Geneva – On World Refugee Day 2023, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) honors the strength and resilience of those forced to flee from conflict and marks a milestone achievement for the Organization: since 2001 our teams have provided orientation training to over 1 million people on the move, including more than 700,000 refugees during the resettlement process.

For more than 70 years, moving refugees and migrants at risk in a safe, orderly and dignified manner has been, and continues to be, a fundamental purpose of the Organization. IOM’s international movement operations continue to grow in scope and complexity, with over 100 nationalities represented among global refugee admissions.

When other solutions for refugees – return in safety and dignity, voluntary repatriation and local integration – are unattainable, resettlement may be the only feasible option to provide effective protection and meet the needs of refugees whose life, liberty, safety, health or other fundamental rights are at risk. Resettlement is a durable solution for refugees as well as a demonstration of international solidarity and responsibility-sharing with those countries hosting large numbers of refugees.

This year’s theme: “Hope away from home: A world where refugees are always included,” highlights the significance of integration and inclusion. IOM orientation trainings are designed to empower refugees and migrants during the resettlement process and facilitate better integration within their new countries.

The Global Compact for Migration (GCM) Objective 16 also calls for full inclusion and social cohesion of migrants in their country of destination. IOM recognizes that integration begins long before departure; providing orientation training prior to and following arrival in destination countries contributes to the achievement of the GCM goal.

Pre-departure orientation for refugees in particular aims to provide consistent and accurate information on the resettlement process. It also aims to help refugees develop skills and attitudes to adjust to a new context. IOM programmes also target receiving societies to help promote inclusion in destination communities upon their arrival.

The majority of IOM refugee training participants in 2022 originated from Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iraq, and Somalia.

Beyond pre-departure and post-arrival integration initiatives, IOM resettlement support also includes case processing, pre-migration health activities, and movement management. In 2022, IOM facilitated the resettlement, humanitarian admission and voluntary European Union relocation for over 120,000 refugees and other vulnerable persons.

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For more information, please contact:

Jamal Alfakhouri, Jalfakhouri@iom.int, Tel: +41 791235087 

Safa Msehli, smsehli@iom.int, Tel: +41 794035526

Amber Christino, achristino@iom.int, Tel: +41 227179689