A/HRC/56/54 30. Migrants bring diverse skills and perspectives, drive innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship, create jobs, spur economic growth and diversify business practices, enhancing trade and local economies. Australia reports widespread recognition of migrants’ positive impact on the economy. 27 Migrants also boost consumer markets and choice of products. 31. Migrants can contribute to a country’s demographic balance, especially in countries with ageing populations and low birth rates. They support the workforce, pay taxes and help to sustain labour markets, public services and pension systems. Belarus and Spain highlight the contributions of migrants amid shrinking local working populations.28 32. Migrants can bolster a nation’s fiscal well-being through tax and social security contributions, funding essential services such as education and health care. While migrants have a right to social protection, they often pay more in taxes than they receive in benefits. The Dominican Republic reported that nationals of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela had contributed 0.35 per cent to national tax revenues in 2021, with a positive impact on the economy.29 33. Remittances play a vital role in the economies of low- and middle-income countries, reaching $669 billion in 2023, which exceeds foreign direct investment and far outstrips official development assistance.30 While innovations such as mobile money enhance access to financial services and lower costs, disparities in access and regulatory issues persist, in particular for women.31 34. Migrants often use their knowledge and connections to enhance international trade and business. They also enhance human capital by returning with new skills and encouraging education in countries of origin. 35. Diaspora bonds leverage funds from nationals abroad, allowing Governments to finance development projects and enabling the diaspora to contribute to economic growth in countries of origin. 32 Examples include the Increasing Migrants’ Potential to Act for the Development of Armenia project, the fact that 23.5 per cent of Salvadorans in the United States of America invest in businesses in El Salvador, 33 and the O-REMIT project of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) country office in Belgium and Luxembourg, which reduces transaction costs, helping diaspora communities to make investments in their countries of origin.34 IV. Factors hindering recognition of migrants’ contributions 36. The negative discourse around migration has not developed in a vacuum. While politicians have used negative messaging about migrants throughout history, the emergence of several factors over the past four decades has shifted societal perceptions of migrants. Once considered a positive economic and social force, migrants are increasingly viewed as a problem that must be contained, despite the continued benefits that migration offers. 37. Migration began to be positioned by politicians as a security threat in the period following the cold war. This trend intensified after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, when many began to associate migrants, in particular undocumented migrants, with 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 6 James O’Donnell, Mapping Social Cohesion 2023 (Scanlon Foundation Research Institute, 2023), p. 9. See also submission by Australia. Submissions by Belarus and Spain. Submission by Dominican Republic. Dilip Ratha and others, “Leveraging Diaspora Finances for Private Capital Mobilization”, Migration and Development Brief No. 39 (Washington, D.C., World Bank, 2023), p. 1. See Adrian Kitimbo, “Mobile money and financial inclusion of migrants in sub-Saharan Africa”, in Research Handbook on International Migration and Digital Technology, Marie McAuliffe, ed. (Cheltenham, Edward Elgar, 2021); and UN-Women, “Migrant women and remittances: exploring the data from selected countries” (2020). McAuliffe, Kitimbo and Khadria, “Reflections on migrants’ contributions”, p. 175. Submissions by Armenia and El Salvador. See https://belgium.iom.int/o-remit. GE.24-07075