 But before we continue with the general debate, and this will add a bit of time to the time we have planned, we will first view a video from Vanuatu regarding the effects of climate change, food insecurity and displacement in the country. I think this will be worthwhile. Secretary. Vanuatu is a small island developing state within the Pacific region. We're one of the most vulnerable countries in the world, especially when it comes to climate and disaster risks. We're situated in the Pacific Room of Fire, as well as within the Pacific Cyclonic Belt, which makes us one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. In Vanuatu we can see mostly in terms of severity of tropical cyclone events. We have more and more tropical cyclone events, category 5, which is not so regular in the past, but now we can see them more often. People from all islands in Vanuatu still retain very close relationships to the land, first and foremost because the cultural heritage relies a lot on the resources that are available, not only on the land but also on the sea. In most places it's the only way of income. The country usually experiences cyclones, and then we have volcanic eruptions. So we have flooding in ferris low-lying areas, so communities that are based in low-lying areas when there's a heavy rain force, and sometimes these communities have to shift away from where they're living to move into higher ground. You're looking at issues related to food security, water security, even cultural security, which is very much impacted by those particular climate impacts. We have to consider the difference in gender and inviolability of people, people with disability in terms of human mobility. For Vanuatu, human mobility or human displacement is bound to happen yet in the future, considering the magnitude and also very aggressive wetter patterns that we have now in Vanuatu, in the Pacific. The Iowa Mission in Vanuatu supported the Ministry of Climate Change to develop its first ever national displacement policies, then supported the government to realize that displacement is an issue. It's very critical for Vanuatu to have a displacement policy in place. Given the scientific projections, we will have climatic impacts that will very much intensify and worsen. You have cyclones every year, so people will have to be displaced, you need proper evacuation centres to be set up, or if you're looking at, you know, more long-term, durable solutions, those will have to come to play. But I think in the future, now that we have the policy in place, the displacement policy, a government would look forward to have support in the future in terms of finance to implement that plan better. So I think it's about time that the government preps itself and looks to its strengths in the islands. People who have been resilient throughout these disasters over generations and pick out the useful aspects of traditional knowledge that we can use, utilize during disasters. We preach resilience to our people, but we will need support. There has to have specific financing for loss and damage to help people from island nations to recover. It's important to recognize the needs of small island states, and particularly for Vanuatu, a chain of a group of little islands. Thank you very much, exterior. I was just looking at the flood in the face, it reminded me of sometimes a free town. Thank you. So now we continue with the general debates. First of all, my list is Bosnia, Herzegovina, we have the floor. Thank you, Mr. Chair, dear General Director, Mr. Vittorini, and dear members of Presidency. I would like to take this opportunity to brief my distinguished colleagues on the latest developments in Bosnia-Herzegovina as regards the issue of irregular migrations. This last Monday, 28th of November, a memorandum of understanding was signed by the Minister of Security, Mr. Tsikotich, and the head of the IOM country office, Mrs. Laura Lungerotti. This signed ceremony was witnessed by Mr. Oliver Varhelli, the European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement. The European Union has provided a regional assistance package of 40 million euros in order to strengthen border protection capacities. Under this package, Bosnia-Herzegovina will receive 6.4 million euros of support in this year alone. Spending to the request of the competent authorities of Bosnia-Herzegovina, the EU is delivering equipment for border protection and surveillance, such as drones, thermal cameras with their surveillance systems, monitoring vehicles, and communication networks. During the signing ceremony, Commissioner Varhelli also announced a new pilot project worth half a million euros, with Bosnia-Herzegovina and the IOM to support voluntary and forced returns. This project aims at strengthening the capacity for returns of migrants who do not qualify for international protection and must therefore be returned directly from the region to their countries of origin. We welcome the continued support provided by the European Union. We also very much appreciate the commitment of the IOM to support the authorities in Bosnia-Herzegovina to efficiently manage the irregular migrations. Bosnia-Herzegovina is at the forefront among the western Balkan countries when it comes to the efficient overall management of the returns of persons who do not meet the requirements for regular legal stay in the country or who abuse the asylum procedures and submit fake asylum claims. Since 2018, the authorities of Bosnia-Herzegovina with the assistance of the IOM have repatriated to their countries of origin a total of 4,300 irregular migrants. This recently signed memorandum for understanding also provides for an intensified dialogue with the authorities of the countries of origin with the aim of helping repatriated persons integrate more easily and more successfully their societies. With the help of our partners, the EU, the IOM and UNHCR and the close cooperation with the neighboring countries, we will continue to provide meaningful, sustained contribution to the security and stability in the western Balkans and Europe at large. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. And now Afghanistan, you have the floor. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Chair, I doubt that I would like to congratulate you on your appointment as the president of this council and assure you of Afghanistan full support and cooperation in your presidency. Mr. Chair, as emphasized by the previous speakers, humanity is facing unprecedented challenges, the impact of climate change, COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, humanitarian and human rights crisis in Afghanistan to counter few. New crisis situations continue to emerge around the globe and older ones remain unattended or unresolved or sometimes forgotten. Millions of people leave their villages, cities and countries turning into IDPs, asylum seekers or migrants. Afghanistan, like several other nations, is facing all three challenges at the same time. Addressing these interconnected challenges at all levels, national, regional and international, have made the IOM a crucial partner for the member states being in a country of origin, transit or host. Mr. Chair, Afghanistan forced displacement, protracted conflict and crisis has entered its fifth decades, which is a testimony of suffering of our people and the protracted character of the crisis. Unfortunately, the movement of people has increased and the situation has been deteriorated after the military takeover of Kabul by the Taliban. Currently, the people of Afghanistan are facing one of the world's most complex humanitarian crisis under the control of Taliban. Millions of people have been displaced and or under power line, more than half of the population are in need of humanitarian assistance, which is a testimony of severe humanitarian crisis. Mr. Chair, since August 2021 military takeover, Afghanistan witnessed thousands of its brightest and mostly invested human capital leaving the country. Millions of dollars have been invested on this generation of professional youth who are now scattered around the world. These were and are the backbone of our modern state and we should continue to work on opportunities for this generation to return to Afghanistan once the situation changes and take part in rebuilding of our institutions and the economy. We urge the IOM to have a particular focus and specific projects to work with the cohort of newly displaced citizens of Afghanistan, professional and civil society activists in the host countries and ensure that they remain connected and their capacity and capabilities are not wasted. Given time constraints, we will be happy to further discuss such opportunities later. Mr. Chair, the provision of humanitarian assistance for the people of Afghanistan through the UN agencies is vital in this difficult time. It is important that these humanitarian assistance is directly provided to the vulnerable people without the interference and influence of the Taliban and in transparent human rights-based inclusive and effective delivery mechanism. To conclude, I would like to thank IOM and all member states who generously provided humanitarian support to the people of Afghanistan. I thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Excellency. Austria, you have the floor. Thank you, Mr. Chair. At the beginning, let me express Austria's sincere appreciation for the dedicated work of IOM staff in the field and at headquarters, as well as for the excellent leadership of the Director General. Austria aligns itself with the statement of the European Union. We are very happy to welcome Barbados as a new member state of IOM. Director General, Austria values the role of IOM as key partner in international migration management worldwide. Furthermore, we highly appreciate the great bilateral cooperation with your organization in the context of a multitude of joint projects. We are very proud to host and substantially support IOM's regional office for Eastern and South Eastern Europe and Central Asia, as well as the country office for Austria in Vienna. This year, Austria has supported IOM's operation, in particular in the areas of migration management, assistant voluntary return and reintegration, combating migrant smuggling and human trafficking, information campaigns and improvement of living conditions of asylum applicants through health care provision. Mr. Chair, Austria condemns in the strongest possible terms Russia's unprovoked and illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, which has caused the largest and fastest growing