IOM Office to the United Nations

The IOM Office to the United Nations is responsible for representing IOM within the United Nations system and maintains strategic liaison functions with diplomatic missions, non-UN partners and I/NGOs in New York. The Office contributes to these stakeholders’ understanding of migration issues, including with respect to the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) and the Migration MPTF. It achieves so by facilitating international policy dialogue on migration and by promoting the inclusion of migration and displacement in frameworks and agendas on peace and security, human and sustainable development, and humanitarian response. This role also includes promoting and bringing visibility to the work, purpose and the priorities of IOM as well as migration and displacement as a central issue to UN fora, including the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) and other multilateral platforms, as well as the support provided by IOM to Member States.

IOM joined the United Nations system in September 2016 during the United Nations General Assembly high-level summit to address large movements of refugees and migrants. Previously, IOM was granted Permanent Observer status to the United Nations General Assembly in 1992. Following this, a cooperation agreement between IOM and the United Nations was signed in 1996.