Humanitarian Affairs

International Organization for Migration (IOM)

International Organization for Migration | IOM, UN Migration) is a multilateral organization dedicated to orderly and safe migration. Established in 1951, IOM works with governments and migrants to provide coordinated responses to migration challenges, to provide humanitarian assistance, and to help develop sustainable development.

Greece has been a member of IOM since 1952 and actively involved in managing migration. Greece, being one of the founding members, has cooperated actively with IOM on numerous programmes to support migrants and refugees. The Greek Permanent Mission in Geneva is actively involved in IOM working groups and committees, such as the Standing Committee on Programmes and Finance (SCPF) and the IOM Council addressing migration governance, humanitarian aid, and integration policy. Greece is also a dynamic member of the Donor Advisory Group of the IOM. Through this interaction, Greece helps to inform financing policies and strategies, ensuring transparency and coordination between the Organization and donors and among donors themselves.

In Greece, IOM is engaged in a range of priority projects aimed at providing migrants and refugees with services. There are schemes on voluntary return and reintegration, housing and social integration programs, and technical assistance to the migration management. Most visible of those projects is probably the HELIOS+ initiative whose objective is integrating third-country nationals into the labor market and the society in Greece. This program, developed by the Greek government and implemented by IOM, provides employment support, housing assistance, and language courses. The signing of the Host Country Agreement between IOM and the Greek government in July 2024 was a turning point in their partnership, facilitating increased migration governance and support to migrants in Greece.