The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Nepal is celebrating its agency’s 60th anniversary amid a function in the capital.

“IOM is committed to working with Nepal and Nepali migrant workers to address the full spectrum of challenges and opportunities associated with migration and to ensure that migration is for the benefit of all,” said visiting IOM regional director for Asia and the Pacific Andrew Bruce.

Nepal joined IOM in 2006 and IOM established an office in Kathmandu in 2007 to launch a major resettlement programme for refugees from Bhutan. In the past four years it has helped over 55,000 refugees to leave Nepal to start new lives abroad, mainly in the USA.

The agency is also providing technical assistance to the government in the areas of migration policy, capacity building and provision of services to migrant workers, and is working with the private sector and civil society organisations to rehabilitate survivors of human trafficking. IOM Nepal has also worked with humanitarian partners in natural disasters.

It has also helped Nepali migrant workers stranded abroad in crisis situations to return home and is working with UN partners to support the government’s efforts to address transitional justice issues.

Published on: 10 November 2011 | The Himalayan Times