10 December 2014
IOM and UNCCD Sign Memorandum of Understanding
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The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the 105th session of the IOM Council.

The meeting took place on 25-27 November 2014 in Geneva, Switzerland.

UNCCD logo26 November 2014: The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the 105th session of the IOM Council. The meeting took place on 25-27 November 2014 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Through the MoU, IOM and UNCCD will work together to build evidence on the inter-linkages between human mobility and land degradation. The partnership aims to increase understanding of the challenges and opportunities related to these related phenomena and to create political momentum for including them in the sustainability, human rights, security and climate adaptation agendas.

Ambassador William Lacy Swing, IOM’s Director General, welcomed the enhanced collaboration and underscored the need to secure sustainable productive land use as the first step toward grounding people in their home communities. Monique Barbut, UNCCD Executive Secretary, further explained that when degraded land can no longer support a growing population, people are forced to leave, and this can lead to ethnic clashes, conflicts over scarce resources and feed extremism.

IOM and UNCCD are currently implementing a joint initiative in Burkina Faso, Niger and Senegal, funded by the Italian Development Cooperation. The project promotes positive outcomes from migration by channeling remittances and diaspora investments towards sustainable land management and adaptation to climate change. [UNCCD Press Release] [IOM Press Release]

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