18 December - Migration can benefit us all

Migration can be a positive and empowering experience, for migrants themselves but also for their host communities and the places they leave behind. Many migrants, however, face discrimination, exploitation and abuse.

Too often the political debate on migration is negative and the global economic crisis has amplified this. Many countries have tightened restrictions and adopted measures that reinforce the impression that migrants are to blame. In fact, far from causing the crisis, migration is part of the long-term solution. Even in places with high unemployment there is generally a demand for foreign workers in particular sectors, where they provide the skills needed to propel economic growth. Moreover, the migration stereotypes and statistics peddled by sections of the media are rarely borne out in reality.

The 2009 UNDP Human Development Report attempts to dispel some of these myths. It points out that the overwhelming majority of migrants do not go abroad at all, but instead move within their own country - often from rural to urban areas. Of the 200 million (3% of the world's population) who do move across borders, just a third go from a developing to a developed country. The Report also proposes a bold set of reforms that aim to amplify the contribution of migration to development and find solutions that benefit both migrants and their destination communities.

Click here to visit the UN International Migrants Day website
Click here to read UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay's remarks
Click here for a comprehensive Human Rights Watch report on why 2009 has been a bad year for migrants