New UN Migration Chief to Visit Africa on First Trip

New Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Amy Pope attends a press conference at the United Office in Geneva, on October 2, 2023. (AFP)
New Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Amy Pope attends a press conference at the United Office in Geneva, on October 2, 2023. (AFP)
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New UN Migration Chief to Visit Africa on First Trip

New Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Amy Pope attends a press conference at the United Office in Geneva, on October 2, 2023. (AFP)
New Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Amy Pope attends a press conference at the United Office in Geneva, on October 2, 2023. (AFP)

The new head of the UN's migration agency will visit Africa on her first official trip from Sunday to highlight the scale of migration happening around the continent.

Amy Pope, the first woman elected to lead the International Organization for Migration, will then head to Brussels as the 27-member EU bloc deals with a recent influx of migrant arrivals in Italy.

The American, who took office on October 1, will visit the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa, before meeting Ethiopian officials.

She will then travel to Kenya and Djibouti.

"Over 80 percent of the migration takes place in Africa," Pope said at a press briefing in Geneva, at a time when attention is particularly focused on migrants trying to reach Europe.

She also spoke of the large number of African migrants heading for the Gulf, highlighting "very, very troubling reports" about their treatment there.

"Ensuring that there is better protection and access for migrants to services in that context is important," she added.

"The evidence is fairly overwhelming that migration actually benefits economies... on the whole is a benefit," Pope went on, citing its role in "fueling the renovation or revitalization of ageing communities," while providing manpower and innovation.

"It's critical that IOM begin to engage these partners who recognize the benefits of migration and demonstrate to our member states how that can work in a very pragmatic way, rather than in a political way."

Pope meanwhile insisted she would "refrain from getting into any direct conflict with Elon Musk," who courted controversy this weekend in claiming that Berlin-funded migrant rescue operations in the Mediterranean could be seen as an "invasion" of Italy.

The tech billionaire is a migrant himself, having been born in South Africa, has Canadian nationality and lives in the United States.

"We hear especially in the technology space, there is an overwhelming need for new ideas (and) for people for a sustainable workforce.

"And frankly, migration is our most obvious way to build out a sustainable workforce," said Pope, urging investment in skills training as climate change encroaches on ever greater numbers of people.

Pope is to discuss with the African Union the best way of guaranteeing the movement of people, in particular to support the free trade agreements promoted by the organization.



Israel's Netanyahu Arrives in Hungary, Defying ICC Warrant

FILE PHOTO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to reporters next to the US house speaker at the US Capitol in Washington, US, February 7, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to reporters next to the US house speaker at the US Capitol in Washington, US, February 7, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo
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Israel's Netanyahu Arrives in Hungary, Defying ICC Warrant

FILE PHOTO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to reporters next to the US house speaker at the US Capitol in Washington, US, February 7, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to reporters next to the US house speaker at the US Capitol in Washington, US, February 7, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Budapest early Thursday on his first trip to Europe since 2023 and in defiance of the International Criminal Court (ICC)'s arrest warrant against him.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban extended an invitation to Netanyahu last November, a day after the ICC issued the arrest warrant over alleged war crimes in Gaza.

Orban vowed the EU member would not execute the warrant, despite being an ICC member, saying the court's decision "intervenes in an ongoing conflict... for political purposes".

"Welcome to Budapest, Benjamin Netanyahu!" wrote Hungary's Defense Minister Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky on Facebook as Netanyahu began his visit, and after greeting him at the airport in capital Budapest.

Netanyahu was welcomed with military honors, after which he will hold talks with Orban.

A joint news conference is expected around 12:30 pm (1030 GMT).

'Legal obligation'

Experts say the Israeli premier, who is scheduled to stay in Hungary until Sunday, is trying to diminish the impact of the court's decision, while hoping to drive attention away from tensions at home as he meets like-minded ally Orban.

"His ultimate goal is to regain the ability to travel wherever he wants," Moshe Klughaft, an international strategic consultant and former advisor to Netanyahu, told AFP.

"At first, he's flying to places where there's no risk of arrest, and in doing so, he's also paving the way to normalize his future travels."

Germany's chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz in February vowed to make sure Netanyahu can visit his country.

The Hungary trip "goes hand in hand with US sanctions against the ICC," Klughaft said, referring to the punitive measures US President Donald Trump imposed in February over what he described as "illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel".

The ICC, based in The Hague, stressed it would be Hungary's "legal obligation" and "responsibility towards other state parties" to enforce the court's decisions.

"When states have concerns in cooperating with the court, they may consult the court in a timely and efficient manner," ICC spokesman Fadi El-Abdallah said.

"However, it is not for states to unilaterally determine the soundness of the court's legal decisions," he added.

Hungary signed the Rome Statute, the international treaty that created the ICC, in 1999 and ratified it two years later during Orban's first term in office.

The ICC, set up in 2002, has no police of its own and relies on the cooperation of its 125 member states to carry out any arrest warrants.

However, Budapest has not promulgated the associated convention for constitutional reasons and therefore asserts it is not obliged to comply with the decisions of the ICC.

Hungary has also repeatedly floated leaving the ICC -- like Burundi and the Philippines -- and has already decided to do so, Radio Free Europe reported on Wednesday, citing diplomatic sources.

Increasing pressure

The ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant over allegations of crimes against humanity and war crimes -- including starvation as a method of warfare -- in Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.

The war was sparked by the militant Palestinian group's attack against Israel on October 7, 2023.

After Orban invited him, Netanyahu responded by thanking his counterpart for showing "moral clarity".

During the visit, Orban is expected to support Netanyahu on Trump's proposal to relocate more than two million Palestinians from Gaza to neighboring countries such as Egypt and Jordan.

Netanyahu's trip comes as he faces increasing pressure over his government's attempts to replace both the domestic security chief and attorney general, while expanding the power of politicians over the appointment of judges.

"One of Netanyahu's methods is controlling the Israeli agenda," Klughaft said, adding that the Hungary visit gives him a chance to set the conversation for days.

"In such a turbulent period, that's worth a lot to him."

In the past, some top leaders wanted by the ICC have thumbed their noses at the court and travelled to member states with impunity.

Mongolia ignored an ICC warrant last year when it welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin for a state visit.

Putin is accused of war crimes for the alleged illegal deportation of thousands of Ukrainian children since the Russian invasion in 2022.