Panama - Member States of the Ibero-American Conference have granted IOM Consultative Observer Status at the XXIII Latin American Summit of Heads of State and Governments that is taking place this week in Panama City, Panama under the title “The Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Role of the Ibero-American Community within a New Global Context”.

The Consultative Observer Status, which can be requested by intergovernmental organizations that can help strengthen the promotion of the Ibero-American region by making significant contributions to the region, will allow IOM to:

• Participate in the yearly Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government;
• Participate in Sectorial Ministerial Meetings of the Conference;
• Participate in meetings of Foreign Ministers, National Coordinators and Heads of Cooperation;
• Participate in cooperation activities.

“IOM welcomes this new partnership that will reinforce the joint work that our organizations have been undertaking in the 22 member countries in the field of migration. IOM is present in these countries, working with governments and civil society, strengthening their capacity to manage migration and providing assistance to the migrant population,” said Ambassador Laura Thompson, IOM Deputy Director General.

In 2005, at the XV Summit of Ibero-American Countries, the Heads of State agreed: “Migration impacts us all, either as countries of origin, transit or destination. The successful management of this complex phenomenon is linked to our ability to design a framework built on migration needs in Ibero America and based on orderly and intelligent orderly migration flows, cooperation to combat smuggling and trafficking and, also the responsibility of each country for the design of policies.”

The Ibero-American Secretariat (SEGIB), the permanent body that provides institutional and technical capacity to the Ibero American Conference is an IOM Observer since 2007.

The first Summit of Heads of State and Government was held in Guadalajara, Mexico in 1991. Currently, the Ibero-American Conference consists of 22 countries – 19 in Latin America and three in the Iberian Peninsula (Spain, Portugal and Andorra).

 For more information please contact:

Ana Eugenia Durán Salvatierra
IOM Geneva
Tel: +41 22 717 9382
Email: aeduran@iom.int