Amy Pope, director general of the International Organisation for Migration, talks to the media at the UN's European headquarters in Geneva after assuming the post in October 2023. EPA
Amy Pope, director general of the International Organisation for Migration, talks to the media at the UN's European headquarters in Geneva after assuming the post in October 2023. EPA
Amy Pope, director general of the International Organisation for Migration, talks to the media at the UN's European headquarters in Geneva after assuming the post in October 2023. EPA
Amy Pope, director general of the International Organisation for Migration, talks to the media at the UN's European headquarters in Geneva after assuming the post in October 2023. EPA

UN migration chief calls for access to help Gazans, who have 'nowhere else to turn'


Lizzie Porter
  • English
  • Arabic

Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) is seeking access to assist people in Gaza, where the scale of displacement is “enormous” and “people have nowhere else to turn”, the head of the UN agency told The National.

The IOM has 40,000 tents, hygiene kits and cooking kits waiting in warehouses in Jordan that have been unable to enter the Palestinian enclave since a ceasefire broke down in March, its Director General Amy Pope said.

“We have things that that will just give the most basic of life-saving support to people, but we can't get it in,” Ms Pope said in a wide-ranging interview with The National following the Astana International Forum in the capital of Kazakhstan. “So that's what we're asking for ... access to the communities who are in need.”

Ninety per cent of Gaza’s population, around 1.9 million people, have been displaced, according to the IOM. More than half of them children, and many have been displaced several times.

Palestinians sit on rubble at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, in Jabalia, northern Gaza, on Thursday. Reuters
Palestinians sit on rubble at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, in Jabalia, northern Gaza, on Thursday. Reuters

A US-backed body, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, has been tasked with carrying out aid distribution without a halt to the fighting, but the UN has rejected participating in the scheme.

Israel says the foundation is a way of providing aid without it falling into the hands of Hamas, whom Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government accuses of looting food supplies.

It has been shunned by UN agencies and humanitarian organisations, who say the operation puts civilian lives in danger and could cause further mass displacement.

A former adviser to US Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, Ms Pope said she saw very few buildings that remained standing when she visited Gaza in February during a ceasefire. At that time, residents’ number one concern was lack of safe shelter, she said.

“I met people who had effectively nowhere else to turn,” she said. Since the ceasefire ended, “our ability to get anything in to support shelter has been nonexistent, and so we know that that the suffering has only increased enormously.”

The death toll in Gaza stands at more than 54,000, including more than 4,000 who were killed since Israel resumed military operations on March 18, according to the territory's health ministry. The strip’s entire population is at risk of famine, the UN’s Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Friday.

Mr Netanyahu said last week that Israel would control the whole of the Gaza Strip at the end of its continuing military offensive. The renewed assault has prompted condemnation and pledges to review trade ties from some of Israel’s closest allies, including the UK and EU.

Israel's right-wing Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said the army “aims to occupy and cleanse areas in Gaza”, raising fears of forced displacement, widely considered a violation of international law.

“We cannot be a part of forced displacement, and obviously we urge all countries to abide by international law, which forbids forced displacement,” Ms Pope said.

Israel's military says it is ordering people to leave locations in Gaza for their own safety, although it has also attacked designated “safe zones”. Its eviction orders, in the form of leaflets, phone calls and text messages, also come with inadequate notice, according to humanitarian organisations.

Gazans’ right to return to their homes is paramount, Ms Pope said. “What’s critical is enable people to get out of harm's way, enable people to go back home. They shouldn't have to choose.”

Global need for safe migration routes

Beyond Gaza, Ms Pope wants people to look beyond the UN to shape responses to migration, as attitudes towards the issue harden in many parts of the world.

“I don't always think the UN is the best advocate for better policy," she said. “We're looking to the private sector, who tell us all the time that they need sustainable workforces.”

Without addressing the key drivers of migration, including climate change, conflict and a paucity of opportunities, tough border controls will not work, said Ms Pope, who was elected to her role in 2023 and is the first woman to lead the IOM.

“We know that as much as a government is investing in controlling borders, unless it invests in addressing why people are moving in the first place, it's always going to have a gap between policy and outcome,” she said.

