IOM Logo – The International Organization for Migration is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1951, which deals with the issue of migration. Headquartered in Geneva, has offices in over 100 countries. This is a treaty organization created by sovereign states, however, depends on the United Nations. Currently, Member States are 127 and 18 observers, with the addition of 76 non-governmental organizations. The IOM has a flexible structure and has over 440 offices in over 100 countries.
IOM is the lead agency in the field of migration and works to help ensure an orderly and humane management of migration, promote international cooperation in the field, assist in finding practical solutions to their problems and provide humanitarian assistance to migrants in need, whether refugees, displaced persons or other uprooted people. The IOM Constitution explicitly recognizes the link between migration and economic, social and cultural as well as the right to freedom of movement of persons.
The IOM was born as the Provisional Intergovernmental Committee for the Movement of Migrants from Europe (PICMME, for its acronym in English) in 1951, during the chaos in Western Europe after World War II. It was created to help European governments to organize the resettlement of the approximately 11 million people uprooted by war, driving the transport of almost a million migrants during the 1950s.
A succession of name changes since PICMME the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration (ICEM) in 1952, the Intergovernmental Committee for Migration (CIM) in 1980, and finally to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in 1989, reflects the transition of the organization for half a century, from a simple logistic European committee of international migration agency.
From its roots as a logistics agency, has expanded its scope to become the leading international body working with governments and civil society to advance understanding of migration issues, encourage social and economic development through the migration, and defend human dignity and welfare of migrants. The broader scope of activities was accompanied by a rapid expansion of its structure. From being a relatively small agency, currently works with an annual operating budget of about USD one billion, and has a staff of 5,400 staff working in over 100 countries worldwide. IOM has become the benchmark in the heated global debate about the social, economic and migration policies in the 21st century.