Regional Offices

The Regional Offices oversee, plan, coordinate and support IOM activities within the region. Regional Offices are responsible for project review and endorsement and provide technical support to Country Offices, particularly in the area of project development. A brief description of the nine Regional Offices is outlined below.

Bangkok, Thailand

The Regional Office in Bangkok, Thailand, provides support to IOM offices in Asia and the Pacific; plans and coordinates IOM activities and maintains liaison and partnerships with governments, development partners and civil society within the region; provides technical support to governments to develop national migration frameworks and strengthen migration management systems, as well as in the areas of emergency and post-crisis response, including support for global Displacement Tracking Matrix operations, disaster risk reduction and climate change-induced migration. The Office works closely with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and other regional multilateral bodies, such as ASEAN, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the Pacific Islands Forum and the Asian Development Bank; and provides programme and secretariat support for regional initiatives, including the Colombo Process, the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime and its Regional Support Office, and the Joint United Nations Initiative on Migration and Health in Asia.

Brussels, Belgium

The Regional Office in Brussels, Belgium, provides support to IOM offices within the European Economic Area and Switzerland; maintains liaison and partnerships with governments, development partners and civil society within the region; and provides technical support to governments to develop national migration frameworks and strengthen migration governance systems. In addition to its regional functions, the Office provides, by virtue of its liaison role with the European Union, a range of functions benefiting IOM offices worldwide. These include the Office’s coordination function in IOM’s institutional approaches to policies and activities in relation to the European Union; negotiations and an advisory role for the Organization as a whole and for IOM offices worldwide on European Union policies, programming and funding; liaison, on behalf of the Organization and its offices worldwide, with European Union institutions on matters of a political and financial nature; support for European Union dialogue with third countries on migration issues and liaison with regional bodies; and assistance in strengthening IOM’s relations and liaison with European Union institutions, including through the advancement of strategic cooperation on migration and the administrative and financial Framework Agreement. Furthermore, the Office coordinates IOM’s relations and liaison with NATO, the Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, the World Customs Organization and other multilateral bodies with headquarters in the region.

Vienna, Austria

The Regional Office in Vienna, Austria, provides support to IOM offices in South-Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe and Central Asia; works to implement projects in those countries where no office is present; provides technical support to governments to develop national migration frameworks and strengthen migration management systems; coordinates IOM activities and maintains liaison and partnerships with governments, development partners and civil society within the region and represents IOM at the Regional UN System Meeting for Europe and Central Asia. The Office is responsible for liaison with the United Nations Office in Vienna, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the International Centre for Migration Policy Development, the International Anti-Corruption Academy, other Vienna-based international organizations and donors, including the OPEC Fund for International Development. It also liaises with regional and subregional organizations and coordination structures, such as the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, the Migration, Asylum, Refugees Regional Initiative, the Regional Cooperation Council and the Central European Initiative, as well as with regional integration processes, such as the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Eurasian Economic Union. The Office also promotes regional dialogue and cooperation on migration by supporting the Almaty Process, the European Union’s Eastern Partnership Panel on Migration, Mobility and Integrated Border Management, and the Western Balkans Initiative.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

The Regional Office in Buenos Aires, Argentina, provides support to IOM offices in South America, plans and coordinates activities and maintains liaison and partnerships with governments, development partners and civil society within the region; conducts research and publishes studies on migration issues in the region; provides technical support to governments to develop national migration frameworks and strengthen migration management systems, particularly under the Technical Cooperation in the Area of Migration for Latin America (PLACMI) programme; acts as the technical secretariat for the South American Conference on Migration; works with and provides technical support to subregional integration processes like the Andean Community (CAN) and the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR); interacts with regional bodies like the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR); and liaises with multilateral institutions based in the region, such as the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean and its Latin American and Caribbean Demographic Centre (CELADE), the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) and the Pacific Alliance.

San José, Costa Rica

The Regional Office in San José, Costa Rica, provides support to IOM offices in Central America, North America and the Caribbean; plans and coordinates strategies and activities within the region and maintains liaison and partnerships with governments, development partners and civil society; provides technical support to governments to develop national migration frameworks and strengthen migration management systems; works with the Regional Conference on Migration and other relevant subregional and regional processes, such as the Central American Integration System (SICA), the Central American Commission of Directors of Migration, and the Caribbean Community; and liaises with regional multilateral institutions, such as the Organization of American States, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Pan American Health Organization.

Cairo, Egypt

The Regional Office in Cairo, Egypt, provides support to IOM offices in the Middle East and North Africa, through technical advice, training and the formulation of strategies, processes, projects and programmes; promotes and facilitates international dialogue, partnerships and coordinated migration policy development and programming between States, international organizations, NGOs and civil society, including by supporting regional dialogue processes such as the Abu Dhabi Dialogue and the Arab Regional Consultative Process on Migration and Refugee Affairs; maintains liaison and partnerships with regional organizations, in particular the League of Arab States and the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia – with which IOM co-chairs the inter-agency Working Group on International Migration in the Arab Region – and the Arab Labour Organization; shapes a common platform of response and preparedness for migration crises in the region; promotes and undertakes information-sharing and research to help national, regional and international partners carry out evidence-based advocacy, policy development and programming, including by hosting the North Africa Mixed Migration Hub on behalf of the North Africa Mixed Migration Task Force; and undertakes regional public information activities to contribute to IOM’s visibility and to promote its activities vis-à-vis counterparts and donors at the regional and global levels.

Dakar, Senegal

The Regional Office in Dakar, Senegal, provides support to IOM offices in West and Central Africa; plans and coordinates activities and maintains liaison and partnerships with governments, development partners and civil society within the region; provides governments with technical support to develop national migration frameworks and strengthen migration management systems; liaises with and provides capacity-building support to ECOWAS and the Economic Community of Central African States; and promotes and supports regional dialogue processes, such as the Migration Dialogue for West Africa and the Migration Dialogue for Central African States. It also liaises with other United Nations system organizations, including the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel and the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa, and represents IOM in the United Nations Sustainable Development Group for Western and Central Africa.

Nairobi, Kenya

The Regional Office in Nairobi, Kenya, provides support to IOM offices in East Africa and the Horn of Africa; maintains liaison and partnerships with governments, development partners and civil society within the region; works to implement regional programmes, as approved by the Director General; supports evidence-based migration policies and practices through the harmonization and analysis of migration-related data sets; provides technical support to governments to develop national migration frameworks and strengthen migration management systems; promotes the RCPs for East African States; maintains liaison with the United Nations Office in Nairobi, the United Nations Environment Programme and UN-Habitat; promotes inter-agency cooperation through the formation of a migration group for regional United Nations partners; and liaises with and supports the East African Community to enhance regional cooperation and dialogue on migration. The Office also undertakes regional public information activities to contribute to IOM’s visibility and to promote its activities with counterparts and donors at the regional and global levels and promotes knowledge-sharing and knowledge management within the region.

Pretoria, South Africa

The Regional Office in Pretoria, South Africa, provides support to IOM offices in the Southern African Development Community member countries; plans and coordinates activities and maintains liaison and partnerships with governments, development partners and civil society within the region; provides technical support to governments and the Regional Economic Communities to develop national and regional migration frameworks and strengthen migration management systems; promotes the RCPs for Southern African States; serves as a link between migration and development and the Secretariats of the Pan-African Parliament and the African Union New Partnership for Africa’s Development, and works with the Secretariats of the Southern African Development Community, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean Commission to enhance regional cooperation and dialogue on migration.