Migration in an Interconnected World:
New Directions for Action

Release of the Global Commission on International Migration Report "Migration in an interconnected world: New directions for action"

The Global Commission on International Migration, which presented its Report to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and UN member states on 5 October 2005, says that the international community has failed to realize the full potential of international migration and has not risen to the many opportunities and challenges it presents. Greater coherence, cooperation and capacity are required for a more effective governance of migration, at national, regional and global levels.

In its report, the Commission provides a concise and yet wide-ranging analysis of key migration issues and stresses that migration and related policies must be based on shared objectives and a common vision. The Commission proposes a comprehensive, coherent and global action framework based on six broad principles for action and a number of related recommendations covering the role of migrants in a globalizing labour market, migration and development, irregular migration, migrants in society, the human rights of migrants, and the governance of migration.

The Commission’s Report explains that the number of international migrants has increased from 75 million to some 200 million in the past 30 years, and that migrants are now to be found in every part of the world.

This expansion in the scale and scope of migration seems certain to continue for the foreseeable future and may well accelerate, due to the growing developmental, demographic and democratic disparities that exist between different regions of the world. Migration is driven by some powerful economic, social and political forces, and states must acknowledge this reality.

In essence, the six broad principles state that:

• people should be able to migrate out of choice rather than necessity, in a safe and authorized manner and because their skills are valued and needed;
• the role of migrants in promoting economic growth, development and poverty reduction should be recognized and reinforced; migration must become an integral part of global development strategies;
• states, exercising their sovereign right to decide who enters their territory, should cooperate with each other in an effort to stem irregular migration, while fully respecting the rights of migrants and refugees and re-admitting those citizens who return to their home country;
• long-term and authorized migrants should be effectively integrated in the societies where they settle, so as to accommodate social diversity and foster social cohesion;
• migrants must be aware of their rights and respect their legal obligations; the human rights framework affecting international migrants should be implemented more effectively, so as to improve the protection and labour standards available to migrants;
• migration policies should be enhanced by improved coherence and strengthened capacity at the national level, by greater cooperation at the regional level, and more effective dialogue and consultation among governments and between international organizations.

The Commission is also publishing the supporting evidence for its conclusions and recommendations (click here). This supporting evidence includes a series of thematic papers (click here), a series of papers on migration issues in different regions of the world (click here), and reports of all the regional hearings, stakeholder consultations and expert meetings that the Commission has held over the past 21 months (click here).

Read the report

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The Commission

The Global Commission on International Migration was launched by the United Nations Secretary-General and a number of governments on December 9, 2003 in Geneva. It is comprised of 19 Commissioners, is independent and was given the mandate to provide the framework for the formulation of a coherent, comprehensive and global response to the issue of international migration.

Website 1 (URL) http://www.gcim.org/en

Author(s)

The Global Commission on International Migration (GCIM)