPENDIX I
Members of IOM
Albania Croatia Hungary Peru
Angola Cyprus Israel Philippines
Argentina Denmark Italy Poland
Armenia Dominican Republic Japan Portugal
Australia Ecuador Kenya Sri Lanka
Austria Egypt Korea, Republic of Sweden
Bangladesh El Salvador Luxembourg Switzerland
Belgium Finland Netherlands Thailand
Bolivia France Nicaragua Uganda
Canada Germany Norway USA
Chile Greece Pakistan Uruguay
Colombia Guatemala Panama Venezuela
Costa Rica Honduras Paraguay Zambia
Observers
Belize, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria4, Cape Verde, Czech Republic, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Holy See, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, New Zealand, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Sao Tomé and Principe, Senegal1, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Somalia, Spain, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Vietnam, Yugoslavia, Zimbabwe and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
Reporting committee: Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography.
Budgetary implications for the Assembly: none.
Origin: Resolution 914 (1989.
Draft recommendation unanimously adopted by the committee on 16 September 1994.
Members of the committee: MM. Flückiger (Chairman), Cucó, Sir John Hunt (Vice-Chairmen), Mrs Aguiar, Mr Akselsen, Mrs Arnold, Mrs Ástgeirsdóttir, MM. Attard-Montalto, Biefnot, Billing, Böhm, Branger, Mrs Brasseur, MM. Brennan, Brito, Dolazza, Ehrmann (Alternate: Schreiner), Fuhrmann, Galanos, Mrs Gelderblom-Lankhout, MM. Ghesquière, Golu, Gotzev, Mrs Hacklin, MM. de Hoop Scheffer, Iuliano, Iwinski, Kalus, Kapsis, Karcsay, Kiliç, Kiratlioǧlu (Alternate: Mimaroǧlu), Lord Kirkhill, MM. Laanoja, Lauricella, Lupták, Mrs Mascher, MM. Pastuszka, Pavlidis, Mrs Robert, MM. Saudargas, Školč, Stoilov, Ms Szelényi, Mr Trojan, Mrs Uusmann, Mr Vázquez.
N.B. The names of those members present at the meeting are printed in italics.
Secretaries to the committee: MM. Newman and Sich.
1 1IOM has fifty-two member states and forty observer states. See list in Appendix I.
2 2Present composition: Belgium, Bolivia, Egypt, El Salvador, Guatemala, Italy, Pakistan, Portugal, Switzerland, the United States of America and Uruguay.
3 1 Doc. 6818 and Resolution 1000 (1993).
4 1Has applied for membership.