Brussels – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has shared its recommendations on migration and mobility with the Czech government. Czechia has assumed the Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) in a time of war impacting millions of people and with migration implications in the region and across the globe.  

“Czechia has been a major host country to people fleeing Ukraine,” said Ola Henrikson, IOM Regional Director for the European Economic Area, the European Union and NATO. “The unprecedented expression of solidarity, reception and support is shifting to a longer-term approach that will need to encompass wider economic and social inclusion.”   

“The challenges and opportunities extend beyond the Ukraine crisis. Comprehensive migration governance, including action to mitigate climate change impacts on human mobility, is needed more than ever in today’s setting,” Henrikson said. 

First, IOM recommends the Presidency to promote flexible and sustainable inclusion and labour mobility pathways. Migrant and refugee inclusion and access to services – as well as attracting skills and talent to the EU through enhanced labour migration – can help mitigate economic downturn, contribute to shared prosperity, and promote social cohesion.  

The recommendations also address the fact that approximately 1 billion people globally live without legal identities and may lack access to basic services and safe movement. IOM, therefore, encourages the Presidency to promote the registration of legal identity and integrated digital tools as enablers of sustainable development and safe, orderly human mobility.  

Dialogue and partnerships for migrant readmission, effective return, and sustainable reintegration continue to be crucial elements of comprehensive migration governance. In its recommendations, IOM outlines a whole-of-route policy which promotes assisted voluntary return, sustainable reintegration, and readmission cooperation frameworks that ensure return procedures adhere to international standards.  

Finally, with the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in view, IOM urges the Czech Presidency to prioritize increasing support to the countries and people most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. In particular, the EU should step up support for climate adaptation and resilience-building for people to move, for people on the move, and for people to stay. 

IOM stands ready to continue its support to the Presidency, the EU, and its Member States to implement balanced, comprehensive policies and programmes across the entire migration spectrum and along migration routes.  

IOM's full recommendations can be downloaded here.  

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For more information, please contact Ryan Schroeder at IOM Brussels, Tel: +32 495 25 02 34, Email: rschroeder@iom.int 

About IOM 

Founded 71 years ago in 1951, IOM is the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration. With 174 member states and presence in over 100 countries, IOM is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society. The Organization works with its partners in the international community to assist in meeting the operational challenges of migration, advance understanding of migration issues, encourage social and economic development through migration and to uphold the well-being and human rights of all migrants.