Thousands of UN agency staff globally lose their jobs, here's why

On February 13, leaders of United Nations (UN) agencies said that the US decision to suspend foreign aid has led to the agencies having to lay off thousands of employees.

Thousands of UN agency staff globally are at risk of losing their jobs. (Source: IOM)

In an internal letter to staff, International Organization for Migration (IOM) Director General Amy Pope warned of upcoming cuts.

“The loss of funding for the resettlement program meant we had to tell around 3,000 of our colleagues that their jobs would come to an end,” said Amy Pope, the agency which employs more than 22,000 people worldwide.

According to AFP news agency, IOM has sent notices of termination to the 3,000 employees mentioned by Ms. Pope above. This number accounts for more than half of the 5,000 employees working for the US Refugee Access Program (USRAP).

The decision “hurts because the people who work for USRAP are some of our best and brightest. Over the past year, many of them have worked around the clock on some of the largest migrations in IOM's history,” she said.

The IOM Director General stressed that lives “have really changed for the better because of what the USRAP team has done,” while warning that further adjustments are needed in missions and at IOM headquarters.

Meanwhile, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced plans to cut "around 600 positions" from its 20,000-strong workforce, most of whom work in the field.

A UNHCR spokesman said it was "prioritising life-saving work and cutting spending" while trying to understand the full impact of the US aid pause.

The agency has now "suspended a range of activities directly affected by the US funding freeze, including refugee resettlement in the US".

Before the aid freeze was imposed, the US was the largest donor to both UNHCR and IOM.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/hang-nghin-nhan-vien-tren-toan-cau-cua-cac-co-quan-lhq-mat-viec-day-la-ly-do-304259.html