The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes that migration is a powerful driver of sustainable development, for migrants and their communities. It brings significant benefits in the form of skills, strengthening the labour force, investment and cultural diversity, and contributes to improving the lives of communities in their countries of origin through the transfer of skills and financial resources. 

The benefits of migration should not be seen only from the perspective of what migrants can bring to any given territory. The relationship between migration and sdevelopment is much more complex: the political, social and economic processes of potential destination countries will also determine how, where and when migration occurs. If migration is poorly governed, it can also negatively impact on development. Migrants can be put at risk and communities can come under strain. 

As outlined in the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, “migration is a multi-dimensional reality that cannot be addressed by one government policy sector alone”. IOM therefore applies a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to migration governance, striving to ensure that migration and migrants’ needs are considered across all policy areas, laws and regulations from health to education and from fiscal policies to trade.