The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, warns that externalised asylum and migration policies must be carefully designed to avoid serious human rights risks. His report highlights how transferring asylum, return, and border control functions to other countries can expose migrants to torture, arbitrary detention, and collective expulsions. Particular risks arise in the external processing of asylum claims, return procedures including “return hubs,” and outsourcing of border control. The Commissioner calls on states to adopt precautionary approaches, safeguard vulnerable people, and ensure transparency and accountability.

This research paper introduces the "IRMIGRIGHT", the first bespoke database of social and labour rights of irregularly staying migrants in twenty-eight European countries. A number of findings emerge from the data analysis, including the fact that, on average, irregularly staying migrants have significantly weaker social rights than labour rights.

In this report (which is available in Dutch and French) Myria analyses the broader migration context. It argues against pushbacks and for more legal pathways for people in need of protection.

This paper, which is entitled 'The EU’s New Migration Partnership with Mali: Shifting towards a Risky Security-Migration-Development Nexus', seeks to understand why and how the EU has been redefining its migration strategy regarding Mali.

This publication takes stock of recent EU developments in the area of asylum, borders and external cooperation on migration.

This new policy brief offers a critical analysis of the reignited trend of externalised EU migration policies that appear to be moving towards a model of offshore processing, as used by Australia. By looking at the proposed CEAS reform, it lays out the fundamental concerns connected with the use of such a model and notes the flaws in the economic and “migration management” justifications for offshoring.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has been producing world migration reports since 2000. This year’s edition presents key data and information on migration as well as thematic chapters on highly topical migration issues.

The International Migration Report 2017 reviews the latest migration trends, assesses the demographic contribution of migration, examines the status of ratification of relevant conventions and summarizes recent developments on migration at the United Nations. 

This study by the Ethical Journalism Network and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) aims to understand the prevailing media narratives on migration in different national contexts. It looks at their strengths and shortcomings, and provides some insight into the interplay between editorial lines, political narratives, journalistic approaches and public discourse.

This report provides a broad overview of recent trends in international migration flows and migration policies in OECD countries and some non-OECD countries.

What image do irregular migrants and their representatives have of voluntary return? Is voluntary return well-known? These topics are the focus of a study carried out by the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL).

This study, published by the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), focuses on links between the Europe 2020 Strategy and undocumented migrants.

This report by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights aims to estimate the economic cost of providing timely access to healthcare for migrants in an irregular situation, compared with providing treatment only in emergency cases.

The Frontex Annual Risk Analysis (ARA) presents a European summary of trends and developments along the external borders of the Member States of the EU.

In this new policy brief of the Migration Policy Centre (MPC), Luigi Achilli describes the situation of Syrian refugees registered with UNHCR in Jordan, the European approach and the changing attitude of the government of Jordan.

This policy brief, produced by the Migration Policy Centre, focuses on immigration to Europe via the Mediterranean and related issues such as smuggling, sea routes, Mare Nostrum and risks encountered by migrants. It also provides statistics and data.

The annual "activity report" 2013 of the Immigration Office is available.

This paper published in March 2014 examines the sanctions applied to counteract irregular migration.

This very first edition of the IOM Brussels Country Office (CO) Year Report will give you a brief overview of activities undertaken in 2012 allowing a focus on specific areas of interest linked to the Belgian and Luxembourg migration context and more broadly to the European and global context.

This publication focuses on Brazilian migrants who have resided in Belgium and who
returned to Brazil through the system of voluntary return. The thesis investigates if and how
these returnees become actors of development in their home region in Brazil.

This study provides an insight into the variety of transnational practices developed by people of Chinese, Congolese, Moroccan and Turkish origin residing in Belgium.

The publication commissionned by the DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, offers a descriptive and analytical assessment of the use of social assistance by migrants in 19 European Member States.

In this new publication, M. Maes, M.-C. Foblets and Ph. De Bruycker provide an analysis of the dynamic relationship of the external dimensions of EU asylum and migration policies.

Gallup’s ongoing World Poll surveys in more than 150 countries. The Many Faces of Global Migration report is an introduction to what Gallup has learned by asking migrants and potential migrants themselves about their lives.

Irregular migration is a subject of ongoing public debate in Europe. Policy makers are under pressure to reduce it and majorities often view it as a problem. Have policy interventions contributed to a decline in irregular migration? Have new hotspots of irregular entry emerged?