movement of forcibly displaced persons in Europe since World War II. We commend IOM for its fast and comprehensive assistance to IDPs within Ukraine, as well as to Ukrainian refugees in new member states who benefit from temporary protection. Austria is and will remain engaged in IOM projects supporting displaced persons from Ukraine, including through voluntary transfers, mostly of vulnerable persons from Moldova and Poland to Austria. Mr. Chair, at this moment, Austria is facing a severe migration crisis. In 2022, we received nearly 90,000 asylum applications so far, which corresponds to a rise of nearly 250 percent compared to last year. This constitutes the second highest number of asylum applications per capita in the whole European Union. The Austrian federal government is investing considerably in measures to foster integration and inclusion of refugees. Still, there is a large number of migrants arriving in Austria without need for protection. In view of a comprehensive and credible migration policy, including the need to return irregular migrants who do not qualify for asylum, IOM is an important partner in supporting member states to develop and offer sustainable solutions, in particular via its assistant voluntary return and reintegration programs. Mr. Chair, the new three-year program of the Austrian Development Corporation policy places a particular focus on migration and forced displacement. The program contains measures aimed towards opening up sustainable perspectives and opportunities by promoting better political, economic and social conditions in countries of origin. Austria will continue to support assistance on site, especially neighboring countries of crisis regions, to enable forcibly displaced persons to return after the end of a crisis. Within Austria, recent amendments to national legislation further facilitate regular migration. The access of regular seasonal workers in the sectors of tourism, agriculture and forestry has been exempted from quotas and individual labor market examinations. The new legislation has abolished the annual maximum number of temporarily employed foreign seasonal and harvest workers. It eases the previously strict linking of qualifications and professional experience, determines the minimum wage for key workers irrespective of age, eliminates the minimum wage for university graduates and streamlines the admission procedure. In previous years, Austria has also significantly increased its financial humanitarian assistance, which this year so far totals more than 100 million US dollars. This year we have allocated funds to IOM's humanitarian work in the amount of 5.4 million euros, in addition to our regular unearmarked and earmarked contributions to IOM. As in previous years, Austria has also contributed to the IOM Development Fund through unearmarked contributions. In closing, we thank the Director General for his excellent stewardship and tireless efforts, which contributed to IOM's continuing growth during the last years. IOM, as the leading UN agency on migration, can count on Austria's continued steadfast support. I thank you very much. I thank you, Excellency. I have spin. You have the floor. Director General, Chair of the Council, ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to take this opportunity to convey my gratitude to the Director General, Ms Antonia Vitorino, for the presentation of his comprehensive report yesterday, as well as congratulating the ambassador, Lanzana Guberri, for his appointment as Chair of the Council and to convey my congratulations to all members of the recently elected members of the Bureau and to Bob Adis for their becoming recently a member of the IOM. Spain allies itself with the Declaration made by the delegation of the EU on behalf of the EU member states and the Declaration read by Ukraine on behalf of a number of different countries. In the last decade, we have seen a constant increase of migratory flows that has very often expanded faster than government's responses. Spain upholds an effective and efficient multilateralism as one of the pillars of its external policy which has affected our commitment to the IOM. The dialogue between countries of origin and transit from on one hand and host countries on the other is absolutely critical whilst upholding fundamental rights of persons and their dignity in line with the principles of the Global Compact for Regular, Safe and Orderly Migration. Spain this year has the presidency of the Robert Process which is an informal Euro-African dialogue mechanism on migratory issues. The Ministerial Conference will be held in Cadiz on the 13th of December this year will adopt an action plan to craft a roadmap for the next five years. We've also introduced two further factors climate change and food insecurity which have been spoken about at the high level segment. Climate change which is a direct consequence of human activity causes large-scale displacements which are not dissimilar from those caused by armed conflicts. All of this means that we have to step up our joint efforts as we've done recently at COP 27 in Sharm el Sheikh. This year Spain is going to increase its funding in the region of 1.35 billion euros per year between now and 2025 in order to provide economic assistance to least developed countries in their sustainable and fair energy and adaptation transition. We've also strengthened Spanish corporation instruments and set great store by the Iberia American Networks on Climate Change, Weather and Water as exemplified by the regional office in these areas in Costa Rica. Furthermore COP 27 Spain and Senegal launched the International Direct Resilience Alliance. Given the global food crisis Spain supports a Team Europe response which includes the following guidelines. Strengthening food security sustainable promotion and resilience through donating 236.5 million euros for food security projects of which 85 million of these euros will be credited to the promotion development fund. This efforts will be doing bilaterally with mobilizing 320 million euros with Spanish corporation for humanitarian action and emergency assistance over the next two years. Also facilitation of international trade for food, fertilizer and other agricultural supplies. Whilst the current food crisis is multi-causal there is a clear responsibility here the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Thus Spain politically and financially supports the efforts undertaken by the UN Secretary-General in order to facilitate the exit of grain and to avoid that the effects of the Russian invasion have a systemic effect on the global food security. We stand convinced that it's absolutely critical to promote effective multi-lateralism which is reflected in the support of the main institutions and international funds on food security such as the World Food Program and FAO to break the vicious circle in which climate change affects the food supply production and leads to displacement of people and is only exacerbating the problem. The IOM is a humanitarian organization which best exemplifies a triple nexus between migration development and security. This is shared by Spain. We are all here together to ensure that no one is left behind. Thank you. Thank you, Excellency. I now have Bolivia. Bolivia you have the floor. Thank you very much, Chair. It is an honor to have the opportunity to speak today on behalf of the Plural National State of Bolivia at the 113th Council session of the IOM. We also like to congratulate you for your appointment as Chair of the Council and we'd also like to convey the director, thanks to the director general for his report yesterday. The Bolivarian Plural National State of Bolivia would like to set out that in the constitution of all international laws of migration and migration is no exception and we understand as this is an inseparable process in the history of all our societies in the past, present and future as some of the other traits and social and economic and cultural effects and political effects we've seen in the region. These are given in the complex intra and extra regional progress as well as the vulnerable sectors of our societies which require actions based on needs especially with women. In the last few days in Bolivia we had an event which addressed migrant women and the countless challenges that they face. According to data from the UN South America women represent 50.8% of migrant persons and poverty, lack of employment, violence and gender inequality are some of the main triggers for why they leave their countries of origin. For Bolivia speaking about a migrant woman is a very sensitive issue and it's a particular interest to us because Bolivarian women are great and 52% of these of all migration other countries. That is why we understand that the face of migration is very much a female one. This is a social phenomenon which is different to that related to masculine human ability but it is a phenomenon that does have its particular aspects. That is why women are great in order to escape domestic violence, gender-based violence and from countries of origin migration. Women in these who are working poorly paid jobs, they suffer isolation, exploitation and sexual harassment. From a gender-based perspective it would seem that there are potential to generate social change and to change the current patriarchal structures in place contributing to development of the economy in their countries and communities of origin and host countries but their support is invisible. That is why the migrant women are sometimes restricted in the acknowledgement of their qualifications when facing a number of different issues whether these are legal restrictions or professional restrictions and when there's a power play within the home and these are some of the obstacles that these women are faced with when they're trying to access the label market in their destination countries. The pro-national state of Bolivia through its consular offices has promoted and participated in areas for discussion, socialisation and action in order to prevent violence against women and a framework of breaking down the patriarchy which also requires the realisation of cultural and artistic activities. Now pertaining to the consular work of implemented a protocol which allows to guide action against violence against Bolivian women and this initiative we're currently updating and improving as time carries on. In this year we'd like to underscore the importance of cooperation with IOM, the development of projects and technical cooperation. In this issue that we're going to take forward with IOM and we hope to continue to increase this collaboration going forward chairman it's absolutely important to reflect on the conditions and characteristics of migration and human mobility and in a global context where there's much tension in an area of growing uncertainty and economic and climatic instability. The challenges which we are faced through solidarity, multi-lateral cooperation and to move towards a more fair and equal system. Thank you. Thank you. Excellent. Thank you very much. I now yield your thoughts for the director general. Thank you so much Mr Chair. I would like to start by recognizing the very strong and close cooperation that IOM has with the Bosnia-Hoskovina government both at the federalation level and in its different components and we have been involved in the upcoming migration and asylum strategy and action plan as well as the ongoing review of the law on foreigners. Those are two key pillars to consolidate the management of mixed flows in the Bosnia-Hoskovina. We are particularly pleased with the ministerial conference of the Western Balkans that took place in Skopje three weeks ago and the fact that at that conference it has been possible for the six parties in the region to sign a giant declaration involving inclusively the countries of origin of the migratory flows and fostering agreements of readmission and reintegration to contribute to safe orderly and regular migration in the Western Balkans. In relation to Afghanistan I emphasize that we go on committed to assist with lifesaving humanitarian engagement the populations that are impacted by the situation in the country of low economic activities and climate change. This is particularly critical now that we are approaching the winter season. There are still five million internally displaced people in Afghanistan largely because of the persistent drought and we recognize the need to have further support from the international community not just to provide humanitarian assistance but also to contribute to greater community stability and the restoration of the local economy. I would like to take this opportunity to emphasize that understanding and meeting the needs of women and girls and other vulnerable groups is for IOM of the utmost importance and we need to make it clear that all constraints about for the capacity and access of IOM female staff is key to these efforts and we cannot accept those constraints because our engagement with our female colleagues is critical to have access and to assist women and girls in need in Afghanistan. I want to express my thanks to Austria for hosting our regional office and for the very general financial support that we received in 2022 not just to work in the country but also in Bosnia, Herzegovina and Greece as well as in our humanitarian and stabilization interventions in Tunisia and in Libya. In the framework of the war in Ukraine Austria supports our work in Romania, Hungary and Moldova and contributes to the voluntary transfer of Ukrainians from Moldova to Poland and to Austria. We take the initiative of reaffirming our strong partnership with the Austrian government. We appreciate the opening up of regular pathways for migration and the simplification of the migration processes as well as the investment of the Austrian government in the integration of migrants in the Austrian society. In response to Spain I am pleased to hear of the adoption of the immigration law which includes innovative solutions and which can be considered as good practice for many other countries when it comes to legal migration and in addition the simplification of the processes for the attention of a work authorization in Spain. We are very pleased to hear of the Spanish presidency of the Rabat process and we are pleased to have been a permanent observer of that process and we are always very keen to cooperate with the process. When it comes to climate change and food insecurity these are two of IOM's priorities and we will work along with Spain within the Team Europe framework to cover these matters and I'd also like to thank Spain for the financial support to the IOM and wish them every success in the Spanish presidency of the European Union in the second half of 2023. To conclude I would like to recognize and thank the Plural National State of Bolivia in the promotion of the regularization of more than 4,300 migrants in Bolivia and ensuring their integration and access to health care and other assistance in Bolivia. We agree with the Plural National State of Bolivia that the focus and approach on gender matters is important in particular comes to fighting people trafficking, providing safe spaces for the victims and ensuring that there is provision for the social economic reintegration of victims. Thank you. Thank you, DG. I have the Netherlands. I have the floor. Thank you, Chair, for giving me the floor and let me also congratulate you with your appointment as Chair. Furthermore I would like to give our condolences to China and welcome Barbados as a new member. Chair, when I looked through the DG's report of last year and report on 2021 the world looked completely different. Those reports mostly dealt with the crisis in Afghanistan not even a year on we are now in totally different situations with the humanitarian system still grappling with yet another crisis stacked on top of all the existing ones. Russia's unprovoked and illegal war of aggression against Ukraine has already had a profound impact on the humanitarian system. We refer to the EU and joint statements to which we align ourselves for a more elaborate expression of our position on this but let me here just say that no previous recent war has affected the plight of other crisis as well as food security to this extent. And it's exactly in times of crisis that we must work together. We see a rise in irregular migration worldwide at the European borders and in the Netherlands. International cooperation is by vital to manage migration effectively. The Netherlands will continue to strive for a just humane and effective migration and asylum policy both within the EU and internationally. In particular we will strengthen efforts to promote wide-ranging migration partnerships based on equality and mutual interests both bilaterally and at the EU level. The Netherlands looks forward to work with all parties both states and international organizations to improve migration governance while safeguarding human rights and protection of migrants. In particular I want to highlight the importance of legal identity for all including migrants and refugees and want to welcome IOM's institutional strategy on legal identity. Chair with sadness we must once again know that many crisis worldwide remain unresolved. This is why we have increased humanitarian spending this year by 20 percent to a new record of 512 million and our development budget for addressing forced displacement displacement and migration cooperation will more than double over the coming years to a total of 357 million euro annually by 2026. And IOM's budget also keeps rising now nearing the three billion mark. Some activities have even grown exponentially like cash or six assistance which has increased by over 500 percent. With such continuous and even exponential growth this crucial that management and oversight keep pace. In the past year we were happy to welcome our two new DDGs and we have seen the organizational restructuring company in this change. By this time next year we would like to have a discussion on how this organizational restructuring has worked out whether it needs further tweaking and what lessons have been learned. In the past year we were also happy to see the successful outcome of the budget reform discussion providing IOM with an additional 75 million to strengthen its core. The past year already saw the strengthening of oversight most notably the office of the inspector general. It is important that gains made by the OIG are maintained and in this sense we are worried about continuity since both the IG and Deputy IG will be leaving before the next regular council and we would like to know about contingency preparations. Chair we commend IOM with a good progress made on the IGF and we look forward to the MOPAN findings in this regard. We note the main outstanding item for now is the business transformation. The IGF report states the funding level is critical to its success. We regret this funding has not been included in the budget reform ask and we call IOM to continue to allocate at least 30 percent of MIRAC to the IGF and the enterprise resource planning. We also think IOM would benefit from an independent review of the IGF once it has been completed especially if there is to be some form of continuation of the IGF as the DG suggests. And we support you DG in continuing these reforms in the coming years. We also commend IOM with its IATI score but we think transparency can still be improved further especially to the SCPF and the council. We look forward to discussing these issues further in the working group on partnerships, governance and organizational priorities. Chair let me get back to where I started the continuing and compounding crisis and not a crisis that has not yet been resolved namely COVID. We underscore the continuing need to make vaccination available to migrants and we are very much interested in the discussion on the future of mobility. However health proving is not the only aspect of mobility and we are talking about and if we are talking about the future of mobility we should do so with a clear 360 degrees approach. Chair in closing let me also thank the IOM staff and particularly our cooperation within the COMPAS partnership we appreciate very much. I thank you chair. Thank you excellency. Jamaica I can see you have the floor. Thank you very much chair and Jamaica congratulates you once more and other members of the IOM bureau on your election. We commit to supporting your leadership throughout your tenure in office. We wish to express our appreciation for the contribution of the outgoing members of the bureau as well. Chair we also thank the DG for his comprehensive report and our thanks to the DDGs and other members of the IOM team for their efforts on behalf of member states. We also wish to reiterate our welcome of our fellow curriculum member state of Barbados to the IOM family. Chair migration is treated as a cross cutting issue in the formulation and implementation of development policies in Jamaica. As a country of origin transit and destination for migrants migration is firmly etched in Jamaica's national development plan vision 2030 which is aligned to the implementation of the sustainable development goals. Jamaica prioritizes the issue of migration in the agendas of international and regional organizations or arrangements to which we are party. This includes the migration dimension of the revised treaty establishing the Caribbean community and the global compact on safe orderly and regular migration. Jamaica is also is also taking steps to implement the GCM. In this regard we view positively the director general's champion country initiative and our stakeholders are undergoing internal consultations with a view to joining the initiative. Jamaica continues to welcome documented migrants to our shores with maximum hospitality and we invest in effective protection and integration policies for migrants. Additionally Jamaica engages its diaspora through inter alia the convening of diaspora conferences the drafting of a national diaspora and development policy the establishment of a global Jamaica diaspora council and through the work of our overseas missions. These facilities provide Jamaicans overseas and friends of Jamaica with the ability to contribute their talent ideas and resources to the government's development programs. Migration has a positive correlation with employment opportunities export performance and our investment promotion thrust as the Jamaican diaspora is an important niche market for local products and services as well as a springboard for entry of Jamaican entrepreneurs into host country markets. The government has embarked on the economic diplomacy program of which migration is an important element. The IOM is a key development partner as is manifested in our collaboration with the organization on several projects including on trafficking in persons migration policy mainstreaming labor migration disaster risk management and reduction in the cost of remittance transfers. Importantly the IOM is a key partner in the formulation of Jamaica's first comprehensive policy on international migration and development. The IOM's leadership role in global displacement and migration affairs including its central role in the UN network on migration is essential in assisting member states to harness the full potential of migration. The global diaspora summit in Dublin earlier this year in which we participated is a perfect example of the relevance of the organization in assisting its members to mainstream migration into development policies. Jamaica is of the view that the IOM should further advance its focus on diaspora engagement and serving as a platform for members to exchange ideas with a view to arriving at durable solutions related to pathways for safe regular and orderly migration in their host countries and countries of origin respectively. It is important that the IOM assists in building members capacity to develop and streamline integration and reintegration policies for migrants. In this regard partnership among governments the IOM civil society and the private sector is critical. The IOM should further its assistance to developing positive narratives and perceptions to combat issues such as racism and xenophobia faced by migrants as well as addressing gaps faced by member states in migration data collection and research. The organization should also continue to explore the relationship between climate change, natural disasters and food security and migration flows with a view to assisting its members to develop and implement policies to address these emerging challenges. The outcome of COP 27 and ongoing work at the FAO are important reference points for these discussions. In closing Chair Jamaica aligns itself with the statement delivered by Uruguay on behalf of Grolak. Thank you Chair. Thank you. Excellent. This is my dearest Sir Chair. Thank you very much. On my list now is Ghana and I can see my dear brother there Mr. Branson. Excellent. See you have the floor. I thank you very much Mr. Chairperson for giving me the floor. Mr. Chairperson I join earlier speakers in congratulating you on your election as Chairperson of the Bureau as well as the newly elected officers of the Bureau to stay the affairs of the council until the next regular session. We are particularly proud and certain that with your wealth of experience in IOM matters you will execute your mandate effectively. You can be assured of Ghana's support. We also extend our warm welcome and congratulations to the government of Barbados for being the 175th member of our great organization. We are looking forward to working with you. Ghana aligns itself with the statement delivered on behalf of the African group which clearly articulated the need to address the prevalent negative perception of migration across the world and called for a holistic approach to address the drivers of migration. Mr. Chairperson my delegation takes note of the Director-General's update on IOM activities and agree with him that in times of humanitarian crisis IOM is the first to respond even though this makes us proud it is at the same time it at the same time places a huge burden on our organization to deliver even with very limited resources. This year has indeed been a turbulent one for our organization from the gradual recovery from the pandemic through to the humanitarian crisis arising as a result of conflicts and climate change the IOM has stood firm and delivered on its mandate. It is for this reason that I wish to commend member states for a successful budget reform process which would address some of the financial gaps in the organization and make it even more fit for PEPOs. The continued failed presence of the organization assures my delegation that IOM will continue to be at the forefront of the efforts to improve the situation of millions of migrants in crisis situations. On this note we extend our appreciation to the IOM for its assistance during the evacuation of Ghanian students as well as other nationals from Ukraine and for providing medical support at the Polish border to those fleeing the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Mr Chairperson climate change in recent years has become one of the main drivers of migration both internationally and internally. The African continent is usually at the receiving end of all the negative impacts of global climate change. All key development sectors of Africa's economy have already experienced losses and damages attributable to human-induced climate change including biodiversity loss, water shortages, reduced food production, loss of lives and livelihoods and reduced human resource and economic growth. These factors have become key drivers in pushing our youthful populations to embark on pluralist journeys in search of better livelihoods. We therefore call on all countries to scale up efforts to adapt to a warming world and implement climate solutions across all sectors. Ghania's Climate Vulnerability Forum Presidency as already espoused by Dr. Henry Kokofu during a session on migrant testimonies is committed to advocating and championing collaborations aimed at combating the effects of climate change at regional and international climate negotiations. We intend to lead the advocacy for financing for loss and damage, mitigation and adoption as well as other climate financing in order to expand support for climate change migrants and displaced persons. We are particularly grateful that the Director General highlighted the crisis in the Sahel in his report. This region seemed to be forgotten and received very little humanitarian assistance. The impacts of climate change leading to the certification, drought and flooding and its attendant food insecurity is increasingly impacting migratory routes and calendars of nomadic pastoralists thus forcing them to move further south in search of grazing lands and water for the animals. This cross-border transhuman movement which is a major heading practice in western Central Africa often result in encroachment on private farmlands and the destruction of crops causing tension and at times bloody conflicts. In Ghana, these nomadic pastoralists settle on the outskirts of communities and are isolated with little or no access to social services such as education and health and health care first increasing their vulnerability and risk to enticement by extremist groups. They also involve in radicalism and boundary tree activities thereby falling insecurity in the region. We therefore add our voice to the call for more focus and attention to address the humanitarian crisis in the Sahel region. Ghana further commends the IOM for its recent collaboration with the government of Mauritius which brought together 16 countries from the South African Development Community, the Africa Union and a number of UN agencies to deliberate on measures to strengthen and scale up the hospital engagement in national development. A similar engagement in West and Central Africa in the West and Central Africa Regions will be very helpful. Likewise, we applaud the IOM for undertaking regional initiatives such as the Network for Legal Experts on Migration in West and Central Africa launched earlier this year in Lomitogo intended to promote knowledge and experience sharing and to further the development of migration law and policy across the region through expert analysis and dialogue. Chairperson, how many are attracted to Ghana for its relative stability? Others leave for lack of economic opportunities. The complexity of Ghana's immigration dynamics as a country of origin, transit and destination in a region of hyper-migration cannot be under-emphasized and it is for this reason that we commend the IOM for its role in helping build Ghana's capacity to effectively manage migration while protecting the dignity and well-being of migrants. In fact, with the support of the IOM Ghana formulated its national migration policy to promote the benefits and minimize the cost of internal and international migration through legal means. The policy comprehensively addresses key migration issues in Ghana including irregular migration, human trafficking, migrant smuggling, labour migration, brain drain and brain gain, dual citizenship, readmission and reintegration of Ghanaian migrants, border management and refugee issues. We also appreciate IOM support for the renovation of infrastructure at several border posts in the northern parts of Ghana including the provision of solar powered lights, construction of water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, installation of border management information systems and the provision of border patrol equipment. These interventions were timely in helping Ghana fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Chapecin, on reintegration, the IOM office in Ghana runs a reintegration program for trainees who need medical and employment assistance among others. This has improved the self reliance of Ghanaian migrants returning from various difficult situations. With the assistance of the German government and the European Return and Reintegration Network, a Migration Information Center for Retainees was set up in 2020 at the Kotokantan Asuna Airport to assist retainees upon arrival and refer them to their appropriate institutions to ensure smooth and reintegration process. This center also provides psychosocial support to retainees who need it. Immigration officers have also been assigned, have also received training in counseling to assist retainees who require such support. Chapecin, the desire to migrate in such a better opportunities often fuels the activities of human traffickers. To tackle the issue of human trafficking, the government of Ghana, together with stakeholders, set up a shelter for victims of trafficking in 2019 to protect these victims and also aid in their recovery process. The shelter is managed by human trafficking secretariat and they provide victims of trafficking with needed security, psychological and medical assistance during their stay at the facility. In conclusion, Mr. Chapecin, I wish to reaffirm Ghana's commitment to the objectives of the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration and particularly highlight objective 23, which spells that we commit to support each other in the realization of the objectives and commitments laid out. As a champion country, we will continue to work with the IOM for the benefit of the thousands of Ghanians on the move and indeed the many migrants living and working in Ghana. I thank you very much. Thank you, Excellency. Thank you very much. Dominican Republic, please. Thank you very much, Chair. We welcome the joining of Barbados as a new member of this organization and we are grateful to the Director-General for the presentation of his detailed annual report. On behalf of the Government of the Dominican Republic, I would like to welcome the holding of this important meeting so that we can tackle the dramatic challenge that comes about due to the climate change crisis, food security, migration and displacement. We are, Chair, at a tipping point which is marked by major disruption which is transforming global society and coming to the end of the dominant productive model in our societies. According to the Intergovernmental Panel of Experts on Climate Change, over the next 30 years hundreds of millions of people will be displaced due to rises in sea level, drought and high temperatures. So, according to the IOM, South-South migration represents 37% of all migration and it is already greater than South-North movement which represents 35%. That is to say, although we tend to think that international migration is one of people from poor countries to rich countries, the majority of migrants are moving between poor countries. This should serve as a reminder to countries with greater resources that there are others who are dealing with a greater migratory flow in relation to the resources we have available. And this is particularly terrible when it comes to the case of small insular developing states. Which in addition have less territory and greater risk of loss of territory as a consequence of climate change. This leads us to consider the need for new financing schemes for vulnerable countries independently of our levels of incomes or other financial indicators that may be more traditional. For example, the Dominican Republic is a country of medium income and high human development levels but geographically we are vulnerable to climate change and in particular we receive a large migratory flow irregularly from our neighbour Haiti. It's important to highlight that our country is considered the 11th country in the world which is most vulnerable to climate change. The needs of access to software financing in our country to adapt to climate change and migration flows is not the same as if we were on the continental platform. If we had more territory more land that could be used for agriculture. The effects of climate change on food security and human displacement are asymmetric. We have also seen that the historic benefits obtained by countries through economic activities that brought about climate change is also asymmetric. So the responsibility and financial burden should also be asymmetric in the face of this human tragedy. In the last decade, Chair, 1.7 billion people have been moved due to causes linked to climate change and those who are most affected have limited resources to tackle the issue. That's why it's essential that we join efforts to strengthen international financing for the protection of democracy and human rights as well as for tackling the causes of mass human displacements. The loss and damages fund which has just been approved at COP 27 is a promising start but we need more for an international financial system that is fairer and more aimed at covering the historic asymmetric nature which some countries face with climate change. Thank you. Thank you very much, Excellency. Next, Namibia. The other floor, Namibia. Thank you, Chair. Mr. Chairman, Director General, Deputy Director Generals, members of the Council. Namibia aligns herself with a statement delivered by Nigeria on behalf of the African Group and we take this opportunity to deliver a few remarks in our national capacity. Mr. Chair, we wish to extend our congratulations to you and the entire Bureau on your election. Namibia assures you of her cooperation and commitment as you continue to guide the work of the IOM Council. Namibia joins others in welcoming Barbados as a new member of the IOM family and we wish to echo the call by the Director General during his opening remarks the few days ago for those states who are not yet members to join the IOM as soon as possible. This is especially important as we are living in times of multiple crises which continue to displace millions of people around the world. As states, we are all affected by forced displacement. The response to migration challenges should therefore be universal anchored on principles of international cooperation and solidarity with all states ensuring that IOM the United Nations led migration agency continues to execute its mandate of among others aiding in the search for practical solutions and providing humanitarian assistance to migrants in need. Mr. Chair, in addition to the various conflict situations in some parts of the world the planet today is confronted with triple crisis of climate change pollution and biodiversity loss which all undermine our efforts to manage both the internal and external dimensions of migration adequately and effectively. Namibia has witnessed firsthand the impact of these crises on migration as we are part of sub-Saharan Africa which is home to the largest number of displaced persons worldwide. Similar to other countries in the region Namibia is experiencing challenges to meet the needs of some of the migrants for example at Osiris settlement in Namibia hosting close to 8,000 asylum seekers and refugees we are faced with food shortages the devastating effects of climate change in this context are clearly visible as once fertile land has become inhospitable and weather patterns have become unpredictable at Osiris settlement. We call on IOM and other UN agencies such as the Food and Agricultural Organization the World Food Program and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to work in unison in order to provide assistance to states and comprehensively address food security challenges in the context of migration. Mr. Chair it is clear that effective solutions of effective solutions to forced displacements around the world can only be achieved by addressing the root causes of such displacements. We again call on those responsible for conflict situations around the world to return to dialogue and resolve their differences through diplomatic and peaceful means. Similar states especially the largest contributors of similarly states especially the largest contributors of greenhouse gases must do more to reduce their greenhouse emissions while we appreciate the critical importance of climate finance for developing countries including the recent establishment of the loss and damage climate fund at COP 27. We wish to emphasize that provision of sustainable climate finance should not be a substitute for our responsibility to reduce greenhouse emissions in accordance with the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities. Finally Namibia commends the director general and his entire team at IOM Secretariat for the operational support they continue to provide to states around the world. Namibia is one of the countries that has and continues to receive financial and technical assistance from the IOM. In this regard we are happy to announce that Namibia's national migration policy which was developed to the assistance of the IOM will be launched by the IOM regional director for Southern Africa on the 7th of December 2022. Namibia will continue to foster this positive relationship with the IOM in our efforts to address migration issues at national regional and international levels. I thank you Mr. Chair. Thank you Excellency my dear Sir Julia you should have alerted me for a proper right capital introduction. Have a nice Cabo Verra. Thank you Mr. Chair. At outset we'd like to congratulate you Mr. Chair and the other members of the Bureau on your election. The delegation of Cabo Verra begins by expressing to Barbados a warm welcome as a new member of the organization. Our compliments and thanks to Mr. Antonio Vittorino director general and his team for their comprehensive report of which we take note with some concern such is the magnitude of the challenges that multiply as various crises to which the organization must respond are occurring. However there has also been much progress and IOM has worked tirelessly to respond to the many current and global challenges affecting millions of people that compel them to move within the country or abroad. We note with appreciation that the measures taken by the organization to strengthen resilience by creating conditions in the most vulnerable countries to withstand crisis and adverse natural phenomena and to promote mobility to mechanisms that ensure safe and orderly migration have protected and benefited thousands of people in various regions. Mr. Chair as an island nation located in the salient region traditionally of immigration derived from climatic consequences and the limited economic development and more recently also a country of immigration CapVird has sought to address these two phenomena to plant and concerted actions and reforms in its migration policies. Migration is included in the country's strategic plan for sustainable development with focus to social inclusion measures and combating social inequalities and policies for the integration of immigrant families. During the state of emergency that resulted from the pandemic immigrants and foreigners were registered in the single social registry an instrument for the identification and characterization of the socioeconomic impact of the vulnerable population in CapVird in addition to all the social mitigation measures that transversely benefited immigrants in vulnerable situations. The government of CapVird considers the diaspora a strategic resource for the economic social and cultural development of the country as such their integration and empowerment in their house countries is of paramount importance so that they can make their contribution both in financial terms and in terms of transfer of knowledge to CapVird in a wide variety of development areas. We know the commitment of IOM's leadership to put into practice the outcomes of the global diaspora summit to create conditions for the mobilization of migrant and diaspora capital and to improve conditions for their economic and financial empowerment and inclusion. On this occasion we would like to thank the IOM for all support that it has provided to CapVird which has had a major impact especially on border control management civil identification and documentation of immigrants. Mr. Chair in order to meet the challenges of contemporary migration phenomena IOM must continue its reform and institutional development effort to better respond to the needs of migrants displaced plus persons and their communities. Lastly the delegation of CapVird would like to join the voices that express appreciation to those countries that have been contributing to the multi-partner trust fund and thus enabling the implementation of the various activities carried out in favor of persons and communities living in situations of profound vulnerability. I thank you Mr. Chair. Thank you very much. That ends the list of member states. I yield the floor now to the director general. Thank you so much Mr. Chair. I start with the Netherlands thanking for the important funding and budgetary support that the Netherlands have provided to IOM that have allowed us to develop so many projects and activities worldwide. I believe that our cooperation in terms of the COMPASS program can be considered the exemplary. It's an innovative program and we look forward to its full implementation overcoming the constraints that derived from the pandemic of COVID-19. And I also appreciate particularly the reference that the Netherlands made to the importance of legal identity. I've been emphasizing this point over and over again. Sorry but we do believe that there is an urgent need for the international community to mobilize to support those countries that are in need of upscaling their legal identity tools. Whether we are speaking about the civil registries whether we are speaking about identity cards passports permits of residence those elements are critical not just for the stability and the security of the countries but they are also critical to promote legal regular migration channels. I wish also to commend the Netherlands for its efforts in considering expanding regular labor migration passways. And I appreciate it particularly the reference to the growth of cash assistance maybe it's something that I should have emphasized in my speech and I didn't. Indeed cash assistance to migrants particularly in crisis situation has proved to be a critical element of support to the migrants. And we have seen that in Ukraine. It's not just a question of providing the much necessary needs to the much necessary needs of the people. It's also a question of betting on the agency and the self-reliance and self-confidence of the migrants where they can benefit from cash assistance. I always tell the story that impressed me enormously in Ukraine. When I was visiting one of the areas that had been seriously hit by the by the war I came across a lady and the lady said and I asked the lady what is your top need and she turned to me and she said I need a window. I was not expecting that request but the lady in question needed a window for her house. The window had been destroyed and the type of cash assistance in that case would only meet the needs of the lady if we provided her with a window or with the money necessary to rebuild a window in the house that she was living. So we believe that cash assistance can be a flexible and effective way of supporting migrants according to their own needs. In terms of the internal reforms I would like to express that we are very much counting on the MOPAN assessment as well as the other external assessments. The Australian has been concluded now we are waiting for the conclusions of the foreign and Commonwealth office assessment of the UK in order to identify what are the gaps and the needs of a new set of internal reforms that will have to be fully included in the next planning cycle of IOM 20, 24, 20, 28. Indeed we have allocated during these last four years roughly 37 percent of a near-marked contributions to the IGF including including the business transformation. And in the periodic reports that we provide the member states on the implementation of the IGF there is the full identification of those allocations to the purposes of the internal reforms. And it is true that we did not include in the budget reform the funding of the business transformation until now we have been providing with the necessary financial support to the business transformation through this out of these 37 percent of a near-marked contributions and also thanks to the drawdown of the IOM reserve that we have been authorized to do by the member states. And as things stand today I'm pretty confident that we will be able to meet until the end of 2023 the target of 56 million U.S. dollars that will be the total cost of the business transformation project. In relation to Jamaica I want to emphasize that the diaspora policy of Jamaica is a very good example of a successful policy not just because it focused on the much needed reduction of the cost of remittances that's an endeavor that should bring us all together as we have emphasized in the global Dublin in the global summit in Dublin but also because it puts the focus on the non-material contributions of the diaspora to the development of the country. It's a key element of the development policy to incorporate the transfer of technology the skills and the goodwill of the diaspora to promote the development of the country where they came from and to mobilize the fellow citizens in the host countries to support the development of those countries of origin. And I'm particularly pleased to see the recognition of our support to Jamaica in terms of disaster risk reduction disaster risk management and preparedness for the climate changes that has been recognized in COP 27 as well as the private sector in terms of enhancing ethical recruitment of migrants. And I do believe that this is a pattern common to Central America and the Caribbean countries. It's time more and more we see in our surveys that climate change is identified as the second most relevant motive for people to move which was not the case let's say two years two years ago so the links between climate change and mobility are very clear in the Caribbean as well as in the Pacific as well as in Central America. In relation to Ghana I'm pleased to express my full agreement with the critical role to be played by strengthening border security and border controls and to guarantee the stabilization of the entire Sahel region because the security and the stabilization of the Sahel is extremely relevant for the security situation in the entire West and Central Africa region and beyond. And let's be very clear if we do not succeed in stabilizing the Sahel all countries will have an impact and the situation will be much more difficult to manage in the future. That's our critical view of the essential work that we do in the Sahel region. And I also want to confirm and to commend the cooperation we had with all African countries and with the African Union to ensure that certain country nationals from Africa could benefit from the same protection and assistance without discrimination in the aftermath of the breakout of the Ukrainian war. We received requests of evacuation of certain country nationals from 80 countries all over the world. And we have cooperated very closely with the African countries because there was a large number of students from Africa in Ukraine that have fled from the war and there can be no discrimination when it comes to humanitarian assistance and protection to those who are fleeing from the war. And finally, I want to praise the Ghana government for having included the GCM principles the global compact principles in the medium-term development policy framework of the country, the national development policy plan for 2022-2025. And I love you. Now pertaining to the Dominican Republic, I would like to underscore your work done jointly with the migration policy on three particular pillars. First of these, the work with the diaspora on an international level, which is a good example of credit lines for Dominicans who are outside the country with a view to investing in the Dominican Republic and the support to the normalisation plan of Venezuelans in the country with the registry of the displaced Venezuelans and combating the illicit human trafficking. I completely share your opinion that climate change and food insecurity has an impact on human displacement and of course a direct dimension in terms of South-South migration and that is why it's extremely important to continue with cooperation between countries in each of the different regions to end. I'd just like to say that I'm fully aware of the impact that the Dominican Republic has a very complex situation with Haiti but I'd like to urge the government of the Dominican Republic and the Haitian authorities to see if one could strengthen the cooperation in the border regions where there is a large number of people who are in a very, very complex humanitarian situation. I would like also to