The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has been operationally present in Albania since 1992, while Albania became an IOM member state in 1993. Since then, IOM has become one of the main international partners of the Government of Albania (GoA), supporting its continuous progress and efforts in migration governance in line with Albania’s priorities of European Union integration. IOM is a member of the UN Country Team (UNCT) in Albania since 2007.

IOM actively contributes to the implementation of the GoA-UN Programme of Cooperation for Sustainable Development 2017-2021, a framework that guides the work of the GoA and the UNCT and their partnerships and aligns the support, funds and programmes of 19 UN agencies including IOM, to Albania’s development priorities. On 19 September 2016 IOM joined the UN during the summit for Refugees and Migrants, as the “UN migration agency”.

IOM Albania works in four broad areas:

  1. Migration Policy, Research and Legislation
  2. Migration Management:
     
    • Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration
    • Counter Human Trafficking
    • Immigration and Border Management
    • Labour Migration
    • Migration and Development
  3. Operations and Emergencies
  4. Prevention of Violent Extremism / Countering of Violent Extremism (PVE/CVE)