International migration is at the core of the international debate. However, while a major part of the discussions focus on migration policies in receiving countries, it is important to recall that most people are not willing to migrate permanently to another country. It is thus crucial that policymakers also support those who prefer to remain in their communities of origin to resist the migration pressure they may be facing. Consequently, this analysis aims first to identify what drives this migration pressure, and second to formulate a set of recommendations to support those communities. With regard to the drivers, evidence suggests that, contrary to a common belief, poverty reduction will not necessarily alleviate migration pressure. Reducing poverty is an aim, per se, no matter its effect on migration. However, it is not a panacea, and other factors explaining the migration pressure should be considered. The urge to move can be due to the fact that potential migrants, in particular those willing to migrate illegally, tend to formulate biased expectations about their earnings and living conditions abroad. For people who have not moved yet, expectations from the migration experience are often based upon perceptions of the living conditions of their families and relatives who migrated. Those relatives – through their remittances and the status their families that are left behind acquire within the communities – can lead some to think that success is guaranteed with migration. This in turn can spark the desire to move at any cost, raising the issue of relative concerns about what matters in the decision to leave. Another possible driver of migration pressure is negative shocks, such as adverse climatic conditions. Climatic factors and natural disasters can lead to more migration if other survival strategies have failed, when the severity of the shocks does not leave any other option than moving, and when people can afford migration costs.

This Guidance Note provides guidance for the mandatory mainstreaming of humanitarian protection principles into IOM’s response to crises. This note is intended to help every IOM staff involved in crisis response to apply these standards in performance of their functions when assessing, designing, developing, endorsing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating the following: a) IOM responses to crises and b) projects falling under one or more of the MCOF sectors of assistance. In case an IOM staff member needs to deviate from this Guidance Note, the staff member or Chief of Mission concerned must contact the Department of Operations and Emergencies. It is mandatory for IOM staff members and specifically for Chiefs of Missions to ensure adherence to this guidance note and to follow up with the Department.

Although human trafficking has gathered momentum and several international organizations have developed approaches to address it, the phenomenon remains a serious crime, with grave human rights concerns, that is largely overlooked in crisis situations. In addition, human trafficking is typically not considered a direct consequence of crisis. This misplaced assumption, coupled with the fact that counter-trafficking efforts are not necessarily understood as an immediate life-saver in crisis, often hampers the humanitarian response to human trafficking cases, particularly in terms of identification of and assistance to victims. In reality, as the newly published IOM report Addressing Human Trafficking and Exploitation in Times of Crisis reveals these efforts are a matter of life and livelihood for victims of trafficking and should therefore be considered with as much priority as for any other crisis-affected population and be addressed at the outset of a crisis. The report recommends that human trafficking in times of crisis be urgently included in the humanitarian community, with support from both emergency and development donor communities.

This video illustrates how human trafficking can be exacerbated during crises that cause displacement of population and leave people more vulnerable to exploitation and also presents a few recommendations on how to address this issue.

This video illustrates how human trafficking can be exacerbated during crises that cause displacement of population and leave people more vulnerable to exploitation and also presents a few recommendations on how to address this issue.

What makes crisis-affected communities and individuals vulnerable to trafficking in persons?How is the humanitarian community responding to trafficking in persons?What are the key recommendations?

It is important to note that the IOM Emergency Manual is designed primarily to provide guidance to IOM staff operating in humanitarian contexts. Some entries, describing internal management and administrative processes are available only to IOM staff. To access this content, IOM staff will have to sign in using their IOM email address. However, most of the Emergency Manual's content is publicly available, making the manual accessible as a tool for humanitarian partners and other interested parties. In addition to IOM processes and procedures, the Emergency Manual also provides guidance on Inter Agency Standing Committee (IASC) frameworks and processes, including, but not limited to, the IASC Cluster System and the Humanitarian Programme Cycle. Note that guidance on inter-agency frameworks and procedures are taken from existing IASC tools and references with additional guidance included by IOM, when relevant, on how the Organization can better contribute to inter-agency frameworks.

This booklet provides an overview of what protection means in practice, who is responsible for making it happen and what those in need of protection can expect of humanitarians. The risks that people face can take many forms and require a range of actions, some more specialised than others. This booklet gives a broad outline for humanitarians in other fields, and also includes links to more detailed resources.

What makes migrants vulnerable to human trafficking and associated forms of exploitation and abuse? A new study, undertaken by Minderoo Foundation’s Walk Free initiative and IOM, examines the connection between migration and modern slavery, and focuses on which migrants are most vulnerable, and in what circumstances, to modern slavery. The report explores various sites of vulnerability where migrants are particularly susceptible to human trafficking, forced labour and modern slavery. These include private dwellings, border crossings, irregular migration routes and conflict zones. The report illustrates that migrants are most vulnerable to exploitation in situations where the authority of the State and society are unable to protect them. It also analyses the characteristics of victims that are thought to contribute to their vulnerability. In addition, the study explains some characteristics of offenders, including worldviews that allow them to rationalize the exploitation of others. Lastly, the study looks at examples of enabling environments or contexts, such as restrictive immigration policies, that engender or exacerbate vulnerability.

In 2019, many more people needed humanitarian assistance than we had forecast, largely because of conflicts and extreme climate events. Donors provided a record $16 billion for inter-agency appeals between January and November 2019. Compliance with international law is declining. Armed conflicts are killing and maiming a record number of children, forcing them to flee their homes. They are becoming a lost generation. Women and girls are at higher risk of sexual and gender-based violence. One in five people living in conflict areas has a mental health condition.Highly violent conflicts are causing widespread hunger, displacement, death and destruction around the world. They are taking a heavy toll on civilians, who account for 90 per cent of the casualties when explosive weapons are used in populated areas. There were 791 attacks against health workers and health-care facilities in the first nine months of 2019, resulting in 171 deaths. In 2018, 131 aid workers were killed and 130 were kidnapped in 400 attacks. Attacks against health and aid workers are putting millions of people at risk by denying them care and aid.