Permanent Mission of India
Geneva
*****

107^th Session of International Organization for Migration
(5-8 December 2016)

Statement by India during General Debate
(7 December 2016)

1. We welcome the election of Mr. John Paton Quinn, Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations, as the Chairperson and other Bureau Members of the IOM Council Bureau.  We also wish to take this opportunity to welcome the Kingdom of Togo as the new Member to IOM and also grant of observer status to 18 inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations.

2. My delegation appreciates the leadership of Director General, Ambassador Swing and the important role played by Mr. Ovais Sarmad, the Chief of Staff, in effective coordination, implementation and follow-up of IOM activities both at headquarters and in field offices. We also recognise the excellent work carried out by IOM field offices in  several unsafe and challenging environments.

3. The world continues to face a number of challenges over the last several years without any visible sign of improvement in the important areas covered by IOM. This trend has resulted in increase in demand of protection measures on an urgent basis. We have participated in the highest number of events this year, reflecting the issues of refugees and migrants, the important ones being: Pathways for Admission of Syrian Refugees; World Humanitarian Summit; High-level Segment on Refugees and Migrants; Obama Summit etc.  The decisions taken in these meetings are yet to show results on the ground.  This is the moment to introspect and act on the various commitments made at the meetings, keeping the interests of the affected people at the core.

4. While addressing the issue of mass exodus of people, particularly from the Middle-East towards Europe, deliberate attempts have been made to blur the distinction between refugee issues and migrants. There is a growing trend of increase in cases of xenophobia, racism and discrimination, creating additional impediments in ensuring protection to migrants.

5. If we see the latest global trends, over 90% of 247 million people living outside their country of birth are voluntary or economic migrants and only 10% are refugees or asylum seekers. In the category of economic migrants, 35% are skilled and also crucial to the world economy. This is particularly true in knowledge and innovation sectors.  The situation shows how important is migration and how important it is to segregate the issues of migration from those of refugees to keep the wheels of the world economy moving.

6. On the IOM-UN relationship, we support deeper engagement of IOM in various UN bodies and expect this relationship to lead to tangible benefits, including cost efficiency and effectiveness in programme implementation.

7. On the issue of Global Compact on Migration, we support the proposal that the Director General of IOM serves as the Secretary General of the Compact. We would also like to ensure that all organs of the UN and other International Organizations contribute towards keeping the agenda of development central to this Global Compact.

8. We would like IOM to use its expertise and experience in capacity building, providing policy advice and develop specific programmes, including training tools and assessment models to enhance the capacities of Member States to maximise benefits from migration. Meanwhile, we would like IOM to remain focussed on its core mandate. If, for any unavoidable reason, they need to stretch beyond their mandate, we would expect IOM to revert to its original mandate at the earliest possible.

9. With a view to further strengthening its operational capability and efficiency, IOM needs to deepen its partnership with regional economic communities, civil society organizations, public-private entities and other stakeholders. While seeking new partnerships, due diligence is necessary to ensure that it brings greater efficiency and effectiveness in implementation of IOM’s programme.

10. We would recommend to IOM to embark on a path of assessing and reporting its programme and activities on quantifiable parameters, based on principles of outcome-based assessment. An institutional mechanism should be in place to receive feedback from end-users and beneficiaries on quality of services and to seek suggestions aimed at continuous improvement of the programme and its delivery. Analysis of IOM’s cost of operations viz-a-viz peers should be carried out routinely.

11. We would also recommend to IOM to proactively leverage social media and other ICT means to further augment efficiency and effectiveness of its activities. IOM’s vast experience and expertise, its geographical reach, knowledge of issues of migration and crisis management ability are crucial in today’s world. We would like IOM to continue to create complementarities and win-win opportunities for all States. At the same time, we would like IOM to appreciate and take into account the equally important interests of migrants and their families.

12. India - being a major country of origin, destination and transit of migrants - reiterates its commitment to IOM in its efforts towards bringing a humane approach and order to international migration.

I thank you, Mr. Chairperson.

******