Jean Francois Adoupo, who graduated from UCA with a B.A. degree in Political Science and International Studies in August 2017, was recently hired to the staff of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in his home country of Cote d’Ivoire. The IOM provides assistance to thousands of displaced individuals and migrant workers who have gone to Cote d’Ivoire in recent years from West African neighboring countries, as well as to Ivorian migrants who have recently chosen to return to Cote d’Ivoire after years of political instability.
According to the IOM’s Regional Office for West and Central Africa, “Côte d’Ivoire is one of the West African countries with the highest number of migrants on its territory, with 2.2 million people living and/or working in the country….[b]etween January 1st, 2017 and October 31st, 2018, IOM Côte d’Ivoire assisted 4,889 Ivorian migrants in their voluntary return to Côte d’Ivoire, including 1,284 women (26%).”
The IOM was originally established in 1951 to assist individuals displaced in Europe following the Second World War. Nearly one million migrants in Europe were resettled with the assistance of the IOM during the 1950s. Currently, there are more than 170 member-states of the IOM, which is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The IOM has an annual budget of $1.8 billion and worldwide staff of 11,500 employees.
