1951

At the initiative of Belgium and the United States an International Migration Conference is convened in Brussels resulting in the creation of the Provisional Intergovernmental Committee for the Movements of Migrants from Europe (PICMME). PICMME soon becomes the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration (ICEM).

1950s

ICEM arranges the processing and emigration of over 406,000 refugees, displaced persons and economic migrants from Europe to overseas countries.

1956/7

ICEM assumes responsibility for the resettlement of some 200,000 Hungarian refugees who had fled to Austria and Yugoslavia.

1960

1 million migrants directly assisted by ICEM

1964

ICEM begins Migration for Development Programmes aimed at recruitment and placement of highly qualified migrants to developing countries in Latin America.

1968

ICEM organizes the resettlement of 40,000 Czechoslovak refugees.

1971

ICEM starts providing resettlement assistance to Jewish refugees from the Soviet Union.

ICEM assists UNHCR in the resettlement of 130,000 refugees from Bangladesh and Nepal to Pakistan.

1972

ICEM assists in the evacuation and resettlement of Asians from Uganda.

1973

A special resettlement programme helps over 31,000 Chileans resettle in 50 countries.

2 million migrants directly assisted by ICEM

1974

ICEM becomes a forum for international discussion and exchange of experience amongst governments and other organisations on migration issues.

ICEM launches Return of Talent Programme for Latin Americans residing abroad.

1975

ICEM initiates a resettlement programme for Indo-Chinese refugees and displaced persons.

1980

ICEM’s Council changes the Organization’s name to the Intergovernmental Committee for Migration (ICM) in recognition of its increasing global role.

3 million migrants directly assisted by ICM

1983

ICM extends the Migration for Development Programme to qualified nationals from African countries.

1985

Migration for Development Programmes are extended to Asia.

4 million migrants directly assisted by ICM

1986

One million Indo-Chinese refugees have been assisted since 1975.

1989

ICM becomes the International Organization for Migration (IOM) upon ratification of amendments to the 1953 Constitution.

1990

IOM repatriates migrants stranded in the Middle East following the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq. From September 1990 to January 1991, IOM returns 165,000 people to Egypt and various countries in Asia.

5 million migrants directly assisted by IOM

1991

IOM assists in the return of some 800,000 displaced Iraqi Kurds.

6 million migrants directly assisted by IOM

1992

IOM provides logistical support and medical assistance to the displaced populations in former Yugoslavia.

IOM begins the Yugoslav Emergency Programme (YEP) for the evacuation and family reunification of displaced persons from former Yugoslavia. Throughout the following eight years the YEP assists over 130,000 persons.

IOM starts providing technical assistance on migration issues to member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

1993

Following the signing of the Mozambican peace agreement, IOM organizes the return of almost 500,000 displaced persons, demobilized soldiers, and vulnerable groups amongst the internally displaced and refugees.

7 million migrants directly assisted by IOM

1994

IOM assists in the return of 1.2 million Rwandans from neighbouring countries and in the relocation of some 250,000 refugees inside former Zaire.

1995

Following the outbreak of war in Chechnya, IOM evacuates almost 50,000 vulnerable people to safety in Ingushetia and Daghestan.

1996

IOM evacuates Kurdish populations from northern Iraq. In just over three months 6,000 people are resettled to the United States.

IOM assists more than 190,000 Bosnian refugees in Europe to return home.

1997

10 million migrants directly assisted by IOM

1998

IOM provides shelter assistance to Hondurans left homeless by Hurricane Mitch.

1999

IOM organizes the Humanitarian Evacuation Programme airlifting some 80,000 Kosovar refugees from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to over 30 host countries. By the second half of 1999, IOM begins returning Kosovars home.

2000

IOM assists some 150,000 Kosovars to return home; and organises the return by land, sea and air of some 140,000 East Timorese refugees.

IOM launches a global fund to help women and children victims of trafficking stranded outside their countries. Working with partners, IOM provides protection, safe shelter, counselling and medical support, and return and reintegration assistance.

IOM starts a programme for the identification and indemnification of former forced and slave labourers under the Nazi regime in Germany.

