On the occasion of the visit of H.E. Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak, First
Lady of Egypt, to Geneva, the Director General of IOM, 
Brunson McKinley, and the Permanent Mission of Egypt in Geneva held
a roundtable in Geneva on the challenges and opportunities facing
migrant women in today's mobile world and their increasing role in
the development of both countries of origin and destination.

The event, which took place at IOM's headquarters in the Swiss
city of Geneva, brought together the First Lady of the Arab
Republic of Egypt and President of Suzanne Mubarak Women's
International Peace Movement, IOM's Director General,
representatives from UNCTAD, ILO, Permanent Missions based in
Geneva, business leaders and non governmental organizations.

Participants underlined the fact that women play an increasingly
important role in international migration both as family members
and as economic migrants in their own right. They called upon the
growing number of migrant women who have acquired high standards of
education and skills to take a leading role in ongoing development
efforts. They also noted that migration is increasingly a strategy
whereby women achieve greater social and economic freedom.

They also reviewed the root causes behind the constant increase
in numbers of women migrants and discussed the many pitfalls they
have to face as they migrate. Moreover, the group took note of the
growing disequilibrium of men and women in different regions of the
world and the impact that this might have on migration.

H.E. Suzanne Mubarak emphasised the fact that hundreds of
thousands of women worldwide are lured and forced into labour or
sexual exploitation by unscrupulous traffickers.

She called for better mechanisms to protect migrant women and
for the setting up of a global partnership between governments, the
private sector and other stakeholders for the development, planning
and implementation of improved mobility policies and practices.

Given the importance of migration for Egypt, Mrs. Mubarak is a
strong advocate for a better managed international migration system
and a leader in the worldwide campaign to eradicate trafficking in
persons.

Participants also examined ways to empower women by developing
mechanisms to better match global labour supply with demand to
maximize their development impact through better use of remittances
and transfers of skills.

Members of the IOM Director General's Business Advisory Board
recently met in Cairo with the Egyptian First Lady to set forth key
messages on migration that require urgent attention by the
international community, including during the forthcoming
High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development
(HLD), which will take place on 14 and 15 September 2006 in the
United Nations General Assembly.

"To facilitate supply and demand matching, there is a need for
enhanced knowledge on labour market trends, labour force profiles
and labour migration trends at the global level," said Brunson
McKinley. "Beyond this, governments, relevant intergovernmental
bodies, and the private sector need to collaborate to invest in
preparing migrants, especially women to take a full and active part
in today's global economy."