Scoop: UN migration agency tightens belt amid historic US aid freeze

The United Nations top migration agency has instructed staff to dramatically curtail spending as it seeks to make sense of the largest imposition of U.S. foreign aid cuts since World War II and to refrain from divulging details of its response, according to a confidential internal memo seen by Devex. The International Organization for Migration memo — titled Managing Funding Suspension-related Costs on Affected U.S. Funded Projects — offers guidance to the agency’s managers to administer projects in some 170 countries at a time of unprecedented financial crisis. It also warned staff that “any unauthorized transmission of this guidance externally may lead to disciplinary actions,” reflecting the heightened sensitivity across U.N. agencies about discussing the suspension by a United States administration that is defined by retribution. “The guidance provides a structured approach to managing costs during the period of suspension,” it states. “It is intended to support IOM offices in maintaining program capacity and donor confidence while adhering to the conditions of the suspension.” “During the suspension period, IOM may not incur any new costs and is asked to cancel as many outstanding obligations as possible,” the memo added. “The US Government will make decisions whether to continue, modify, or terminate awards following their review of outstanding awards.” Last week, the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, issued a stop work order to IOM on about 60 U.S.-funded contracts, dealing mostly with IOM support for U.S. refugee resettlement programs. The order, according to three humanitarian sources, places some 5,000 IOM jobs at risk and signals the Trump administration’s skepticism about refugee resettlement at a time when it wants to dramatically reduce the number of foreigners entering the U.S. On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, facing criticism that the U.S. pause injected chaos in the international relief and development sector and placed millions of lives at risk, issued a waiver permitting funding for life-saving humanitarian activities. The waiver will not apply to the U.S. resettlement program but will allow IOM and all other U.N. agencies to continue to deliver humanitarian assistance around the world. The U.N. migration agency — originally known as the Provisional Intergovernmental Committee for the Movement of Migrants from Europe, or PICMME — was established in 1951 to help resettle some 11 million Europeans displaced during World War II. It became a formal member of the U.N. family in 2016. It oversees a budget of more than $3 billion and employs some 20,000 people. The U.S. provides about 45% percent of the agency’s budget, somewhere around $1.5 billion. The internal memo outlines a series of steps that staff should take to cap spending on suspended contracts: A. Do not initiate new program activities during the suspension, unless specifically authorized by the donor. B. Do not hire new staff or otherwise engage/contract any new workforce — staff or nonstaff. C. Do not create or approve new purchase requests, or PRs, and purchase orders that use the suspended project funds after Jan. 24, 2025. D. Do not sign or commit to signing new consultancies, partnership agreements, grant beneficiary agreements, procurement agreements, or any other third-party agreements. E. Suspend or to the extent possible cancel signed POs/procurement contracts. F. Do not provide new advances to implementing partners, vendors, or other third parties. Expedite the liquidation of previous advances to ensure timely recording of expenses. The move coincides with efforts by other U.N. agencies and contractors to rein in spending. On Jan. 27, Filippo Grandi, the U.N. high commissioner for refugees, imposed a freeze on all international air travel, workshops, and events, and ordered a 90-day delay in the purchase of nonemergency supplies, according to an internal email obtained by Devex. It remains unclear whether the Trump administration will ultimately end funding for the migration agency’s U.S. resettlement work to align with the administration’s “America First” foreign aid policy. But if the suspension is lifted, according to the memo, IOM offices would be required to “Conduct a full financial review of costs incurred during the suspension period. Resume program activities in accordance with donor guidelines and adjusted work plan.”