On Dec. 4, 2000, the UN General Assembly declared that Dec. 18 would be International Migrants Day. The UN's decision to adopt an International Migrants Day is indicative of the increasing number of migrants (who now compose three per cent of the global population) and the need to address the complex socio-political issues surrounding mass migration.  The UN hopes that the day will encourage the international community to protect the human rights of all migrant.

Here are a collection of migration related links:

•June 2005 – The International Organisation for Migration's (IOM) World Migration Report 2005 refutes the belief that migration imposes a burden on the welfare systems of receiving countries is unfounded.  The report states that most migrants contribute much more in taxes than they receive in benefits.

•June 2002 – The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) produces a report warning that the global preoccupation with security in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the USA threatens to undermine economic globalisation and could damage long-term economic growth.  The report predicts a crackdown on illegal migrant workers in developed countries, which would reduce the remittances sent back to home countries.

•January 1952 - The International Refugee Organization (IRO) concludes its operations. A total of 1,619,008 persons had received some form of assistance from the Organization.

•December 1951 - The Naples Conference on Migration is attended by delegates from 27 countries.

•October 1945 - An estimated 13,000,000 Germans are forced to evacuate Poland, Czechoslovakia, Silesia and East Prussia.  The New York Herald-Tribune describes the movement as: "one of the greatest mass migrations in history…flowing like a gigantic tidal wave into the Russian-occupied zone".