Madam Chair, distinguished delegates,

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) appreciates
the opportunity to address the Third Committee on the "Report of
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, questions
related to refugees, returnees and displaced persons and
humanitarian questions".

As the High Commissioner indicated yesterday, one of the areas
where a complex challenge has emerged in recent years relates to
the preservation of international protection in an environment
characterized by the growing relevance of the "mixed nature" of
many present-day population flows and growing awareness of the
complexity of population mobility in general. 

Madam Chair,

Traditional notions of "voluntary" and "forced" must today be
seen in the context of mobility for a broader range of interlinked
reasons.  While more people are on the move in today’s
globalized world, with demographic and economic factors paramount,
often the lines between economic and political reasons for moving
can be hard to distinguish.  In this environment, safe and
principled management of migration which remains attentive to the
rights of all migrants while ensuring international protection for
refugees is a global challenge.

The world is changing, and so are the modalities of cooperation
between UNHCR and IOM.  Third country resettlement and
voluntary repatriation continue to constitute a large and important
part of UNHCR/IOM collaboration.  Governments expect this and
individuals need it.  But these increasingly are joined by
newer ventures in response to the different situations of our
times.  Providing assistance to IDPs, coming to the aid of the
victims of displacement as a result of climate change, developing
governmental capacity to deal with mixed population flows: 
these are areas that were not foreseen in 1951, when our two
institutions were created, but are very much what is expected of us
today.

To tackle coherently these and other aspects, a revived annual
consultation between UNHCR and IOM at the executive head level now
sets the framework for regular dialogue on common challenges. 
The most recent, in May 2007, provided an opportunity to discuss a
number of issues which have figured prominently in the UN reform
agenda and the migration debate.  Among these were the
"cluster approach" and collaboration in the Global Migration Group
(GMG).  The GMG, of which both IOM and UNHCR were founding
members, represents a promising mechanism to bring together
intergovernmental partners at the policy and operational levels and
to provide consolidated expertise and support to the Global Forum
on Migration and Development.

As an active participant in the Inter-Agency Standing Committee
(IASC), alongside humanitarian partners from the UN system, the Red
Cross movement and the NGO sector, IOM has been heavily involved in
the elaboration and implementation of the cluster approach. 
At the request of the Emergency Relief Coordinator, IOM was asked
to assume the role of global cluster lead for Camp Coordination and
Camp Management in IDP situations resulting from natural
disasters.  UNHCR has the corresponding lead in situations of
conflict-induced displacement.  From the outset, in order to
avoid overlap, increase effectiveness and exploit synergies, UNHCR
and IOM agreed to a unified approach, with joint leadership of
cluster proceedings at the global level. This approach prevents
duplication while recognizing the primary responsibility each has
in its respective area.  For its implementation, a joint
(virtual) secretariat has been established.  IOM and UNHCR
share all aspects of its functioning and see the Camp Coordination
and Camp Management cluster as a partnership – which has
extended beyond Headquarters-to-Headquarters collaboration to
encompass eight joint field training exercises over the past
year.

Madam Chair,

Above all, it is at the programme level where everyday work
brings together UNHCR and IOM in countless initiatives and
humanitarian responses. As we speak, today in fact, a joint
regional seminar on Building Capacity to Manage Migration in the
Caribbean is under way in the Cayman Islands. This five-day
seminar, organized by IOM and UNHCR is bringing together 21
Caribbean governments, regional organizations including CARICOM,
OAS and UN-ECLAC, and regional and international experts to review
effective practices and tools for addressing mixed migratory flows
in prior/during/post emergency scenarios, both natural and
man-made.

During the five-day event, participants will discuss contingency
planning for mass migration and refugee emergencies; responses to
the diverse challenges of human trafficking and ways to strengthen
regional integration as well as legal frameworks to better respond
to migratory flows and to protect migrants and refugees.

The IOM/UNHCR Regional Seminar seeks to intensify regional
dialogue and cooperation on these issues and to strengthen
Caribbean capacities to manage mixed migratory flows within a human
rights framework to maximize the positive effects of migration.

In conclusion, Madam Chair, we look forward to forging an even
stronger working relationship with the Office of the High
Commissioner for Refugees to promote collaboration on areas of
common concerns and enhance the protection of refugees within the
broader migration context.

Thank you.