The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia becomes a full member of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) as of December 5 2011. Ethiopia is admitted at the 100th council session of IOM held from 5 to 7 December 2011.

At the councils meeting Ethiopia’s Ambassador to Geneva, Switzerland, Menilik Alemu, appreciated IOM for unanimously accepting Ethiopia to be a member of the organization, according to the statement issued by the ministry of foreign affairs. He also stated that the membership would help to respect the rights of migrants from different parts of the world and enable Ethiopians to have clear information.

Moreover, the membership would also foster international cooperation to address the challenges of migrants and further enhance the ongoing cooperation framework of IGAD. Ambassador Menlik expressed Ethiopia’s commitment to work closely with IOM and commends IOM for supporting the return of Ethiopians.

The 100th council session of IOM admitted 14 new Member States (Djibouti, Chad, Ethiopia, Maldives, Guyana, Nauru, Comoros, Antigua and Barbuda, the Holy See, the Federated States of Micronesia, South Sudan, Mozambique, Seychelles and Vanuatu) and five new observers (the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the NGO Committee on Migration, the East African Community (EAC), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa(COMESA)).

The membership of Ethiopian to IOM was celebrated by the mission in Addis Ababa at a cocktail reception held at the Sheraton Addis Hotel. On the occasion of the event, Ato Elias Melaku, acting Director General for International organizations Directorate, from ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that “Ethiopian’s membership to IOM is at a time when the organization commemorates 60 years of dedicated work on migration.” Further more he stressed that Ethiopia will give priority to focusing on improving the welfare of migrants and uphold their rights. He extended his appreciation for the support that IOM has extended to Ethiopia through the years. The guests included government officials, ambassadors, UN heads of agencies and IOM Ethiopia staff.