ABSTRACT
Since the genesis of cooperation in the field of international migration in the 1950s, significant developments have occurred. The number of international migrants has doubled in the last 40 years. In addition, whereas only a few countries were affected by migration in the 1960s (Massey 1998: 7; United Nations Population Division 2002), the contemporary geographic impact is far more widespread.1 There is also greater diversity in the categories of mobility: people (both men and women, representing respectively 51% and 49% of migrants) move for various reasons ranging from family reunification to employment. These increases in scope, impact and complexity of migration are
developing in a context in which countries often share common objectives given their status as countries of destination, transit and origin of migrants. Furthermore, international human mobility is more frequently associated with other international issue-areas such as development, security, demography, health, etc. These factors combined create greater incentive to strengthen international cooperation in this area.
