The International Organization for Migration (IOM) participated in the 5th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) in the Madagascan capital, Antananarivo. The IOC, which includes Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion, and Seychelles, aims to promote cooperation for sustainable development, including addressing environmental issues, governance, education, health, food security, and maritime safety among its member states. 

IOM attended the Summit, represented by Regional Director for East, Horn & Southern Africa, Frantz Celestin, to engage in discussions with representatives from IOC member states, donors, and UN partners on migration governance issues, with the aim of promoting safe, orderly, and humane migration. This includes supporting IOC member countries to enhance labour mobility and skills development among migrant workers, improving maritime security from a migration perspective, building climate change and disaster resilience to reduce climate change-driven migration and displacement, improving migration data management, and sharing best practices from other regional economic communities on migration governance. 

With support from IOM’s Development Fund, and the Southern Africa Migration Management (SAMM) project, IOM has also been working in close collaboration with IOC countries to build capacities in key institutions, including the Regional Coordination and Operations Centre in Seychelles, the Regional Maritime Fusion Information Centre in Madagascar, and border management agencies across member states. In July 2022, a regional dialogue on migration and maritime security, and a coordination platform were also launched. 

Across the region, IOM implements and supports various migration management-related projects and initiatives. In Madagascar, IOM is supporting the country’s National Development Plan, particularly around issues related to social inclusion, resilience, and sustainable growth. IOM’s activities also include promoting climate resilience for migrants in vulnerable regions, strengthening inclusive peace between migrant and host communities, providing evidence-based solutions for displaced persons, and enhancing digital infrastructure at borders to ensure safe and orderly mobility. The Malagasy diaspora has also been mobilized through volunteer programs and strategic initiatives that catalyze investment, entrepreneurship, and knowledge transfer. 

In Comoros, IOM has been supporting the government to ensure safe, orderly, and regular migration through providing capacity building, advisory services, operational support, and technical expertise. IOM has implemented voluntary return and reintegration programs for vulnerable Comorian migrants. Guidance on migration and health, international migration law, counter-trafficking, immigration and border management, migration policy, and diaspora engagement has also been provided. IOM has also been working to strengthen migration governance across the Mozambique Channel through improved cross-border cooperation and data collection to counter irregular migration. 

In Mauritius, IOM is supporting the national government to leverage migration as a tool for sustainable development, by supporting labour and skills mobility, ethical recruitment, combating counter-trafficking, diaspora engagement, internal migration management, disaster risk reduction and management, maritime security, and border management. IOM also supports national efforts to facilitate pathways for regular migration. 

In Seychelles, IOM is supporting the authorities with migration management and governance, including building migration data management capacity, facilitating labour mobility, diaspora engagement, maritime security, and counter-trafficking. IOM also supports capacity building in the area of counter-trafficking, labour migration management, migration data management, and diaspora engagement. IOM is also actively engaging with the private sector to promote ethical recruitment and fair employment for migrant workers.  

During the Summit, IOM’s Regional Director addressed Heads of State, met senior government officials, including the Foreign Minister of Mauritius, Madagascar’s Director General for the National Office for Risk and Disaster Management, the Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Madagascar and Comoros, Japan’s Ambassador,  the Resident Representative of UNDP, the German Agency for International Cooperation,  and other partners. Discussions focused on harnessing and leveraging IOM’s expertise to support IOC member states. 

Climate-induced displacement, as one example, is severely impacting agricultural production, especially in Madagascar, where 80% of the population depends on agriculture for their livelihoods and an estimated 3.89 million people require food assistance. IOM supports these communities and communities in other IOC member countries through resilience-building initiatives and robust data collection via its Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM). Across the region, IOM is also driving evidence-based policymaking, strengthening cross-border collaboration, and implementing community-level interventions that contribute to sustainable development and inclusive growth. By placing migration at the center of resilience strategies, IOM is supporting governments to navigate the complex nexus of human mobility, climate change, and food security. 

"This summit comes at a critical time when climate change, food security, maritime security, labour mobility, and other issues are impacting IOC member states. Migration governance and management as a response and an approach to these issues are key. IOM is committed to supporting IOC member states to navigate these complex issues and challenges. We support governments to find solutions that not only address immediate needs but also strengthen each country’s long-term needs, so effective migration governance becomes a positive force for development.” — Frantz Celestin, IOM Regional Director, East, Horn & Southern Africa. 

During the Summit, IOM also discussed its renewal of the Cooperation Agreement between IOM and the IOC, initially signed in November 2013. The plan is to renew the agreement to allow for continued collaboration in key areas of intervention across the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) Member States. 

IOM’s presence at the Summit reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to strengthening coordination among IOC member states to better understand migration dynamics and address the complex migration-related challenges facing IOC countries. IOM remains committed to assisting the Indian Ocean Commission to effectively manage migration in a safe, orderly, and humane manner. 

For more information, please contact: 
IOM East, Horn and Southern Africa via ronairobimcu@iom.int or call +254 797 735 977