De Fabel van de illegaal 54/55, autumn 2002
Author: Jan Tas
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) claims to "assist" refugees with "their voluntary return". Dutch refugee support organizations often make use of IOM services. But instead of defending the interests of refugees, the IOM tries to regulate migration all around the world mainly in the interest of the rich western countries.
"Against global migration management, for freedom of movement". With that motto the European No Border network started to campaign against the international policy to control migration. That policy is implemented by not only the IOM, but also the Inter-Governmental Consultations on Migration (IGC) and the International Organization for Labor (ILO). The No Border network publishes a newsletter and provides a website containing information against the IOM.(1) Days of action are planned in October 2002. Through this campaign the activists want to show that the humanitarian image of the IOM is just a mask. The IOM doesn't promote any freedom of movement, but strives to select migrants on their economic 'usefulness'. 'Useless' migrants have bad luck.
Warning system
The IOM was founded in 1951 as counterpart of the United Nations refugee organization UNHCR. It is based on economic principles, and not on humanitarian ideals. At the core of the IOM ideology one finds racist constructs such as "ethnic homogenous states" and the concept of "home". In the fifties the organization took part in efforts to get eastern European intelligentsia to "the free west". By now 91 states have joined the IOM. The organization has its headquarters in Geneva, and it has already set up 19 regional and more than a 100 local offices. In the Netherlands there are offices in The Hague, Drachten, Zwolle, Arnhem, Dordrecht, Eindhoven and Amsterdam airport. The local offices keep an eye on migrants, their organizations and ngo's. By doing so they form an early warning system against migration. The IOM reports all findings to the EU and US, and also provides them with advice on possible measures.
But the IOM does not only observe and recommend. It is also involved in the more practical migrant hunting. The organization trains police officers and border soldiers, sells anti-migration technology and builds border control posts and deportation jails. The IOM also organizes "excursions", for instance to the border US-Mexican border to show policy makers the effectiveness of fences, ditches and high-tech equipment to stop immigration. Thanks to these "effective measures" each year dozens of immigrants die trying to reach the US. Also, after doing border research the IOM recommend all kinds of practical measures to Turkey in order to "fight uncontrolled migration" from Africa and Asia. Thereafter many immigrants have died at those borders because Turkish soldiers started to shoot at them.
Voluntary deportation
The IOM also often organizes the "voluntary return" of rejected refugees. Actually, these "voluntary returns" are almost never really "voluntary". During the long asylum procedures refugees are kept away from the rest of society, and the state and large parts of the population actively try to make them feel not welcome. Most refugees are rejected, illegalized and completely excluded from society. At that stage the IOM offers them the "free choice" whether to "voluntary return" or to be jailed in order to be deported forcefully.
European states use "voluntary return" to get rid of rejected refugees who fled from countries that are not willing to cooperate with their deportation, like Somalia, northern Iraq, Angola, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone. Those countries are torn by war, and European states have declared them too dangerous for police officers to come and deliver refugees. Although "voluntary return" does already make the deportation machine function more efficient, the IOM is always looking out for 'enhancements'. Now IOM Netherlands director De Dycker wants to get the business world involved in the deportation process. "We have got to get more creative in returning asylum seekers. Why should only the Dutch government play a role at the returns? It is time the realm of business also starts to contribute to a solution of the problems."(2)
Women trafficking
The IOM is also involved in the struggle against the trafficking of women. It sometimes sponsors organizations which aid victims of women trafficking or which try to prevent this trafficking. However, in most cases the IOM abuses the problem of women trafficking to tackle "uncontrolled migration". Of all IOM organized "returns" only 0,16 percent involve victims of women trafficking.
The IOM presents these victims as pitiful and mislead, and the traffickers as pure evil. The organization approaches these problems only on an individual level, and never even considers the global oppression of women. They fail to mention that many women are forced by their life circumstances to migrate. They have to accept arranged marriages, or have to become prostitutes or domestic workers. That the IOM is doing nothing against the exploitation of women does not mean that the organization underestimates the problem. On the contrary, they use these facts to discourage women. In Macedonia for instance, the IOM campaigns to discourage women to migrate to the west, because they "would always end up in prostitution".
Forced labor
Because of its large network of offices the IOM was chosen as a partner organization to the German fund "Remembrance, responsibility and future". That fund is responsible for the "compensation" to people who have been robbed or put to work by the Nazi's in World War II. Victims from countries like the Netherlands, France, Greece and Italy can submit claims at the IOM offices. To the IOM the only goal seems to be to limit the number of claims. Some offices told victims that it was useless to submit a claim because it would be rejected anyway. Of the 320.000 submitted claims only some 75.000 were accepted. The IOM uses far more strict criteria than partner organizations which judge the claims in other countries. For instance claims submitted by people who had to work in agriculture are rejected. Also, the IOM is very slow in handing over the money. Until now, only 16.879 victims have been paid. A similar fund working on the claims in Poland already gave 305.000 workers their money. Because all accepted claims are paid in two parts, and because the IOM is very slow, many of the victims will have died before they receive anything.
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