IOM's Director General has written to the Executive Editors of the
New York Times and International Herald Tribune following the
publication in both papers of a grossly inaccurate implication
regarding IOM in an Op-Ed: "Can Privatization Kill?"* on April
1^st.

The body text of the letter is below.

"The New York Times and the International Herald Tribune on
Monday 2nd April published an Op-Ed piece: "Can Privatization
Kill?" by Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen, a researcher from the Danish
Institute for International Studies (DIIS).

The piece, which reflected Mr Gammeltoft-Hansen’s valid
concerns about the human rights and treatment of forcibly returned
migrants, regrettably contained one glaring error.

It implies that the International Organization for Migration
(IOM) is a party to, and profits from, forcible and sometimes fatal
deportations increasingly delegated by governments to the private
sector.

IOM is a non-profit intergovernmental organization comprised of
146 member states. Under the terms laid down in its Constitution,
it does not and has never played any role in forcible
deportations.

In 2010, the IOM received $265 million to provide voluntary
return and reintegration assistance to unsuccessful asylum seekers,
stranded persons and other migrants and to offer technical
assistance and training to government officials to improve their
migration management operations systems.

The funding received was also used to provide a wide range of
activities to support victims of human trafficking, both through
direct assistance and through NGOs and government agencies.

I would be grateful if both the New York Times and the
International Herald Tribune would make this clear to readers of
their respective letters pages."

* "http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/02/opinion/when-it-comes-to-immigration-privatization-can-kill.html"
target="_blank" title=
"">http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/02/opinion/when-it-comes-to-immigration-privatization-can-kill.html