A/61/324 undocumented migrants, at the expense of formal protections of workplace safety, health, minimum wage and other standards.” 23 45. IOM noted in its document of key messages for the High-Level Dialogue that “better mechanisms are needed to match supply and demand of labour globally”. 24 46. One of the main themes addressed by the report of the Global Commission on International Migration (GCIM) was that of the challenge of irregular migration. In its analysis of that theme, the Commission highlighted the question of the demand for irregular migrant labour, stating that “in some parts of the world certain sectors of the economy … have come to rely to a significant extent on migrants with irregular status, who are prepared to work in difficult, dangerous and dirty jobs with little security and low wages”. 25 The Commission went on to call on States to address this issue and recommended that “States should address the conditions that promote irregular migration by providing additional opportunities for regular migration and by taking action against employers who engage migrants with irregular status”. 26 47. Governments meeting in the context of the Berne Initiative also highlighted this issue as one of the “effective practices with regard to labour migrations”, stating that regulated labour migration may help to “provide safety and security for migrants and regularize the inflow of migrant workers’ remittances”, and in addition can “contribute to the prevention of irregular migration.” 27 48. Finally, the Secretary-General in his report on international migration and development concluded: “Ultimately, laws and regulations that go against the forces of demand and supply will likely be ineffective in controlling the labour market. When there is a legitimate need for workers, providing a legal avenue for their employment and ensuring that their labour rights are protected produces the best results for all” (A/60/871, para. 262). 49. Indeed, existing demand for migrant labour, its insufficient acknowledgment by Governments and their consequent failure to provide legal avenues for migration are among the root causes of irregular migration, which is often a factor contributing to human rights violations and situations of abuse suffered by migrants. Extreme situations that have been reported in the context of irregular migration include: (a) Situations of smuggling and trafficking of persons, in many cases involving particularly vulnerable persons such as women and children; (b) Border crossing in hazardous conditions (often linked to smuggling), sometimes leading to loss of life; __________________ 23 24 25 26 27 12 ILO, Towards a fair deal for migrant workers in the global economy, International Labour Conference, 92nd Session, 2004, para. 140. IOM, The High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development (HLD): Key IOM Messages at http://www.un.int/iom/Key%20IOM%20Messages.pdf. Report of the Global Commission on International Migration, Migration in an Interconnected World: New directions for action, Global Commission on International Migration 2005, p. 36 at: http://www.gcim.org/attachements/gcim-complete-report-2005.pdf. Ibid., p. 80, recommendation 14. International Agenda for Migration Management, the Berne Initiative, International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Federal Office for Migration (FOM) Switzerland, 2005, p. 41, at http://www.iom.int//DOCUMENTS/OFFICIALTXT/EN/IAMM_E.pdf. 06-51782