IOM Director General António Vitorino, 61 (DOB 12 January 1957), is a former European Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs (1999-2004) and Portugal’s former Minister of the Presidency and National Defence (1995-1997). He has also enjoyed a distinguished career in Portugal as a lawyer as well as in electoral politics.

Mr. Vitorino was elected to Portugal’s Parliament in 1980. In 1983 he became Secretary of State for Parliamentary Affairs. He later served as Deputy Secretary for the Governor of Macau until 1989, when he returned to Lisbon to become a judge of the Constitutional Court, a term that ended in 1994. He subsequently served as Minister for National Defence and Deputy Prime Minister within the government of António Guterres, now the United Nations’ Secretary General.

From 1999 to 2004, Mr. Vitorino served as the European Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs. During his tenure, Mr. Vitorino participated in conversations that led to the drawing of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the Convention on the Future of Europe.

Since exiting politics in 2005, Mr. Vitorino has returned to law, serving as a partner with the firm of Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira & Associados. Mr. Vitorino has been President of the think tank Notre Europe since June 2011 and for many years enjoyed an ongoing role as commentator for the leading Portuguese television channel RTP 1.

Mr. Vitorino earned a degree from the University of Lisbon’s School of Law in 1981, as well as a Master’s Degree in Legal and Political Science. He has authored works on Constitutional Law, Political Science, European Community Law, and was also a member of the Drafting Committee of the Portuguese White Book on Corporate Governance.

Roberto Suárez Santos was appointed Deputy Secretary-General at the IOE Secretariat in December 2012. He is a trained lawyer with experience in European and international labour law, as well as in international relations.

Prior to his appointment as Deputy Secretary-General, Roberto was based in Tunisia, working for the International Labour Organization (ILO) as Programme Director for the promotion of youth employment in the Maghreb region. Before that, he worked at the Spanish Confederation of Employer’s Organisations (CEOE) in various capacities which covered the spectrum from comparative labour policies and labour relations to youth unemployment and social and employment policy. His most recent position at CEOE was Head of the European and International Social Area, where he managed, implemented and evaluated social and youth employment projects.

Roberto has also been involved in academia. He has taught European Social Law as an associate professor at both the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and the Universidad Pontificia de Comillas in Spain.

Roberto was a member of the European Social Dialogue Committee and has also worked as President of the CSR group for the European employer’s organisation, Businesseurope. He was Businesseurope’s Vice-President for Labour Affairs for several years and has been the spokesperson for European employers at Euromed meetings such as Marrakech (2009) Barcelona (2010) and Brussels (2011). Roberto was Vice-President of BIAC’s Employment and Labour Affairs Committee, and has also been a member of various follow up committees for the European Social Fund and the EU Economic and Social committee. 

Ms. Okai has over 30 years of experience in the Japanese Foreign Service and in the United Nations, most recently serving as Consul-General of Japan in Vancouver, Canada.  She possesses an extensive track record in development, humanitarian response, disaster management and peace building work, at both the strategic and operational levels.

Throughout her career, she has closely engaged in the evolution of international cooperation frameworks in different capacities, including the forging of historic institutional reforms of the international cooperation apparatus in Japan, and implementing innovative financial mechanisms to support reliable humanitarian funding model as Japan’s Director of Humanitarian Assistance.  Ms. Okai has held several diplomatic senior positions worldwide and closely worked with the United Nations Headquarters, both in the Permanent Mission of Japan to the UN and as a Senior Member of the Office of the President of the 66th UN General Assembly.  She holds a Master’s of Arts in History of Art, Emmanuel College, Cambridge University and a Bachelor’s degree in Law, Hitotsubashi University, Japan.

Stephane Jaquemet is ICMC’s Director of Policy since February 2018. He is a lawyer and an experienced humanitarian professional with substantial expertise in the policy field.

