The IOM Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has released its 2015 annual report. The report provides an overview of IOM’s main priorities and the impact of its work in the region.

In 2015, significant migration flows to, through and from MENA continued unabated. Ongoing conflict, economic stagnation and political turmoil were main drivers of migration, although motives for movements remain complex.

People move to, through and from the region for a variety of reasons. Labour migration to the Gulf States, partly from other Arab States, as well as from further afield, continues to be a central driver. North African countries have also continued to host large numbers of people from sub-Saharan Africa seeking employment there or attempting to cross the Mediterranean to make their futures in Europe.

Given the unprecedented scale and intensity of crises afflicting the region, IOM provided emergency assistance to migrants and host communities impacted by conflicts in Iraq, Libya, Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen, as well as investing in resilience-building and livelihood support.

Beyond emergency response, IOM worked closely with governments across the region to ensure the rights of migrants were respected and international protection standards upheld in the areas of immigration, border management and migrant assistance. Additionally, programmes targeting labour mobility as a means for national development were undertaken, particularly in Morocco, Egypt and Sudan.

Throughout the report, migrants from the Middle East and North Africa tell their own stories, drawn from IOM’s i am a migrant campaign.

In addition to describing IOM’s MENA programmes, the report contains a section on refugee resettlement activities in the region, which increased significantly in 2015. It also lists research and publications released in 2015.

“The evolving make-up of migratory flows to, through and from MENA in 2015 underscores the complex nature of migration drivers. IOM’s top priorities in the region remained saving migrant lives and upholding their rights. But we also focused on identifying and addressing the issues driving people to migrate,” said IOM Regional Director for MENA Carmela Godeau.

A statistical summary of all activities, and of beneficiaries reached, in the region in 2015 is forthcoming, as is an Arabic translation of the report.

The report can be found here: https://publications.iom.int/books/middle-east-and-north-africa-annual-r....