EU Statement - IOM 37th Session of the Standing Committee on Programmes and Finance - Item 11(a) (II) Preventative Action on Internal Displacement (S/37/4)

International Organisation for Migration 

37th Session of the Standing Committee on Programmes and Finance

27-28 October 2025

Item 11(a) (II) – Preventative Action on Internal Displacement (S/37/4)

(Background document S/36/4)

Statement on behalf of the European Union and its Member States

Thank you, Chair,

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

The candidate countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania*, Ukraine, Republic of Moldova and Georgia, and the EFTA country Norway, member of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this statement.

1. We thank IOM for presenting this comprehensive paper on Preventive Action on Internal Displacement. We appreciate the encompassing approach, which recognises the interlinkages between climate change, disasters, conflict and fragility, and especially IOM’s support to government-led prevention action, which ensures country-ownership and context-specific prevention strategies.

2. The European Union and its Member States attach great importance to prevention as a cornerstone of the Action Agenda. Preventing displacement before it occurs reduces human suffering and contributes to peace, stability and sustainable development. We welcome IOM’s continued leadership in advancing this agenda, together with UNDP and UNHCR, and its contribution to global frameworks such as the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the New Agenda for Peace.

3. The EU and its Member States have strengthened our commitment to prevention and preparedness both domestically and globally. Through the Union Civil Protection Mechanism and the Preparedness Strategy, we reinforce resilience while sharing expertise and capacity with partner countries. We are strong supporters of the Early Warnings for All initiative and proud partners in IOM’s practical prevention work - from anticipatory action in Afghanistan, to climate-mobility investment planning in the Philippines, Maldives and Africa, and to community-stabilisation and peacebuilding efforts such as the Coastal States Stability Mechanism in the Gulf of Guinea.

4. We underline that effective prevention requires coordination across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus and across borders. We note with appreciation IOM’s regional and cross-border initiatives, including the Transhumance Tracking Tool in the Sahel and environmental-peacebuilding efforts in Somalia, which link data, foresight and local engagement to address the root causes of displacement.

5. We also stress the importance of inter-agency cooperation, a central pillar of the ongoing UN80 reform, and the Reset. We encourage IOM to continue working in closer cooperation with UN partners to ensure coherence across prevention, preparedness and peacebuilding.

6. Chair, we encourage IOM to continue - and where possible expand - its prevention programming, particularly in contexts most exposed to climate and conflict risks. Sustained support for government leadership and ownership, alongside cooperation with international financial institutions and regional organisations, will be crucial to translating prevention into long-term resilience.

Finally, we appreciate the concrete progress achieved by IOM over the past year in advancing prevention and solutions to internal displacement. We look forward to IOM’s continued engagement and to its close cooperation with the next Chair of the Solutions Champions Group, UNDP, in sustaining momentum and supporting Member States in efforts across all three goals.

Thank you, Chair.

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