Before joining ICMC, Stephane spent 25 years working with the UN Refugee Agency, with assignments in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. Most recently, he was UNHCR’s Regional Representative for Southern Europe, based in Rome. Prior to that, he served in UNHCR headquarters as Senior Legal Advisor, then Chief of Section, Protection Capacity and Promotion of Refugee Law. He has also worked at the International Committee of the Red Cross as a delegate in Africa and the Middle East and as a Legal Officer in Geneva. Jaquemet has also worked for the Swiss faith-based aid organization Entraide Protestante Suisse, and as a lawyer in private practice.

Stephane is a Swiss national. He completed his Law Degree at the University of Lausanne. He holds a Master of Advanced Studies in Criminology from the University of Paris II Pantheon. Stephane is fluent in French, English, Spanish and Italian and has notions of Arabic.

Twenty-three years of experience in conflict prevention, political analysis, human rights and protection including at senior strategic and management level and in the field in varied positions including at the United Nations and International Crisis Group; postings in New York, Brussels, Jakarta, Geneva, Baghdad, Dili (Timor Leste), and Phnom Penh; participation in human rights fact-finding missions; experience in political negotiations, peace missions, strategy and programme development, high-level advocacy, fundraising, speech writing; establishing and running of complex UN operations (East Timor, Iraq); the management of front offices and critical project teams in UN and NGO settings.

Kathleen Newland is a Senior Fellow and Co-Founder of the Migration Policy Institute. Her focus is on the relationship between migration and development, the governance of international migration, and refugee protection. She is also the Founding Director of the International diaspora Engagement Alliance (IdEA) during its incubation phase at MPI from 2011-13; IdEA was established as a partnership among MPI, the State Department, and U.S. Agency for International Development. She is a Member of the MPI Board of Trustees.

Previously, at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, she was a Senior Associate and then Co-Director of the International Migration Policy Program (1994-01). She sits on the Board of Overseers of the International Rescue Committee and the boards of directors of USA for UNHCR, the Stimson Center, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), and the Foundation for The Hague Process on Migrants and Refugees. She also is a Chair Emerita of the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children.

Prior to joining the Migration Program at the Carnegie Endowment in 1994, Ms. Newland worked as an independent consultant for such clients as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Bank, and the office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. From 1988-92, Ms. Newland was on the faculty of the London School of Economics. During that time, she also co-founded (with Lord David Owen) and directed Humanitas, an educational trust dedicated to increasing awareness of international humanitarian issues.

From 1982 to 1988, she worked at the United Nations University in Tokyo as Special Assistant to the Rector. She began her career as a researcher at Worldwatch Institute in 1974

Mr. Gois is the Regional Coordinator of Migrant Forum in Asia, a regional network of migrants' organizations, NGOs, advocates, grassroots organizations and trade unions working to promote the rights and well being of migrant workers and members of their families. He also chairs Migrants Rights International (MRI), an international non-government organization with consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). For over ten years, he is at the forefront of international advocacy efforts engaging and influencing international and multilateral organizations to promote and protect the human rights and labor rights of migrant workers and members of their families through fair and informed migration and sustainable development policies. He facilitates the network to engage with regional and internationals platforms and work closely with the UN treaty bodies, in particular with the Committee on Migrant Workers and the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. He also heads a team to the International Labour Conference (ILC) of the International Labour Organization to monitor the development of labor migration issues within the ILO framework.

IOM Director General António Vitorino, 61 (DOB 12 January 1957), is a former European Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs (1999-2004) and Portugal’s former Minister of the Presidency and National Defence (1995-1997). He has also enjoyed a distinguished career in Portugal as a lawyer as well as in electoral politics.

Mr. Vitorino was elected to Portugal’s Parliament in 1980. In 1983 he became Secretary of State for Parliamentary Affairs. He later served as Deputy Secretary for the Governor of Macau until 1989, when he returned to Lisbon to become a judge of the Constitutional Court, a term that ended in 1994. He subsequently served as Minister for National Defence and Deputy Prime Minister within the government of António Guterres, now the United Nations’ Secretary General.

From 1999 to 2004, Mr. Vitorino served as the European Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs. During his tenure, Mr. Vitorino participated in conversations that led to the drawing of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the Convention on the Future of Europe.

