The International Organization for Migration (IOM) was established in December 1951 and began its operations in early 1952 as the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration. Its Constitution was adopted on 19 October 1953 and came into force on 30 November 1954. Amendments were made to the Constitution, effective 14 November 1989, and the Organization was renamed the International Organization for Migration.
IOM is based in Geneva, Switzerland. António Vitorino (Portugal) is the Director General of IOM from October 2018 for a five-year term (was elected by the member states of IOM in June 2018). His predecessor was Ambassador William Lacy Swing (USA). IOM currently has 173 Member States and a further 9 states holding Observer status and offices in over 100 countries. IOM's operating costs (donor funds) for the implementation of programs and projects in 2020 amounted to $1.9 billion, and administrative costs (contributions from countries) - 52.2 million Swiss francs.
IOM is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society. As the leading international organization for migration, IOM acts with its partners in the international community to:
The organization is undergoing a complex process of implementing reforms to comprehensively meet the needs in the field of migration, as well as to adapt the internal management framework to meet the requirements of a modern, viable organization. At the same time, considerable attention is paid to the collection and analysis of data on situations of displacement of persons, as well as cooperation with other actors involved in migration issues.
Steps are being taken to further implement the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration(approved by a majority of UN Member States in December 2018), in particular as regards the establishment of the UN Migration Network, coordinated by IOM.
The IOM Mission in Ukraine was established in 1996, when Ukraine became an observer state of IOM. In 2001, Ukraine requested membership in IOM, which was formalized with the Ukrainian Parliament’s ratification of the IOM Constitution in 2002.
Today, the IOM structure in Ukraine consists of a head office in Kyiv and divisions and logistics centers in Sieverodonetsk, Kramatorsk, Donetsk, Luhansk and Odesa. It has about 400 employees and manages about 30 projects worth more than $65 million. IOM Representative in Ukraine is Mr. Anh Nguyen (predecessor – Mr. Thomas Weiss).
During 25 years of presence in Ukraine, IOM has assisted over 700 thousand persons – migrants (Ukrainians and other nationalities), IDPs, potential migrants, victims of trafficking and other vulnerable groups, directly or through its project partners.
IOM has been involved in the development of more than 50 Ukrainian legislative acts during its activities in Ukraine, including the Concept of State Migration Policy, the Law on Border Control and the Law on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings.