The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has been active in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) from the early 1990s, when many countries in the region experienced a complex mix of migration and displacement challenges resulting from huge geo-political changes.

A regional office (RO) was established in Vienna in 2011. Over the past decade and more it has assisted country missions and Sub-regional offices in their response to a myriad of migration-related challenges, including those related to conflict, poverty, pandemic and climate change. In 2023 a Ukraine support office was established in Vienna to provide intensified and focussed support to the massive humanitarian operation in Ukraine.

The RO gives comprehensive support to governments in refining their policies, frameworks and practical mechanisms for migration management at national and multilateral levels, and ensuring protection and assistance to migrants in need. IOM aims to bring the extensive migration management expertise of the organization closer to all its beneficiaries and the Member States it serves.

In addition, the RO supports improvement in quality and diversification of programmatic activities at the country level, promotes regional initiatives, and facilitates better support to interstate dialogue and cooperation. RO Vienna is responsible for project review and endorsement, policy development, and for formulating regional migration strategies. This is done in partnership with governments, development partners and civil society organizations within the region. It employs technical experts in project development and thematic fields of migration management, including Migrant Assistance, Labour Migration and Human Development, Migration, Environment and Climate Change, Immigration and Border Governance, Emergency and Post Crisis, Migration Health, and it hosts the Europe Displacement Tracking Matrix team.

It also deals with various cross-cutting issues and provides support in the field of resource management, monitoring, evaluation, media and communications.

 

Our Goals

The International Organization for Migration's overall goal in SEEECA is to promote good migration governance, which, if achieved, supports humane and orderly migration which benefits migrants and society.

IOM’s strategic objectives in SEEECA are to provide comprehensive support to States in managing migration in a coherent, humane and balanced manner; to provide effective protection and assistance to migrants; to enhance the understanding of good migration governance within the international community at large, the private sector, civil society and other partners. IOM carries out a comprehensive range of activities in SEEECA in pursuit of these objectives. These activities fall in the fields of policy, research, legislation and programmatic support.

Migration Governance Framework (MiGOF)

Migration is a complex and broad field of work. As such, there is no single convention or framework that presents a comprehensive, concise and practical approach to migration governance. IOM's MiGOF sets out a structure in which States and IOM can work together to address migration issues. The framework presents the ideal version of migration governance, to which states can aspire, and for which IOM can provide support and assistance, it offers a concise view of an ideal approach that allows a state to determine what it might need to govern migration well and in a way that fits its circumstances.

The MiGOF is comprised of three principles and three objectives:

  • Principle 1: Good migration governance would require adherence to international standards and the fulfilment of migrants' rights
  • Principle 2: Migration and related policies are best formulated using evidence and whole of government approaches
  • Principle 3: Good migration governance relies on strong partnerships.
  • Objective 1: Good migration governance and related policy should seek to advance the socioeconomic well-being of migrants and society
  • Objective 2: Good migration governance is based on effective responses to the mobility dimensions of crises
  • Objective 3: Migration should take place in a safe, orderly and dignified manner.

The MiGOF guides IOM's work in capacity-building, policy advisement, and in project development. The Framework is used for mapping and reporting on how IOM contributes to migration governance, with a focus on measurable and concrete results.

Project Development, Monitoring and Evaluation

The regional office has a dedicated unit that provides support to missions in project development, and monitoring and evaluation, to ensure high quality standards through all programming. The unit also works with cross-cutting themes such as gender and human rights, ensuring they are incorporated into our initiatives.

Project Development and Implementation

The RO conducts training and provides guidance to project developers and managers in Country Offices, guiding staff through the project cycle: from conceptualization and proposal development, to management, reporting, monitoring and evaluation. This is streamlined in accordance with the IOM Project Handbook. The RO also promotes the integration of lessons learned to support development of future interventions and project development plans.

Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E)

M&E work in IOM is guided by its central Evaluation Office under the Office of the Inspector General. As a part of the United Nations Evaluation Group, IOM has agreed upon common norms, standards, and ethical guidelines in conducting evaluations. The Regional Office provides support to Country Offices in the area of monitoring and evaluation by overseeing M&E aspects of IOM activities, programmes and projects and assisting in their effective implementation; supporting results-based management (RBM) through linking projects to regional and global strategies, in particular IOM’s Migration Governance Framework and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Operating Framework

IOM's Migration Governance Framework (MiGOF) sets out a structure in which States and IOM can work together to address migration issues. It seeks to present, in a consolidated, coherent and comprehensive way, a set of principles and objectives which, if respected and fulfilled, would ensure that migration is humane, orderly, and benefits migrants and society.

 

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