Evacuating expatriates in disaster or conflict situations

In 1990, the United Nations, the Commission of the European Communities, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and other organizations, undertook an emergency programme to evacuate people who were stranded in other neighbouring countries after having fled Kuwait and Iraq. IOM teams were sent to several countries in the region to organize air lifts. Over 850,000 people, mostly nationals of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Sudan, were air lifted back to their country of origin.