This text is taken from a new brochure about the International Organization for Migration, IOM. It was edited by Antiracism Office in Bremen, Germany.
The IOM, founded in 1951, an organisation operating between states covers a far-reaching spectre of tasks. On one hand it perceives itself as a global service agency for migration, on the other hand it has become a think tank, developing new concepts designed to control and direct migration movements more effectively. It thereby operates as a junction between science and practical application, praising itself for interfering with the lives of 12 Mio. people through its program of further migration, return and resettlement - All of this most likely not in the best interest of the people, but always to the advantage of the Western states.
The significance of the IOM has increased since the end of East-West confrontation. By now 102 States are members of the IOM; from 1988 alone, 40 new members joined. Furthermore, 29 states and more that 50 international organisation possess observer-status. The head-office is located in Geneva, from where the practical work of the 19 coordinating centres is being regulated. In addition there exist 150 field offices which keep the contact to government and NGO's within the specific countries and which carry through the particular projects.
The IOM is neither a member of the United Nations nor has it signed any fundamental international conventions, like the Geneva Refugee Convention. Therefore, it is not bound to any standards of international law. As an organisation with an own body of rights, it avoids international control mechanisms. It is accountable to the member states only, justifying the objectives of its actions with the slogan: "Managing migration for the benefit of all."
The infrastructure of the organisation is being financed by membership fees. The means for the actual projects, the greatest share of the IOM budget, are supplied by the particular task-masters. This leads to a situation where above all those countries call on the services of the IOM which are financially better off. That is because, particularly in a case of constituting border and visa systems, the contributing countries serve primarily their expediency. Therefore, projects in Eastern Europe for example are frequently financed by funds of Western European states.
The work of the IOM is divided into 7 separate fields of activity: Labour Migration, Counter-Trafficking, Mass Information and Integration, Migration Health Service, Assisted Voluntary Returns, Technical Cooperation on Migration and Movements. Some of these so called 'service areas' will find further explanation in the following articles.
Besides working on concrete projects, the IOM is expediting the development of frameworks of migration policy. For instance, it is coordinating the proposals of the Bern Initiative (S.2). The strong influence the IOM has on the orientation of the annual Metropolis Project and its more than 20 countries as participants cannot be overlooked, either. This conference aims primarily at bringing together scientists, NGO' s and governments. A principal objective is to solve the problems of regulated migration by applying practical research and to recognise and utilise the chances resulting from this process. The determination of central issues by the IOM and the close collaboration with the SFM and ICMPD emphasizes the importance of the IOM even further. It is a think tank effectively coordinating other think tanks. Particularly the connection of scientific and theoretical approaches with practical application in a local setting helps to explain the special role of the IOM. The IOM is thereby able to test the practicability political concepts and effect them being carried through, also due to it not being bound to standards of international law. (As for example the probing of an extraterritorial camp system within the frame of the ,pacific solution' or the implementation of border policies in Ukraine).