In Kazakhstan, the government has the opposite attitude of many western nations, where safe and legal paths to migration have shut down.

As well as workers from other central Asian countries like Uzbekistan, the resource-rich middle power is attracting migrants from South Asian countries including India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

“There is a strong interest from the government in promoting safe and regular migration,” Ms Pope said.

The IOM is encouraging all governments to seriously consider provision of safe and legal routes for migrants, who can fill labour shortages and improve diversity.

“It's difficult in the political climate,” Ms Pope said. “But from a strategic and economic development point of view, it makes a lot of sense.”

SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20Z%20FLIP%204
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Dubai World Cup Carnival Thursday race card

6.30pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes Group Three US$200,000 (Turf) 2,000m
7.05pm: Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,600m​​​​​​​
7.40pm: UAE Oaks Group Three $250,000 (Dirt) 1,900m​​​​​​​
8.15pm: Zabeel Mile Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,600m​​​​​​​
8.50pm: Meydan Sprint Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,000m​​​​​​​
9.25pm: Handicap $135,000 (D) 1,400m
10pm: Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,600m

ENGLAND SQUAD

Team: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Ben Te'o, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 1 Mako Vunipola, 2 Dylan Hartley, 3 Dan Cole, 4 Joe Launchbury, 5 Maro Itoje, 6 Courtney Lawes, 7 Chris Robshaw, 8 Sam Simmonds

Replacements 16 Jamie George, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Harry Williams, 19 George Kruis, 20 Sam Underhill, 21 Danny Care, 22 Jonathan Joseph, 23 Jack Nowell

KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN MARITIME DISPUTE

2000: Israel withdraws from Lebanon after nearly 30 years without an officially demarcated border. The UN establishes the Blue Line to act as the frontier.

2007: Lebanon and Cyprus define their respective exclusive economic zones to facilitate oil and gas exploration. Israel uses this to define its EEZ with Cyprus

2011: Lebanon disputes Israeli-proposed line and submits documents to UN showing different EEZ. Cyprus offers to mediate without much progress.

2018: Lebanon signs first offshore oil and gas licencing deal with consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek.

2018-2019: US seeks to mediate between Israel and Lebanon to prevent clashes over oil and gas resources.

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Rain Management

Year started: 2017

Based: Bahrain

Employees: 100-120

Amount raised: $2.5m from BitMex Ventures and Blockwater. Another $6m raised from MEVP, Coinbase, Vision Ventures, CMT, Jimco and DIFC Fintech Fund

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Emergency phone numbers in the UAE

Estijaba – 8001717 –  number to call to request coronavirus testing

Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111

Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre

Emirates airline – 600555555

Etihad Airways – 600555666

Ambulance – 998

Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries

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Milestones on the road to union

1970

October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar. 

December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.

1971

March 1:  Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.

July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.

July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.

August 6:  The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.

August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.

September 3: Qatar becomes independent.

November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.

November 29:  At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.

November 30: Despite  a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa. 

November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties

December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.

December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.

Employment lawyer Meriel Schindler of Withers Worldwide shares her tips on achieving equal pay
 
Do your homework
Make sure that you are being offered a fair salary. There is lots of industry data available, and you can always talk to people who have come out of the organisation. Where I see people coming a cropper is where they haven’t done their homework.
 
Don’t be afraid to negotiate

It’s quite standard to negotiate if you think an offer is on the low side. The job is unlikely to be withdrawn if you ask for money, and if that did happen I’d question whether you want to work for an employer who is so hypersensitive.
 
Know your worth
Women tend to be a bit more reticent to talk about their achievements. In my experience they need to have more confidence in their own abilities – men will big up what they’ve done to get a pay rise, and to compete women need to turn up the volume.
 
Work together
If you suspect men in your organisation are being paid more, look your boss in the eye and say, “I want you to assure me that I’m paid equivalent to my peers”. If you’re not getting a straight answer, talk to your peer group and consider taking direct action to fix inequality.

Updated: May 30, 2025, 5:23 PM