Trump’s pick to run #UNMigrationAgency is right person to tackle Europe’s refugee crisis

There are few international organizations I respect more than the International Organization for Migration (IOM).  The work they accomplish around the world protecting and serving those suffering during forced migration has taken on a new level of importance given the migration crisis facing Europe and the international community. Most recently, IOM led a joint taskforce with the EU and African Union to give assistance to 16,000 migrants in Libya and continues to provide much needed resources for refugees across Europe, helping them acclimatize and integrate into the communities they now find themselves in. With forced migration weighing heavily on the European and international consciousness, the IOM is providing much-needed leadership and co-ordination, writes Andrew S. Natsios.

At this critical juncture, and with an upcoming change in management at the Geneva-based IOM, the world cannot afford leadership by bureaucracy. The unprecedented levels of forced migration that we are witnessing in recent times are now subject to the trappings of an ever more globalized world. Responding to an age-old phenomenon in a way that addresses these new factors is a task that will require on-the-ground experience and knowledge that goes beyond the red tape that plagues a good many international organizations.

It is difficult to imagine a person better equipped to lead IOM as Director General than the United States nominee, Ken Isaacs (pictured). I would venture to say that in the history of the IOM never has there been anyone elected to the position with more senior executive leadership experience and deeper understanding of humanitarian principles and programs than Ken Isaacs.

I first met Ken in the early 1990s while I was serving as Director of USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance.  Non-profit international relief agency Samaritan’s Purse was beginning a program in South Sudan. The situation was precarious and few organizations were willing to brave the violence that characterized life in Sudan at the time; in fact, very few NGOs had any sort of presence in the country at all. All the while, a quarter of a million South-Sudanese, most of them children, were dying from a famine brought on by severe floods and compounded by a brutal and ongoing civil war. Yet there was Ken, leading Samaritan Purse’s efforts, providing life-saving humanitarian assistance to the Sudanese people despite the great personal risk to himself and his team. In the years that followed our first meeting in Sudan, I watched as Ken continued to lead complex humanitarian response programs in Pakistan, Bosnia, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Somalia, and beyond.

A willingness to put one’s own life in danger to help others is not a common trait. But it is one which Ken demonstrated time and time again throughout his career. No matter the danger of the situation and without recourse to his personal beliefs, Ken was determined to do what he could to provide assistance to those he was able to help.  This is precisely why I asked him to lead USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance in 2004. When disaster struck on Boxing Day in 2004, Ken led the U.S. government’s response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, coordinating efforts to provide relief for people whose lives had been turned upside down in a matter of hours.  In 2005, he directed the provision of US assistance to the victims of the Kashmir earthquake in Pakistan and, true to character, his work was marked by competence, compassion, and a profound respect for all.

American leadership at the IOM is of historic importance. Customarily led by an American since the 1960s, US leadership carries significant weight, particularly considering that the United States alone is responsible for nearly thirty percent of the total operating budget of the IOM. It has never been more important for the US to continue to demonstrate its leadership in advancing development and humanitarian assistance on the international stage and to show the world that we are still committed to ensuring that all human beings have the freedom to live in peace and with dignity. With an American at the helm of the IOM, we have an opportunity to put those values into action and lead the effort to create a safer, more compassionate and welcoming global society.

Ken has been with Samaritan’s Purse for the better part of thirty years. He was the first person to go overseas with Samaritan’s Purse and led the transformation of the organization from a small NGO with revenue of $30 million into a major player boasting a budget of nearly $900 million. Under Ken’s leadership, Samaritan’s Purse has defied common trends among organizations, which often lose their way as they grow, see their missions drift, or become lax in their quality of their work.  As Samaritan’s Purse has grown over the years, they have achieved more competence, accountability, and excellence in programming, not less.

One need not look any further for an example than the deployment of their emergency field hospital outside Mosul, Iraq last year, an enormously complex and dangerous endeavor. The expertise of Samaritan’s Purse allows them to continue to operate in highly dangerous zones while assisting in relief efforts for those whose everyday lives have been consumed by the horrors of war. Whether in Bangladesh providing diphtheria treatment to the Rohingya people, or in Sudan or Iraq, the Samaritan’s Purse field operations under the leadership of Ken Isaacs have been marked by excellence and a commitment to serving all regardless of their background or belief. Ken has not only the depth of experience to inform the decisions he would have to make as Director General but also the compassion and courage to drive forward the mission of the IOM. I ask European governments to support the US nominee for IOM – I can’t think of anyone better prepared to face the challenges ahead.

Andrew Natsios is the former administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, former US Envoy to Sudan, and former vice president of World Vision, US.

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