Background and Approach

As countries face increasing migration pressures, the need for effective migration management to ensure orderly migration is growing. IOM’s Technical Cooperation on Migration (TCM) offers governments and other agencies the technical, intellectual and strategic tools to enhance their migration management capacities.

TCM activities and programmes complement national and international efforts to manage migration more effectively by addressing the concrete needs of governments to develop comprehensive and consistent responses to migration challenges in a changing international environment. In pursuing this objective, IOM recognizes that migration, and how it is managed, is a global concern inextricably lined to other major policy issues such as trade, development, security, health and the environment.

IOM links its TCM activities primarily to development, particularly in the context of regional migration dialogues, post-crisis rehabilitation and the special needs of countries with economies in transition. This image_a_08.jpgimplies cooperation in identifying the problems and providing viable solutions. IOM responds to the needs and priorities of governments, but is also committed to international principles on the rights and well-being of migrants. TCM can be implemented as a stand-alone programme or it can be a part of other humanitarian and development activities. TCM offers cooperation to relevant agencies in managing emergency resources and/or in devising responses to meet emergency needs.

Mandate:

Providing advisory services to governments in the migration field is one of the principal purposes and functions of IOM. TCM assists governments seeking to enhance their management capacities in migration policy, legislation, and administration. TCM also has a mandate to strengthen national migration management capacities in sectors essential for a country’s development.

Activities:

TCM’s programmes and activities concentrate on four areas:

• Technical cooperation to enhance the management capacities of governments in the field of migration policy, legislation and administration.
• Post-emergency migration management to provide countries emerging from a crisis situation with the technical expertise needed to address migration-related issues.
• Exchange of experts to share knowledge and practical experience on a wide variety of migration issues.
• Return and reintegration of skilled expatriates to counter the effects of “brain drain” and foster social and economic development in the country of origin