Accordingly, Ms. Pope won against the current Director General António Vitorino. Ms. Pope will begin her 5-year term from October 1. On Twitter, Ms. Pope affirmed: "I am ready to work with all member states and global partners to open up opportunities for effective, orderly and humane migration."

According to DW news agency, Ms. Pope has spent much of her career focusing on migration issues, including in the administration of former US President Barack Obama. This woman was a senior migration adviser to US President Joe Biden in the early period after he took office in 2021.

Ms. Amy Pope has extensive experience in immigration issues. Photo: AP

Previously, from 2015 to 2017, she was Deputy Homeland Security Advisor. She started working at IOM in September 2021. Last year, after announcing her candidacy for the position of IOM Director General, Ms. Pope took unpaid leave.

IOM was founded in 1951 to deal with migration in Europe after World War II and joined the United Nations only seven years ago. According to AP, eight of IOM's 10 directors general since its founding have been Americans. The organization has nearly 19,000 staff working in 171 countries to ensure humane and orderly migration.

The race for the IOM leadership comes at a crucial time, as the number of migrants worldwide has skyrocketed. According to statistics, there are now more than 100 million people around the world forced to leave their homes. While the current Director General Vitorino, a former EU Commissioner for Home Affairs and Justice, has strong support from European countries, Ms. Pope also has high support from countries in other regions.

She has said the IOM needs a new vision. “We are still stuck in the old way of looking at migration. There needs to be more focus on the impact of climate change on migration,” Pope told AFP.

With her extensive experience in migration issues, Ms. Pope is expected to bring a breath of fresh air to IOM. According to AP, in a statement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized: "The election of Ms. Pope reflects the broad endorsement of member states for her vision to keep people at the center of IOM's mission, while implementing important governance and budget reforms to ensure IOM is ready to face challenges."

LAM NGUYEN