GENEVA (AP) — The new head of the U.N.'s migration agency said Monday that the private sector is “desperate” for their countries to take in migrants to mop up labor shortages, especially in the West — endeavoring to steer a narrative away from reticence and suspicion about migrants in many parts of the world.
”We hear from ... the private sector globally, but especially in Europe and in North America, that they are desperate for migration in order to meet their own labor market needs and in order to continue to fuel innovation within their own companies,” Pope, who is American, told reporters.
Pope insisted that countries must ensure legal and proper “pathways” to migration, a longstanding call by U.N. institutions.
Pope officially took over Sunday from Antonio Vitorino of Portugal, her former boss, whom she outlasted in a U.S.-vs.-European Union showdown earlier this year.
The Geneva-based agency has only had two non-American directors-general since its founding in 1951, and today it brings together 175 member countries and more than 20,000 staff.
Persons:
Amy Pope, ” Pope, That’s, Biden, —, Pope, ”, “, Antonio Vitorino
Organizations:
GENEVA, International Organization for Migration, Union
Locations:
reticence, United States, Latin America, Europe, North America, East Africa, Africa, Asia, Portugal, U.S, Geneva, American