Statement on behalf of the European Union and its Member States 

International Organisation for Migration

36^th Session of the Standing Committee on Programmes and Finance

25-26 June 2025

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Item 2

Presentation by the Director General

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Geneva, 25 June 2025

- CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY -

International Organisation for Migration 

36^th Session of the Standing Committee on Programmes and Finance

25-26 June 2025

Item 2 - Presentation by the Director General

Statement on behalf of the European Union and its Member States 

Chair, 

I speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The candidate countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Ukraine, Republic of Moldova, and Bosnia and Herzegovina*, as well as Armenia align themselves with this statement.

Director General,

1. We thank you for your report.

2. Since we last gathered, IOM’s financial situation has worsened significantly, while the challenges related to migration and to climate and disaster induced displacement continue to intensify. This underscores the urgent need for reform.

3. IOM is a long-standing partner of the EU and its Member States and can rely on our continued support. Our cooperation is grounded in a comprehensive, human rights-based, whole-of-route approach to migration, as reflected in the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum.

4. We trust IOM will continue implementing all three objectives of its Strategic Plan with equal attention. We call on IOM to maintain strong focus on interlinkage between migration and climate change and on crosscutting priorities, especially equality, diversity and inclusion. We emphasise the importance of keeping a protection-centred approach, in close coordination with UNHCR, and to uphold the UN Charter and its principles.

5. We commend IOM for pro-actively launching contingency measures in December and initiating structural realignment in February to keep the agency afloat. We recognise the hard work of IOM staff and express our sympathy to those affected. We thank IOM for maintaining core functions related to internal accountability, oversight and transparency.

6. We appreciate regular updates and consultations on structural realignment, the headquarters building project, and Programme and Budget for 2026, including expected core funding gaps. However, we note shortcomings in the timely publication and completeness of documents provided ahead of briefings and the Standing Committee. This also applies to information on the structural realignment, where details remain insufficient. We encourage IOM to address these issues to enable meaningful consultation, informed feedback, and effective decision-making. Additionally, regional briefings in the coming months would facilitate discussions of localised impacts on operations, field offices and staff.

7. We commend IOM for mobilising increased private sector funding and encourage it to further these efforts, to explore innovative financing mechanisms, as well as to expand its donor base to emerging and new donors.

8. We thank IOM for its engagement in the UN80 Initiative and the Humanitarian Reset. We encourage IOM to integrate future outcomes of these initiatives in its realignment process. A return to “business as usual” is no longer viable. It is essential to foster and expand collaborations not only in the field but also at HQ level, create synergies and efficiencies, pool resources, and avoid fragmentation and overlaps with sister agencies. We look forward to further developments and concrete steps.

Thank you!

*North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.