Director-General, excellencies and distinguished delegates,
Mr. Chairperson,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union.
The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Armenia align themselves with this declaration.
The EU thanks the Director-General for his opening remarks and seizes this opportunity to express our appreciation to the Director-General for his effective leadership of IOM. The EU also welcomes the Deputy Director-General in her new post, and pays tribute to the professional and dedicated staff of IOM.
Last year the EU was impressed by the presentation of the Director –General’s vision for IOM. We support him in his efforts to realize this vision.
The EU welcomes the ambition to consolidate IOM’s activities, and to make IOM an even more efficient organization. We welcome the Director-General’s emphasis on member states’ ownership of IOM, and his willingness to improve the dialogue with us regarding the strategic guidance of IOM. The EU strongly supports efforts to improve partnerships and increased coordination between IOM and other international organizations and NGOs, as well as to improve the professional capacity of the organization – both as important enablers in IOM’s reform work.
The EU believes that it is important for IOM to continuously adapt to changing circumstances in areas in which the organization is mandated to act. Indeed, migration remains a key feature in today’s globalized world. In addition, IOM will continue to play an important role in the humanitarian field as humanitarian assistance needs are likely to increase as a consequence of numerous overarching trends and challenges such as climate change, environmental degradation, food insecurity, population growth, economic crisis and urbanization.
Given the changing operational context and the growth of the organization the EU supports the initiative to review the organizational structures of IOM. The EU believes that a revised structure is needed in order for IOM to uphold its capacity to provide efficient services to its Member States. In the context of the organizational restructuring, the EU welcomes the strengthening of the IOM’s presence in Brussels and underlines the importance that IOM’s capacity in the Mediterranean area will correspond to the areas specific needs.
One of the key components of the restructuring process is decentralization. The EU underlines the need for effective oversight mechanisms with a view to, amongst others, ensuring coherence, quality and adherence to the IOM strategy in project development and implementation. The EU would also welcome an evaluation of the restructuring process at an appropriate time.
The EU appreciates IOM’s active contribution to the Global Migration Group. The EU considers the Global Migration Group to be a key mechanism for cooperation and coordination on migration issues. The EU lauds the active efforts of IOM within this group, and underlines the importance of developing cooperation within the framework of the Global Migration Group.
Migration remains high on the EU’s policy agenda. The EU and its Member States are committed to addressing the many opportunities and challenges that migration presents in a comprehensive and coherent manner. The EU recognizes that migration, if managed effectively, can benefit countries of origin, countries of destination and migrants themselves – and can have a positive impact on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
The Global Approach to Migration is an important instrument for realizing the EU’s migration policy, and significant progress has been made in implementation since its adoption in 2005. The Global Approach to Migration constitutes a comprehensive, balanced and integrated framework for EU external cooperation, encompassing legal immigration, migration and development and illegal immigration. The cooperation instruments within this framework, including migration missions, cooperation platforms and mobility partnerships, have proven to be effective and flexible tools for strengthening dialogue and cooperation with third countries on migration. IOM is an important actor in the implementation of the Global Approach to Migration.
The development of a forward looking and coherent Common European Migration Policy is a priority of the EU. Last year, an important step was taken in this regard with the adoption of the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum.
This year, the EU adopted its first directive relating to labour immigration; the so called Blue Card directive which enables admission of persons for highly qualified employment. The new EU multi-annual programme in the area of freedom, security and justice for the period 2010-2014 is currently in the final stage of negotiations. The Stockholm Programme is planned to be adopted by the European Council on 10-11 December. Migration and asylum issues constitute an integral part of the Stockholm Programme.
It is important for the EU to continue to develop a comprehensive and sustainable European migration and asylum policy framework based on solidarity among EU Member States and true partnerships with countries of origin and transit. Several issues are of key importance for the work in the coming years, including: the further consolidation, development and implementation of the EU Global Approach to Migration, the need to take further steps to maximize the positive effects of migration on development, and the need to create flexible admissions systems based on policies that are responsive to the needs of Member States’ national labour markets. The objective of granting third-country nationals legally resident in the Member States of the EU a level of rights comparable to those of EU citizens should remain an objective, as does the establishment of effective policies to combat irregular migration and a Common European Asylum System and a uniform status for those granted international protection. Finally, the creation of an EU resettlement scheme, with a view to increasing the total number of resettlement places in the EU, remains a priority.
The EU strongly believes that migration policies need to safeguard the human rights of migrants in countries of transit and destination, as well as in countries of origin if and when they return. The EU ensures the protection of the human rights of migrants through its regional human rights instruments as well as the core international human rights instruments that have been ratified and implemented, and attaches great importance to the application of these obligations.
The protection of human rights is also a paramount concern in preventing and combating trafficking in human beings. The EU welcomes IOM’s comprehensive approach to trafficking in the wider context of managing migration that includes not least the respect for human rights. The wide range of IOM-activities, implemented in partnership with governmental institutions, NGOs and international organizations illustrates that IOM’s counter trafficking work is an important contribution to the efforts of the international community.
The EU recognizes that even during an economic downturn, well-managed global migration should be viewed as part of the solution, rather than as part of the problem. The reversal of international migration and remittance flows that we are currently witnessing undoubtedly has serious consequences for many countries, and therefore our persistent attention is required to continue to strengthen cooperation on issues related to promoting the positive effects of migration on development. The EU reiterates the need to combat xenophobia and discrimination of migrants.
The EU is a staunch supporter of both the “UN Delivering as One” initiative and the humanitarian reform efforts. We welcome IOM’s contributions to these processes.
The EU appreciates IOM’s input to the development of the humanitarian system in the context of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee and the leadership that IOM has taken upon itself in the cluster for Camp Coordination and Camp Management in natural disasters. The EU stresses the need to mainstream costs related to IOM’s responsibilities as cluster lead in IOM’s budget, and notes the importance that this is also taken into account in the context of a possible reform of IOM’s budget structure. The EU urges IOM to continue to support the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Emergency Relief Coordinator as well as the Humanitarian Coordinators at the field level. Finally, the EU urges IOM to bring forward an internal policy that includes a definition of humanitarian assistance and that guides humanitarian interventions that IOM implements outside of the framework of the Consolidated Appeals Process.
Thank you Mr. Chairperson.
______________*Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.