Ethiopia, S.Sudan join migration body

Fourteen countries joined the International Organization for Migration on Monday as the body marked its 60th anniversary.

Ethiopia, South Sudan and the Holy See were among the states admitted at the opening of the three-day IOM council meeting in Geneva.

The organisation, which promotes international cooperation on migration and employs 7,300 staff in more than 100 countries, now boasts 146 members.

Its budget last year was $1.5 billion and it has assisted an estimated 14 million migrants.

William Swing, the organisation’s director general, said the new admissions highlighted the importance of migration to global development.

“There is a clear and growing recognition that despite the many economic challenges the world is currently facing, migration is here to stay and that we all need to work together to ensure its success in the future,” said Swing in a statement .

The other new members are Antigua and Barbuda, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Guyana, the Maldives, Micronesia, Mozambique, Nauru, the Seychelles and Vanuatu.