join the honourable representative of Namibia in expressing our support to the national migration policy launch next 7th of December next week in Vinduk and the preparation of the corresponding implementation plan as well as the cooperation that will develop in terms of the border between Namibia and Botswana in terms of supporting cross-border trade but above all protection the women and children that cross the border in the between the two countries as with regards to food shortages at Osiria refugee camp that you have mentioned allow me to inform you that a giant rapid assessment was conducted in the northern regions by IOM and to other UN agencies and we have presented a giant resource mobilization concept note to address the challenges of food insecurity in those regions that are induced by climate change and to conclude with Cap Verde I want to praise the setting up of two strong institutions to manage migration in the country the immigration authority and the role of the ministry of communities and the aspirant Cap Verde is a very successful case of electronic and biometric legal identification in the country through the new residence permit card for foreigners and we want to go on this very fruitful cooperation with the government I want also to emphasize the critical role of the aspirant I had the opportunity and the honor to participate in the international conference on Cap Verde and the aspirant held on the 18th of October this year and the conclusions of that conference are totally aligned with the objectives and the targets of the Dublin Declaration following the global the aspirant summit and we will go on engaged with Cap Verde in order to foster the contribution of the important relevant Cap Verde and the aspirant to the development of the country thank you so much thank you thank you DG thank you all delegations we still have observers at least four observers who will take the floor but before you get there yeah okay we'll do the observers and so we begin with the sovereign order of Malta you have the floor Mr Chairman my delegation thanks the Director-General for his comprehensive report the sovereign order of Malta's response to the growing needs resulting from these multiple crisis situations is to strengthen our work with migrants, refugees and displaced persons they are beneficiaries of many of our projects which are specifically designed to assist both host communities as well as migrants in keeping with the do no harm approach so as to avoid creating social tensions based on the perception that migrants are a favorite group several crises are of particular concern in Ukraine order of Malta entities worldwide support the aid for displaced people and for refugees in neighboring countries organizations on the ground in Poland, Romania Hungary and Slovakia are providing material and social assistance to those in need while in countries like Lithuania Slovenia Czech Republic Germany Austria and others Ukrainians are received accommodated in shelters and supported assistance to Lebanon remains a high priority our activities range from providing primary healthcare and increasing food security to the establishment of a cooperative medical network of representatives from different religious communities to benefit all people the already dark humanitarian situation Africa is aggravated by the impacts of climate change and violent conflicts in the DRC between rebels and government forces as well as the Ebola outbreak in Uganda the DRC RC hosts 5.5 million IDPs plus refugees and it has the highest amount of people in need worldwide but only very limited funding the order of Malta's international humanitarian relief agency Maltese International is also active in Burundi, Cameroon Central African Republic Ethiopia and Nigeria in Asia the order of Malta's main projects aim to alleviate the suffering of the populations in Pakistan following the devastating floods the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and those displaced in Myanmar Mr. Chairman partnerships of the utmost importance to the order of Malta's worldwide humanitarian activities and we therefore look forward to pursuing our long-standing cooperation with IOM I thank you thank you so going to order of Malta's thank you just to remind observers that you have one and one one and a half minutes for your presentation so nice I have the parliamentary assembly of the Mediterranean Pam you have the floor St. colleagues since the beginning of the year UN reports that some 130 000 people migrated across the Mediterranean as different drivers of migration intersect these numbers are likely to increase the Mediterranean region is home to more than 510 million people it is our home and it is burning and drowning before our very eyes warming 21st percent faster than the global average increasing temperatures extreme meteorological phenomena draft water scarcity desertification and rising sea levels affect people's livelihood options loss of coastal and agricultural land and dangers the rights to food water sanitation health and adequate housing for entire populations which are fundamental human rights climate change also triggers tensions over scarce natural resources exacerbating conflicts and instability North Africa is projected to have the largest proportion of climate migrants relative to the total population mainly up to 19 million people by 2050 at Pam we have been advocating for the recognition of environmental refugee status as a legal concept and international law for many years dear colleagues surviving climate breakdown will require a huge human response it will require more than the daily wage at COP 27 which is a financial mechanism to compensate for damages from natural disasters the world requires a planned and deliberate migration approach we, as Pam, strongly support the implementation of the 23 objectives of the global COP Act we are especially committed to monitoring objective 8 saving lives I would like to conclude by sharing these horrendous statistics since the beginning of the year 1,928 human beings have died or went missing in the Mediterranean Sea behind these numbers are shattered lives and shattered communities the parliamentarians of the Mediterranean urge to join forces with all relevant actors on climate action on migration policy to save more lives to prevent these tragedies migration must be managed by the government and not by criminal organizations thank you very much for your kind attention thank you very much Pam World Food and Agriculture Organization how you have the floor silences delegates and distinguished guests first of all FAO as a funding member of the global network against food crisis would like to welcome IOM as its newest member IOM's membership reflects the fact that food insecurity and food crisis migration climate change and displacement are intricately interconnected and this is a significant step towards increasing our collaboration and creating new opportunities for partnership between FAO and IOM FAO's mandate to defeat hunger and address food insecurity of the most vulnerable means ensuring no one is left behind including those who have migrated or have been forcibly displaced due to the compounding effects of conflict disaster and climate change for this reason IOM is a critical and valued partner of FAO I would like to highlight just a couple of the many great examples of our joint collaboration in West Africa we are working together to reduce and manage transoments related conflicts over access to natural resources in the border regions between Mali and Mauritania and Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso thanks to the support of the Peacebuilding Fund we are also working together with IOM's displacement tracking matrix to identify and address key data gaps on the food security status of displaced populations ensuring that we better understand and can respond to the food security needs of displaced populations FAO looks forward to continuing to strengthen our partnership with IOM and wishes to reaffirm our enthusiasm and commitment to ensuring access to sustainable agricultural livelihoods and food security for migrants displaced people and returnees all over the world to strengthening rural households resilience to climate change to reduce the pressure to migrate and avert displacement and to harnessing the potential of migration for inclusive climate action and agri-food system transformation thank you very much thank you FAO um last on my list International Anti-Corruption Academy you have the floor International Anti-Corruption Academy you have the floor was it a mistake I guess it was a mistake somebody placed that name there so I yield the floor now to the Director-General to make comments thank you so much Mr. Chair I would just like to be very brief saying that in relation to the sovereign order of Malta we appreciate very much our cooperation in the field the sovereign order's key role is in providing humanitarian services to migrants and displaced populations in Asia, in Africa even in Europe and in the Middle East is very appreciated by IOM we cooperate very closely particularly recently in the Ebola outbreak in Uganda the protracted crisis of the Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazaar and more recently also in the framework of the outflows from Ukraine and therefore we go on looking to our close cooperation in relation to the parliamentary assembly of the Mediterranean we appreciate the attention and the participation of the parliamentarians I believe that some of the concerns that you have voiced are totally aligned with the objectives of the global compact and it was particularly rewarding to see the participation of the parliamentary assembly in the International Migration Review Forum in May in New York and the progress declaration of the IMRF addresses definitely some of the issues that you have considered as a priority for the parliamentary assembly and last but not least definitely the food and agriculture organization we have a strong strong and robust partnership we can say that our partnership is even before the visibility of the impact of climate change in displacement and food security the example of the transhumans tool that we jointly deploy in the Sahel is a very good example I'm sure that with the accession of IOM to the global network against food crisis there will be new opportunities for us to exchange and to partner in terms of addressing the impact of climate change and food insecurity in forced displacement thank you so much thank you there's a general IOM tool that the international