Migration is a global reality. There are an estimated 281 million international migrants worldwide, and the majority of these migrants move between countries in a safe, orderly, and regular manner. However, too many still face unspeakable abuses and find themselves in vulnerable situations. 

If well governed, migration is an engine of economic growth, innovation, and sustainable development. It allows millions of people to seek new opportunities each year, creating and strengthening bonds between countries and societies. 

Yet migration is also a source of division within and between States and societies, often leaving migrants vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. In recent years, large movements of desperate people have cast a shadow over the broader benefits of migration. With the adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), Member States committed to making migration work for all. 

The GCM is the first-ever intergovernmentally negotiated UN agreement on a common approach to managing international migration. 

It is based on a collective realization that no single government can effectively govern migration alone - whether fully realizing the potential of global mobility or protecting people from the most pernicious aspects of migration - without cooperation, whether bilaterally, regionally, or globally. 

By creating this cooperative framework on international migration, States have developed a common terminology for discussing key migration issues and a blueprint for comprehensive, rights-based migration policies. 

The GCM defines 23 objectives covering all aspects of migration (“360-degree” approach) with an array of possible actions, drawn from best practice, that States may choose to utilise to implement their national migration policies. While not legally binding, the GCM’s guiding principles, objectives and actions find their root in established obligations and principles, underpinned by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and international law.