IOM, UNHCR, AND "MIXED MOVEMENTS": MIGRATION GOVERNANCE BETWEEN COOPERATION, OVERLAPPING MANDATES, AND THE INFLUENCE OF THE STATES

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between IOM and UNHCR starting from three data: the increasing presence of mixed flows of migrants, the problem of categorizing the migrant (forced/regular), and the revitalization of migration governance. The analysis next turns to the progressive expansion of the mandates of IOM and UNHCR, the peculiar and similar characteristics of the two entities, and the resulting "competition" of responses that affect the efficacy and validity of the actions promoted in the migration sphere. With the revitalization of migration governance through the 2016 New York Declaration, the IOM liaison agreement to the UN, and the development of the two Global Compacts: have the roles and respective mandates of IOM and UNHCR become clearer? Or do opportunities for tension and competition between the two entities remain? This competition of actions, combined with the lack of proper coordination and the presence of mixed flows, continues to raise several critical issues, especially for the protection of migrants.