Please try another search
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Antonio Vitorino visits an information booth at the border checkpoint where people are crossing the border from Ukraine to Poland, after fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukr
By Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber and Emma Farge
GENEVA (Reuters) -Former White House adviser Amy Pope was elected to head the U.N. migration agency, prevailing on Monday in a tense contest against a Portuguese incumbent who had the support of European countries.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Pope would become the first woman to lead it when she begins her five-year term on Oct. 1.
Pope, who served as Deputy Director General for Management and Reform at IOM, took leave to campaign against her boss António Vitorino, who has been in the position since 2018.
"With the impacts of conflict, of poverty, of climate change, there will be even more work than we can do in order for us to be a successful organization," Pope said.
"It's important that we look at the issue of migration from a much more comprehensive point of view, that we use our data much more proactively."
Pope said she was eager for IOM to use data to analyse why people were moving and to better understand where people might be forced to move.
More than 100 million people are forcibly displaced around the world and IOM seeks to ensure humane and orderly migration and intervenes where needed.
In 2021, Pope served as senior adviser on migration to U.S. President Joe Biden, who publicly backed her candidacy.
"As IOM's largest bilateral donor, the United States strongly supports Ms. Pope's vision and looks forward to working with her to implement the critical reforms necessary to create a more effective, inclusive IOM," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
Vitorino, a former European Commissioner who is close to his compatriot United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, did not comment as he left the International Conference Center in Geneva, where the voting took place.
"It's not about what he did or didn't do," Pope said about her campaign against Vitorino.
"It's more about what we can do and what opportunities might exist for us that we have yet to take."
Asked about the contest earlier this year, Vitorino described it as unprecedented.
"We have never happened to have an incumbent director general that faces a competition with one of his deputy generals. Let's call it an innovation," Vitorino told journalists in March.
He said at the time he had Portugal's backing as well as the "strong encouragement" of the European Union.
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
I feel that this comment is:
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.