It has been a bleak year for the United Nations, particularly in those U.N. agencies that serve the world’s most vulnerable people: refugees and migrants.
Amy Pope, the American director-general of the International Organization for Migration, or IOM, has overseen thousands of layoffs in her agency’s ranks since the Trump administration began gutting U.N. foreign assistance, including programs that assist a population of some 280 million people.
“It is not fun to have to downsize,” she told Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar at Devex Impact House on the sidelines of the World Bank-International Monetary Fund annual meeting in Washington.”There are real people who dedicated their entire career to our organization who suddenly found themselves without a job.”
About the author
Colum Lynch
Colum Lynch is an award-winning reporter and Senior Global Reporter for Devex. He covers the intersection of development, diplomacy, and humanitarian relief at the United Nations and beyond. Prior to Devex, Colum reported on foreign policy and national security for Foreign Policy Magazine and the Washington Post. Colum was awarded the 2011 National Magazine Award for digital reporting for his blog Turtle Bay. He has also won an award for groundbreaking reporting on the U.N.’s failure to protect civilians in Darfur.
