U.S. candidate Amy Pope wins tense contest to run UN migration agency

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U.S. candidate Amy Pope wins tense contest to run UN migration agency

6:29 CAT | 15 May 2023

FILE - International Organization for Migration (IOM) deputy director, Amy Pope of the US gestures during and interview with AFP in Geneva, on March 13, 2023. [File photo: U.S. Mission in Geneva]

Former White House advisor Amy Pope won a vote in Geneva on Monday to head the U.N. migration agency, prevailing 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 the organization when she begins her five-year term on Oct. 1.

The Member States of IOM have elected Ms. Amy E. Pope as its next Director General during the 6th Special Session of the IOM Council.

The first woman to lead IOM, Ms. Pope will assume her duties for a five-year term beginning on 1 October 2023.https://t.co/JkfkAO0CVs pic.twitter.com/Jilw29sRax

— IOM – UN Migration 🇺🇳 (@UNmigration) May 15, 2023

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.

Pope wrote on Twitter she was “humbled and honoured” to be chosen by IOM’s 175 member states as new director general.

“I am ready to work with ALL our member states and global partners to unleash the opportunities provided by effective, orderly and humane migration,” she wrote.

In 2021, Pope served as Senior Advisor 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.

More than 100 million people are forcibly displaced around the world and IOM seeks to ensure humane and orderly migration and intervenes where needed.

Vitorino, a former European Commissioner who is close to his compatriot United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, had touted an increase in the body’s annual budget among his successes.

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.

Humbled and honored to be chosen as the next Director General of @UNmigration. I am ready to work with ALL our member states and global partners to unleash the opportunities provided by effective, orderly and humane migration. 🌐︎ pic.twitter.com/cTpfjjlKHp

— Amy Pope (@AmyEPope) May 15, 2023

I have been particularly grateful for the support of @POTUS, @SecBlinken, @state_IO, @usambgva, @prmasstsec & @UnderSecStateJ. I look forward to your continued collaboration on improving global migration governance as I step into my new role.

— Amy Pope (@AmyEPope) May 15, 2023

Source: Reuters