11 million migrants directly assisted by IOM

2001

IOM manages four camps for the internally displaced population in Afghanistan. Working with humanitarian agencies on the ground, the Organization provides assistance and shelter to tens of thousands affected by drought and civil war.

IOM launches the Migration Policy and Research Programme. The programme will increase global understanding of migration issues and strengthen the capacity of governments to manage migration more effectively.

In the framework of the Swiss Banks Settlement Agreement, IOM launches a compensation programme for Roma, Jehovah’s Witness, homosexuals and handicapped, who were persecuted by the Nazis and for all persons who performed slave labour for Swiss companies during the Nazi era.

2002

IOM co-ordinates assistance to internally displaced Afghans in camps in the north and west of the country and helps some 400,000 return to their home villages.

The resettlement of more than 11,000 Somali Bantus from Kenya to the United States begins by first moving them to Kakuma refugee camp in north-western Kenya where IOM carries out medical examinations and provides cultural orientation courses.

IOM makes first payments to almost half of its eligible slave and forced labour claimants. In several Eastern European countries IOM launches Humanitarian and Social Programmes for Roma and members of other groups persecuted under the Nazi regime.

2003

Assuming a more visible role in enhancing understanding of migration and contributing to the development of migration policy, IOM's International Dialogue on Migration focuses on the theme of “Migration in a Globalized World." It is complemented by workshops for policy makers on "Data Collection and Management" and "Trade and Migration." In its capacity as the secretariat for the Berne Initiative, IOM develops a concept of a policy framework of guiding principles to facilitate cooperation on migration management – the Draft International Agenda for Migration Management.

At the operational level, IOM provides assistance to more than 6,000 third-country nationals of 19 nationalities fleeing the conflict in Iraq. In Afghanistan, IOM continues to provide return and reintegration assistance to internally displaced persons (IDPs). IOM’s work in Kosovo evolves from emergency response to long-term activities in support of population stabilisation. In Colombia, IOM programmes provide support to those internally displaced by the fighting and to ex-combatant children. 2003 marks the third full year of IOM’s involvement in the German Forced Labour Compensation Programme (GFLCP) and the Holocaust Victim Assets Programme/Swiss Banks (HVAP). The Humanitarian and Social Programmes (HSP) starts 52 projects worth over USD 18.7 million for specific victims in twelve Central and Eastern European countries.

12 million migrants directly assisted by IOM

2004

Jointly organized with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Center for Disease Control (CDC), IOM's global seminar on "Migration and Health" brings together for the first time health and migration officials to exchange views on health and migration policy concerns, with a particular focus on the public health implications of increasingly mobile populations. As part of the IOM Council, the principal session of the International Dialogue on Migration focuses on the issue of “Valuing Migration: Costs, Benefits, Opportunities, and Challenges.”

Working with the United Nations and the Government of Sudan, IOM sets up operations in the Darfur region to assist internally displaced persons (IDPs). In Thailand a programme to resettle some 12,000 Hmong refugees to the United States gets off the ground. The task of conducting the largest ever Out-of-Country Registration and Voting (OCRV) programme is entrusted to IOM. In total, 846,776 Afghan refugees residing in Pakistan and Iran eventually vote in Afghanistan's first democratic direct Presidential Election held in 9th October 2004. .

IOM deepens its leadership in international migration policy development through regional and global fora. The International Dialogue on Migration focuses on "Toward Policy Coherence on Migration" with inter-sessional workshops on "Migration and Development" and "Building Capacity to Manage Migration" taking the dialogue both broader and deeper.

The Director General created a Business Advisory Board to ensure that the private sector’s role and views are heard, particularly on mobility policies.  In Geneva it creates an HQ department of International Migration Law. 

IOM launches its largest ever emergency response following the December 26th 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Major logistics, emergency shelter and medical and other programmes are launched in Indonesia’s Aceh province, Sri Lanka and on Thailand’s Andaman coast. In March IOM emergency teams are redeployed from Aceh to Indonesia’s Nias island, following another major earthquake. A third major quake strikes Pakistan and India in October, killing some 80,000 people. IOM is asked by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) to become the coordinating agency for emergency shelter in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier province – leading the race to help victims before the onset of the Himalayan winter. 

13 million migrants directly assisted by IOM.