Since exiting politics in 2005, Mr. Vitorino has returned to law, serving as a partner with the firm of Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira & Associados. Mr. Vitorino has been President of the think tank Notre Europe since June 2011 and for many years enjoyed an ongoing role as commentator for the leading Portuguese television channel RTP 1.

Mr. Vitorino earned a degree from the University of Lisbon’s School of Law in 1981, as well as a Master’s Degree in Legal and Political Science. He has authored works on Constitutional Law, Political Science, European Community Law, and was also a member of the Drafting Committee of the Portuguese White Book on Corporate Governance.

Mr. Gois is the Regional Coordinator of Migrant Forum in Asia, a regional network of migrants' organizations, NGOs, advocates, grassroots organizations and trade unions working to promote the rights and well being of migrant workers and members of their families. He also chairs Migrants Rights International (MRI), an international non-government organization with consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). For over ten years, he is at the forefront of international advocacy efforts engaging and influencing international and multilateral organizations to promote and protect the human rights and labor rights of migrant workers and members of their families through fair and informed migration and sustainable development policies. He facilitates the network to engage with regional and internationals platforms and work closely with the UN treaty bodies, in particular with the Committee on Migrant Workers and the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. He also heads a team to the International Labour Conference (ILC) of the International Labour Organization to monitor the development of labor migration issues within the ILO framework.

Dr. Omar Alnuaimi is the Assistant Undersecretary for Communication and International Relations at the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization in United Arab Emirates. He also leads the permanent secretariat of Abu Dhabi Dialogue. For the last several years, Alnuaimi has been engaged in international fora that focus on the holistic governance of temporary work migration. He has worked on the development of labor market policies and labor market information system.

Dr. Omar is a member of the UAE Gender Balance Council, where he works with his colleagues on developing and implementing polices to promote gender balance in the private sector. Alnuaimi has a PhD degree in Business Administration from the University of Arkansas, and had worked for several years as an Assistant Professor in the United Arab Emirates University.

Laura Thompson is the Deputy Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). She is responsible for assisting the Director General in administering and managing the Organization; conducting the political dialogue and building IOM relationships with governments, UN agencies, civil society and the private sector; as well as in defining policies, strategies and prioritised action. Prior to this position, Laura Thompson was the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the UN and other International Organizations in Geneva. She also served at the Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva in a prior occasion and at the Delegation to UNESCO.

In addition to her diplomatic experience, Laura has held posts as Legal Officer in two UN Organisations. Laura Thompson obtained a Master’s degree in international relations, with a specialization in international law, from the Graduate Institute for International Studies of Geneva and holds a degree in law from the University of Costa Rica. She has also completed Executive Education at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and INSEAD. In addition to Spanish, which is her mother tongue, Laura Thompson is fluent in English, French and Greek, and has a basic knowledge of Italian and Portuguese.

Kathleen Newland is a Senior Fellow and Co-Founder of the Migration Policy Institute. Her focus is on the relationship between migration and development, the governance of international migration, and refugee protection. She is also the Founding Director of the International diaspora Engagement Alliance (IdEA) during its incubation phase at MPI from 2011-13; IdEA was established as a partnership among MPI, the State Department, and U.S. Agency for International Development. She is a Member of the MPI Board of Trustees.

Previously, at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, she was a Senior Associate and then Co-Director of the International Migration Policy Program (1994-01). She sits on the Board of Overseers of the International Rescue Committee and the boards of directors of USA for UNHCR, the Stimson Center, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), and the Foundation for The Hague Process on Migrants and Refugees. She also is a Chair Emerita of the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children.

Prior to joining the Migration Program at the Carnegie Endowment in 1994, Ms. Newland worked as an independent consultant for such clients as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Bank, and the office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. From 1988-92, Ms. Newland was on the faculty of the London School of Economics. During that time, she also co-founded (with Lord David Owen) and directed Humanitas, an educational trust dedicated to increasing awareness of international humanitarian issues.

From 1982 to 1988, she worked at the United Nations University in Tokyo as Special Assistant to the Rector. She began her career as a researcher at Worldwatch Institute in 1974

Mr. Mudyawabikwa is a minister counsellor (Labour attache) at the Zimbabwe Permanent Mission to the United Nations Office  and other International Organizations in Geneva responsible for Migration , Humanitarian and ILO issues.

