IOM Standing Committee on Programmes and Finance - EU Statement - Item 2 Update by the Director General

Statement on behalf of the European Union and its Member States 

International Organisation for Migration

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

29-30 October 2026

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Item 2

Update by the Director General

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Geneva, 29 October 2026

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International Organisation for Migration 

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

29-30 October 2026

Item 2 – Update 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 and Republic of Moldova align themselves with this statement.

Director General,

1. We thank you for your presentation and express our appreciation for the dedication and resilience of IOM staff in challenging operational environments. We reaffirm our steadfast commitment to multilateralism and international cooperation, with IOM as a key partner in promoting humane and effective migration governance, and we remain IOM's largest collective contributor.

2. We reaffirm our comprehensive, 360-degree, whole-of-government and whole-of-route approach to migration governance, grounded in international law and obligations thereunder, human rights and human dignity, and attach particular importance to migration diplomacy as a way of fostering practical cooperation with partners along migratory routes. This includes saving lives, protecting the human rights of migrants, addressing displacement and its drivers, preventing irregular migration, combating migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings, promoting regular pathways in line with national competences, and facilitating safe, dignified and sustainable returns, readmission and reintegration through effective cooperation with countries of origin and transit.

3. We value the cooperation with IOM in implementing the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum. We welcome IOM’s engagement in the Eastern Corridor initiative, connecting countries from South Asia through North Africa to Europe, as well as our cooperation along the Atlantic and Mediterranean routes. These efforts should strengthen comprehensive cooperation among countries of origin, transit and destination along the entire migration route.

4. We welcome the stabilisation of IOM’s financial situation in 2026 and the prospect of modest growth in 2027. We also welcome the presentation of resources at outcome level in the 2027 Programme and Budget, as a further step towards enhanced results-based budgeting. We note the significant shift in IOM’s operational portfolio towards migration management and solutions to displacement. At the same time, substantial humanitarian needs and funding gaps persist, notably in Sudan, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Syria and Ukraine. Preserving emergency response capacity remains essential.

5. Reliable data are critical for evidence-based responses. The EU supports an IOM-led consortium of UN agencies on humanitarian data initiative with EUR 22.8 million, including for the Displacement Tracking Matrix, complemented by another EUR 20 million support to collaboration among international humanitarian organisations and NGOs. These initiatives aim to strengthen joint data production, analysis and interoperability, treating humanitarian data as a global public good. Additional EU support includes a EUR 2 million IOM-UNHCR initiative on mixed migration data and interoperability, a EUR 5 million data programme with IOM for North Africa establishing a comprehensive picture of migration flows and a planned EUR 3.5 million action to support IOM’s DTM and innovative data methodologies.

6. We welcome the ongoing discussions on budget reform, recognising the need to strengthen the predictability and stability of financing of IOM’s core structure. While we continue to reflect on the options presented, we seek greater clarity on how this reform relates to system-wide reforms, on which core functions face the greatest funding pressures, as well as on the criteria for allocating any additional flexible resources, should they become available as a result of the reform.

7. UN80 and the Humanitarian Reset should deliver concrete efficiencies and clearer complementarity. A stronger One UN approach requires closer IOM-UNHCR cooperation, from headquarters to country level, including in operationalising the Route-Based Approach. We encourage both organisations to enhance complementarity and operational synergies, while respecting their distinct mandates and expertise, and to hold joint briefings at headquarters level, particularly on country and regional situations of shared engagement.

8. We encourage IOM to maintain its strong focus, within available resources, on the interlinkages between mobility and climate change], and on the cross-cutting priority of equality, diversity and inclusion across its operations and workplace. Strong core functions and independent oversight, including audit, evaluation, risk management, ethics and prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment, remain indispensable.

We remain committed to an effective, accountable and resilient IOM.

Thank you.

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