IOM Belize Expands Migration Support After 2017

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), the leading UN agency on migration, has played a pivotal role in Belize’s migration landscape since establishing its local office in 2010. Initially operating with a small team and limited programs, IOM Belize expanded significantly after 2017, launching major initiatives under the Western Hemisphere program. Over the past five years, the office has implemented at least seven impactful projects, investing nearly six million dollars in supporting migration management, capacity building, and community resilience. As IOM celebrates seventy-four years globally and looks ahead, its work in Belize continues to focus on innovative solutions and sustainable strategies for migration governance. Today we heard from Head of Office at IOM Belize, Diana Locke.

 

Diana Locke, Head of Office, International Organization for Migration

“IOM celebrated seventy-four years. We came about on the sixth of December 1951 in Europe to move people in Europe. It came to now we the International Organization for Migration, the newest UN agency that deals with migration. So, we only joined the UN in 2016. Belize joined IOM near 2000 but set up and office in 2010. In 2010 to 2020 we were operating with about two staff, limited programs. But in 2017 started the bigger program, the Western Hemisphere, but in 2020 is when we really took off with seven different programs. Two ran throughout and the others began and in a couple of years they ended. In the last five years, from 2020 to December 2025 we have definitely implemented seven projects. We have invested a little under six million dollars, all the activities, staff and everything. And now we are looking at the way forward.”