Before  joining the Mission he was involved in a host of migration related  activities in Zimbabwe ranging from development of migration policy frameworks , bilateral agreements to assistance and reintegration of returnees.

Recently, Mr. Mudyawabikwa was part of the Africa group that was participating in the inter-governmental negotiations of the GCM

Ms. Okai has over 30 years of experience in the Japanese Foreign Service and in the United Nations, most recently serving as Consul-General of Japan in Vancouver, Canada.  She possesses an extensive track record in development, humanitarian response, disaster management and peace building work, at both the strategic and operational levels.

Throughout her career, she has closely engaged in the evolution of international cooperation frameworks in different capacities, including the forging of historic institutional reforms of the international cooperation apparatus in Japan, and implementing innovative financial mechanisms to support reliable humanitarian funding model as Japan’s Director of Humanitarian Assistance.  Ms. Okai has held several diplomatic senior positions worldwide and closely worked with the United Nations Headquarters, both in the Permanent Mission of Japan to the UN and as a Senior Member of the Office of the President of the 66th UN General Assembly.  She holds a Master’s of Arts in History of Art, Emmanuel College, Cambridge University and a Bachelor’s degree in Law, Hitotsubashi University, Japan.

José Luis Pardo He entered the Spanish Diplomatic Service in 1993. After serving in the Directorate for Europe (OSCE and Council of Europe) he was posted abroad at the Embassies of Spain in Libya (as Deputy Head of Mission 1996-1999), Jordan (as Deputy Head of Mission 1999-2002) and Germany (as Counsellor for EU Affairs 2002-2005). From 2007 to 2014 he was Deputy Director General for EU Foreign Policy and Trade Affairs. Nominated Ambassador of Spain in the Republic of Niger for the period 2014-2017. Since July 2017 he is Ambassador at Large for Migratory Issues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, EU and Cooperation. He has a Law Degree (University of Salamanca 1985-1990), a Master in European Law (College of Europe Bruges 1990-1991) and a Degree on History of Art (UNED 2012-2018). He speaks Spanish, English, French, German and Italian.

Academic background

Laura Thompson is the Deputy Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). She is responsible for assisting the Director General in administering and managing the Organization; conducting the political dialogue and building IOM relationships with governments, UN agencies, civil society and the private sector; as well as in defining policies, strategies and prioritised action. Prior to this position, Laura Thompson was the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the UN and other International Organizations in Geneva. She also served at the Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva in a prior occasion and at the Delegation to UNESCO.

In addition to her diplomatic experience, Laura has held posts as Legal Officer in two UN Organisations. Laura Thompson obtained a Master’s degree in international relations, with a specialization in international law, from the Graduate Institute for International Studies of Geneva and holds a degree in law from the University of Costa Rica. She has also completed Executive Education at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and INSEAD. In addition to Spanish, which is her mother tongue, Laura Thompson is fluent in English, French and Greek, and has a basic knowledge of Italian and Portuguese.

H.E. Amb. Evan P. Garcia, is the Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

Prior to his appointment to Geneva, he had been serving as Ambassador of the Philippines to the United Kingdom and non-resident Ambassador to Ireland since May 2016.

He was Undersecretary for Policy at the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade from 2013 to 2016.

He served as the Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations Office at Geneva from 2010 to 2013. Prior to this, Ambassador Garcia served in various capacities in the home office, including in the Office of Asian and Pacific Affairs, the Office of ASEAN Affairs, and the Office of the Secretary.

Among his foreign assignments, Mr. Garcia served as Consul and Economic Officer in the Embassy of the Philippines to Japan, and as a Political Officer, Acting Consul General, and Acting Deputy Chief of Mission in the Embassy of the Philippines to the United States. Mr. Garcia has a License in international relations and political science from the Graduate Institute for International Studies in Geneva (1981) and a Bachelor of Science degree in foreign service from the University of the Philippines in Diliman. He is married and has one son.