The Deputy Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Hon. John Rosso, has thanked the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for its assistance to PNG and pledged the government’s commitment to support its ongoing work in the country and the Pacific.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER ROSSO DELIVERS COUNTRY STATEMENT AT IOM MEET

LAE OPEN Electorate - JOHN ROSSO Dps MP

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The Deputy Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Hon. John Rosso, has thanked the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for its assistance to PNG and pledged the government’s commitment to support its ongoing work in the country and the Pacific.

Hon. Rosso made this remark also in his capacity as Minister for Labour and Immigration when he delivered PNG’s Country Statement on 30 November 2022 at the 113th Session of the IOM Council in Geneva, Switzerland.

He was accompanied by the PNG Immigration and Citizenship Authority (PNGICA) Chief Migration Officer, Stanis Hulahau, and the Deputy Chief Migration Officer-Visa and Passport, Wellington Navasivu.

The discussions at the meeting included the cross-cutting issues of food security, migration and displacement caused by the impacts of climate change and the conflicts around the world.

“As an island nation, Papua New Guinea continues to experience the displacement of its people whose livelihoods are affected by the rise in sea levels causing them to flee their island homes,” Rosso said.

“The impact of this forced human mobility presents complex challenges and requires adequate and appropriate responses from our government with the continued support from our international partners and non-government organisations.”

“The progress made at the 27th Session of the Conference of the Parties in Egypt is a positive realisation that we must work together to address issues of climate change and its complex challenges. It should not remain an issue only for our Island Nations. It should be an issue to 

be addressed by all nations, great and small, developed and developing.” 

The Deputy Prime Minister said that because of Papua New Guinea’s geographical location, it also continues to experience the cross-border movement of people across land and sea borders, mainly as a result of conflict in other countries. 

“Our government has always responded positively, but remains challenged by its capacity to respond adequately, as we are still a developing nation, constrained in our ability to respond to such situations,” he said.

The Deputy Prime Minister said the government and people of Papua New Guinea acknowledged the work of IOM in the country, and the positive impact it has on the livelihoods of individuals and communities affected by various challenges.

He recognised the work of IOM in helping to build and strengthen resilience in communities affected by various crisis situations in a country situated in the Pacific Ring of Fire that is prone to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and other natural and climate induced disasters.

The Deputy Prime Minister said that the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic greatly challenged PNG’s capacity to manage its health system, and the government’s ability to respond, and was a call for the government and its bilateral partners to work together to improve that system.

“This has resulted in PNG re-focussing its priorities to improve its health sector, including building more, better, and specialist medical facilities, and training and recruiting more health care workers.”

“The IOM in collaboration with the PNG government, and other non-government organisations and community-based organisations assisted in many ways to help our people recover and live normal lives again,” he said.

The Deputy Prime Minister acknowledged too the ongoing cooperation with IOM in the management of spontaneous arrivals within PNG borders. 

“Spontaneous arrivals across our borders that do not qualify under existing special protections regimes are referred to IOM for assistance to repatriate them through the Assisted Voluntary Return program. This has been working well over the years and we would like to maintain this positive cooperation,” Rosso said.

“Through the counter trafficking programs, the IOM is working closely with the PNG 

government to ensure we prevent trafficking of innocent people including migrants, and punish the perpetrators.”

“Through our collaborative work, we ensure that protection of regular migrants and any victims of trafficking are accorded necessary protection and assistance in the spirit of the Global Compact on Safe, Regular and Orderly Migration.”

The Deputy Prime Minister said that PNG also appreciated the continued support by IOM to its government institutions.

“There has been tremendous efforts and collaboration made in the past to build capacity in the public sector in both policy and operational areas.”

“The Papua New Guinea Immigration and Citizenship Authority and IOM is now looking into further capacity building in the form of establishing and operating service delivery centres at main locations throughout PNG to better improve the client service experience. This arrangement is now being formalised,” he said.

The IOM is part of the United Nations (UN) system and works to help ensure the orderly and humane management of migration, promote international cooperation on migration issues, assist in the search for practical solutions to migration problems, and provide humanitarian assistance to migrants in need, be they refugees, displaced persons or other uprooted people. 

The IOM operates in the four broad areas of migration management which are migration and development, facilitating migration, regulating migration, and forced migration.

The IOM has 174 member states and offices in over 100 countries. PNG joined IOM membership in November 2012.

Picture Caption: 

Deputy Prime Minister, Hon. John Rosso delivers PNG's country statement at the IOM meet in Geneva, Switzerland. He was accompanied by the Chief Migration Officer Stanis Hulahau. 

Photo Credit: Muse Mohammed/IOM.