After months of a deafening and ruthless campaign, the member states of the International Organization for Migration are meeting in Geneva on Monday to decide whether its current Portuguese chief or an American vice president will take the reins of this agency with a crucial role.
The 175 member states of the International Organization for Migration will vote by secret ballot to appoint former minister Antonio Vitorino to a second term or prefer his deputy, Amy Pope.
This is an important position in the current context.
The organization, which was founded in 1951 but became a United Nations agency just seven years ago, is the leading international player in the field of migration and with a growing budget.
The world had about 281 million immigrants in 2020.
The long campaign for the position of Director General of the International Organization for Migration has caused a rift between the Europeans and the United States, which has campaigned everywhere to restore the traditional American position, according to observers.
“It seems to have caused some diplomatic panic,” Megan Bradley, a professor at McGill University in Montreal who specializes in the International Organization for Migration, told AFP.
– shock –
It is customary to grant a second mandate to the head of a United Nations agency who so desires.
And when Amy Pope announced her candidacy in October, “it was a bit of a shock,” a European diplomat in Geneva admitted, speaking on condition of anonymity, to AFP. He stressed that “it was not seen as a friendly decision,” lamenting that the battle had given “the wrong signal” at a time when the United States and Europeans should “show a united front” on the world stage.
Antonio Vitorino, 66, Portugal’s former defense minister and deputy prime minister, has no intention of conceding.
“All those who preceded me served two terms over the course of 70 years, and I see no reason not to follow a successful first term with a second term,” he told AFP in March.
But 49-year-old Amy Pope, who if elected would be the first woman to lead the organization, believes the stakes are higher than simply sticking to the status quo. According to her, she has a vision of bringing the IOM “into the 21st century”.
– Anti-traditional tradition –
If a second term is the norm, the US is keen to stick to “the age-old tradition of nominating its candidate for general manager,” notes academic Megan Bradley.
Amy Pope has a long career in immigration and disaster management, particularly under Barack Obama, and support at the highest levels.
President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he knew from working directly with her that she could “effectively mobilize the International Organization for Migration and its members to respond to growing migration challenges.”
“He’s the right person for the job,” the president asserted, capping off a very visible campaign of support for American diplomacy.
For Megan Bradley, the increasing importance of the IOM in the face of the explosion in the number of migrants, particularly due to climate change, “makes it all the more important for the United States to try to reassert its traditional hold at the helm of the organization.”
– tight race –
Antonio Vitorino assumed the reins of the International Organization for Migration in 2018, becoming the second non-American to lead the organization.
He won acclaim after member states backed away from a candidate Donald Trump accused of anti-Muslim bigotry and climate change denial.
Observers say Antonio Vitorino has done a fine job, leading the growing organization, which now has nearly 19,000 employees and has seen its budget nearly double since 2018 to nearly $3 billion last year.
He enjoys particularly strong support from European countries who are grateful to him for a “very strong first term,” according to the European diplomat. “It will be a tight race,” he said.
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