IOM Facilitates Return of 418 Migrants Stranded in Yemen in First Evacuation Flight in More than Three Years

The UN Migration Agency (IOM) this week (26-29 November) began assisting 418 Ethiopian migrants stranded in Yemen to safely return under IOM’s Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) operation. This is IOM’s first airlift since shortly after the conflict broke out in 2015 and the largest VHR operation carried out by IOM in Yemen to date.

Speculation over Rohingya repatriation not helpful: UNHCR

Amid uncertainties over commencement of planned repatriation of verified Rohingyas any time soon, UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, says the key to any lasting solution lies in Myanmar.

Modern Hospital Replaces Bamboo Clinic in Bangladesh Refugee Camp

Health services for people affected by the Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh received a boost this week, when IOM, the UN Migration Agency, launched two major new health facilities inside the world’s largest refugee settlement.

Culture, Migration and the Rise of Nationalism

The recent rise of nationalism in some western countries has been fuelled by an anti-immigration campaign based on the assumed negative influences migrants may have on the host country’s “culture”. Nationalists seem to conceive culture as a static concept. However, culture is not invariable, it develops and changes over time and as most things created by humans, it is also connected with power. Generally, when people define themselves as “cultured” they assert themselves as superior to others.

Global Migration Film Festival

The Global Migration Film Festival showcases films that capture the promise and challenges of migration

IOM Creates Emergency Safe Havens for Bangladesh’s Rohingya Refugees

Dozens of community buildings in Bangladesh’s Rohingya refugee camps have been upgraded by shelter teams from IOM, the UN Migration Agency, to provide temporary accommodation for refugees in emergency situations.

Rohingya Protest Against Return to Myanmar and Halt Repatriation

Thousands of Rohingya refugees in camps in Cox’s Bazar, the southern-most coastal district in Bangladesh, protested on Thursday, Nov. 15, against an attempt to send them back to Myanmar.

Mexico-US migration: What can data tell us?

Douglas Massey, Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton University, shares his views on data and migration between the US and Mexico. This interview took place during first International Forum on Migration Statistics, organized by OECD, IOM and UN DESA between 15-16 January 2018.

Do the bells toll for Rohingyas?

Mid-November has arrived and insecurity and uncertainty have descended over Rohingya refugees in Ukhia and Teknaf. The impending deadline has also elicited expressions of deep concern from UN independent experts and rights organisations.

Bangladesh’s Largest Job Site, UN Migration Agency Partner to Combat Unethical Recruitment Practices

The UN Migration Agency (IOM) is partnering with Bangladesh’s largest online job portal Bdjobs.com Ltd. to provide the latest information to job seekers on overseas employment opportunities and connect them directly with employers. The two agencies on Sunday (11/11) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to create a new online portal that expects to go live within six months.

Suspended for Two Years, IOM Resumes Voluntary Humanitarian Return Flights from Southern Libya

The UN Migration Agency, IOM, resumed its Voluntary Humanitarian Return Programme (VHR) in Libya’s southern city of Sebha yesterday (08/11). VHR provides support to stranded migrants wishing to return to their home countries. In recent months, IOM has been expanding its outreach in the south through multiple field missions to make VHR operations possible.

Number of refugees and migrants from Venezuela reaches three million

IOM, the UN Migration Agency, and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency announced today that the number of refugees and migrants from Venezuela worldwide has now reached three million.

The Forgotten ‘Migrant Caravan’: Historic Launch of Global Movement of Families of the Missing

Each year, the Caravana de Madres de Migrantes Desaparecidos (Caravan of Mothers of Missing Migrants) crosses Mexican territory in search of their children who went missing trying to reach the United States.

The ironic life of African migrants in Paris

In Paris recently I noticed an extraordinary phenomenon unfolding around the Eiffel Tower during a casual afternoon stroll. The sans-papiers—as the undocumented migrants are known in local parlance—vended touristy souvenirs around the Champ de Mars, Place du Trocadéro, and the Palais de Chaillot. They often played hide-and-seek games with the police to avoid detection. Struggling migrants from Africa—or more specifically from countries such as the Republic of Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Chad, Mali, Senegal, Eritrea, and Niger—these vendors live a shadow life in Paris and survive in a particular type of parallel underground economy of the city's tourism industry. Curiously, they sell mostly one product: miniature replicas of the Eiffel Tower. Their surreptitious economic footprint wraps around Gustave Eiffel's soaring tower, built in 1889 to commemorate the centennial of the French Revolution.

IOM Monitors Caravans of Central American Migrants, Supports Voluntary Returns

The UN Migration Agency, IOM, continues to provide support and assistance to migrants who have joined the migrant caravans crossing Central America and opted to seek asylum in Mexico or return to their countries of origin.

Love in the Time of Displacement

Marwah always dreamed of a big wedding party in a fancy venue and a luxurious white wedding dress with hundreds of family and friends in attendance. But this dream was shattered when ISIL took over the city of Mosul in June 2014, where she was living at the time.

IOM Launches Updated Counter Trafficking Data Portal with New Statistics

A new version of the Counter Trafficking Data Collaborative (CTDC) has been released, now featuring data on over 90,000 cases of human trafficking and new data visualization tools.

With Poor Human Rights Record, Repatriation Not Possible

Policies that allow for impunity, genocide, and apartheid are “intolerable” and make repatriation of Rohingya refugees impossible, say United Nations investigators.

IOM Remains Committed to Resettlement Despite Decline in 2018

In the first six months of 2018, IOM, the UN Migration Agency, supported the resettlement of 47,197 refugees departing from 106 different countries. The Organization plays a key role in the resettlement process by providing services that prepare refugees to integrate in their new countries.

”Like a TripAdvisor for migrant workers”

“The idea is to integrate technology into the fight for workers’ rights,” says Ira Rachmawati.  As project manager with ITUC’s division for human and workers’ rights, she has led the development of the digital tool Recruitment Advisor, which the global trade union confederation hopes will improve conditions for the world’s 150 million migrant workers.

Honduran Migrant Caravan Moves Northwards, Defying all Obstacles

A long chain of people is winding its way along the highways of Chiapas, the southernmost Mexican state. It is moving fast, despite the fact that one-third of its ranks are made up of children, and it has managed to avoid the multiple obstacles that the governments of Honduras, Guatemala and now Mexico, under pressure from the United States, have thrown up in a vain effort to stop it.