anti-corruption academy has finally being able to connect you have the floor thank you chair and apologies for the technical difficulties Excellencies ladies and gentlemen dear colleagues and friends it is an honor to be here today and to address the 113th session of the IOM council on behalf of the international anti-corruption academy IACA IOM has been a party to IACA since 2012 IACA and IOM have many common interests in preventing and combating corruption and in the protection of migrants from corrupt practices therefore it is my sincere hope that we continue our collaboration on activities to the advantage of both partners Corruption obstructs the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in many countries the consequences of corruption are embezzlement of public funds or improper use of economic resources leading to poverty and massive human rights violations Empirical studies demonstrate that in many cases citizens of less developed countries migrate to developed countries due to corruption poverty and environmental crisis in the home countries Moreover, migrants especially regular migrants suffer from corrupt practices along the entire route to their final destinations The full implementation of the UNCAC and the development of effective and efficient international cooperation in the fight against corruption are crucial for solving the problems we are discussing today Through its several academic programs training, research and awareness raising activities IACA has assisted states in meeting their obligations under UNCAC This has been widely recognized particularly by UNGAS 2021 the Conference of State Parties to the UNCAC and by various other international actors IACA's four master's programs and various standardized and tailor-made trainings provide anti-corruption practitioners with the tools they need to strengthen anti-corruption efforts in the societies and industries IACA strives to be accessible to all of those involved in the fight against corruption regardless of their financial and other constraints IACA's trainings are designed to respond to the unique anti-corruption and compliance challenges public and private institutions face We pay particular attention to the nexus between corruption, organized crime, environmental and financial crime and the implementation of emergent technologies In our research on integrity and compliance in the humanitarian aid sector we identified analyzed practices concerning migrants and refugees Consequently, we developed preventative measures and training programs that can be implemented by governments and humanitarian organizations In our view, investing in education, training and research is one of the measures that must be promoted Anti-corruption education and training in all sectors of society act as a catalyst for reducing poverty in all its forms and dimensions fostering inclusive and sustainable socioeconomic development greater equality and equity and fair and just societies Distinguished delegates IACA stands ready to put our expertise and capacity building programs at the disposal of IOM and all its member states In our activities we very much rely on cooperation with a variety of actors such as partnerships are key to achieving lasting results It is from this perspective that I hope that IACA and IEM will enrich their cooperation on activities to prevent and combat corruption promote the rule of law good governments and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals Thank you Mr. Chair Thank you Thank you There is a general like to Thank you You have the floor Just to thank the intervention that raises important points on the impact of corrupt practices on sustainable development and to say that definitely one of the critical elements of capacity building in our programs is to raise awareness about the risks of corruption because definitely the chain of trafficking in human beings is often associated with the operation of transnational criminal networks that have recourse to corruption to attain their objectives and thank you so much Thank you and I would like to thank all delegations for the asked participants which I'll be duly noted I understand that there is a request for a right of reply from the Russian Federation to participants given on the agenda item 12 in accordance with IRM practice the right of reply is given at the end of the agenda item The Russian Federation will be given three minutes to speak As the Russian Federation has not specified the member states whose statements are the subjects of its rights of reply Any member state that considers that the reply of the Russian Federation was directed at its statement will be given one minute after that No further opportunity for reply will be allocated Delegates are kindly requested to respect the time allocated for the intervention and I now give the floor to the Russian Federation Three minutes please Excellent Thank you Mr Chairman Please allow us first of all to use this opportunity to congratulate you with your election and to thank you for your able chairmanship Mr Chairman we have to use the right of reply following the statements made by a number of delegations who have come forward with groundless accusations against Russia We believe that these politicized statements do not contribute to a constructive discussion of humanitarian issues at the session of the IOM Council Attempts to blame our country for the current situation with food, security are nothing but a disinformation campaign negative trends in the food market have been observed for at least two years and have nothing to do with Russia's actions The current situation is caused first of all by distortions in the global economy systematic errors and miscalculations in the macroeconomic energy and food policies of the largest western states Climate cataclysms the pandemic and large scale anti-Russian sanctions have exacerbated these negative trends aggravating the process of unbalancing in global markets We are well aware of the importance of the supply of socially significant goods including food products for the socio-economic development of countries of Asia Africa Latin America and the Middle East achieving food security indicators and SDGs We are guided by the same considerations during the process of achieving the so-called Istanbul agreements on the unimpeded transportation of grain and the removal of unilateral restrictions on Russian exports of agricultural products and fertilizers Russia strictly complies with its obligations guided by the fact that the increase in food supplies is in the interest first of all of the population of the least developed countries At the same time on a small share of products exported under the Black Sea Grain Initiative is supplied to developing countries The main volume of grain are exported exclusively to Europe and other developed countries Such experts do not solve the food problem of those countries that really need food supplies Furthermore the unprecedented pressure of anti-Russian sanctions with a name to undermine the Russian economy including its technological development in key industries has a negative impact on international efforts to combat climate change In addition the course of the European Union to accelerate the rejection of Russian energy sources inevitably leads to a significant increase in global greenhouse emissions in particular due to the use of more carbon-intensive alternatives in Europe Thank you for your attention Thank you Thank you very much Excellent Now I understand from the Secretary that we have received a request from a member state to respond to the Russian Federation I give the floor to that member state and please note that you have only one minute The floor is open The member state was unspecified So Okay There are probably no takers Okay I thank you Okay Well I thank you We will now move to Oh The dearies Yes Check here Check here Thank you very much Mr Chair We have asked for the floor in our capacity of the presidency of the Council of the European Union We wish to react to the statement just delivered by the representative of the Russian Federation And on the top of the statement that we have delivered earlier on behalf of the EU and it's 27 EU member states We wish to state that we have the utmost respect for the humanitarian character of this forum We wish to react to certain words on the issue of food security The Russian invasion of Ukraine has destabilized global food markets and increased the global food in security driving food prices up and putting many countries at risk of famine The EU will contribute to mitigate the most immediate consequences of this crisis and will work with partner countries to build long-term resilience to such shocks I thank you And I thank you That was a quick and sharp We will now move to the final as most agreeable part the final item on the agenda any other business On the closure we The floor is open to delegations who may wish to raise a point under any other business The floor is open That's very nice of you Director General, would you like to Thank you so much, Mr Chair No, no, don't worry I will not delay you to go to the weekend I would just like to express again my congratulations for your election, Mr Chair and for the way you have conducted our works and it's 10 to 5 so I hope you eat is a benchmark Having said that I just wanted to express my thanks to all member states for their participation We had four days of a high intense participation from the member states 62 speakers in the high level segment 77 if I'm not wrong in the general debate We want to express our thanks for your support to the organization And I would like also like to take this opportunity to express my personal thanks to the staff, to my colleagues that have made possible this session that supported the functioning well functioning of the council and most particularly to our translators that have allowed us to understand each other And as Descartes used to say there are certain conversations that when they come to an end due to the very good understanding they generate we do not know in which language they took place Thank you Thank you Director General Thank you and thank you all delegations Thank you observers Thank you all for a very active participation in this 113 section of the council Thank you Secretariat Thank you all staff of IMO for the for the for the great support throughout this process Special thanks of course to the interpreters the translators and to everyone I think there were caters for the reception on the first day I now declare the 118th section of the council closed