A/71/285 smugglers” will remain futile as long as persons in need of mobility, without other options, may avail themselves of the irregular mobility solutions offered by opportunistic smuggling rings. The present escalation in repressive measures does not bode well for migrants: it will push them further underground, into the hands of unscrupulous lenders, recruiters, smugglers, employers and landlords. 15. The only way to effectively reduce smuggling is to offer more accessible, regular, safe and affordable mobility solutions, with all the identity and security checks that efficient visa procedures can provide. 16. States’ responses to migration and, more recently, to what is now being termed “the migration crisis” have been ad hoc, short-sighted and inadequate and have led to friction among States, creating an atmosphere of chaos and disorganization that instils fear in the hearts of the citizens of destination countries and feeds all the stereotypes, myths, threats and fantasies that nationalist populist movements exploit with great success. 17. The Special Rapporteur would like to stress that, as a percentage of the world population, the number of migrants remains low. Migrants were only 3.3 per cent of the global population in 2015, compared with 2.8 per cent in 2000. In addition, the rate of migration actually slowed in the period from 2010 to 2015, compared with the previous five-year period. Consequently, despite common perceptions, it is not accurate to designate migration as a “crisis”. 18. Unregulated migration in host countries has led to rising anti -migration sentiment, discrimination and violence, as migrants are portra yed as “stealing” jobs and draining social services. Against the backdrop of a poor economic climate, the rise in nationalist populist parties and the tragic terrorist attacks around the world, xenophobia and hate speech have increased, causing a significa nt upward trend in negative perceptions of migrants and creating a stumbling block in the development of more efficient evidence-based and human rights-based policies. 19. Notwithstanding such negative perceptions, immigration has a minimal impact on unemployment among residents in host countries and a positive overall impact on employment generation and investment: migrants contribute to economic growth wherever they go. 2 Increasing evidence suggests that migrants, including irregular migrants, contribute more in direct and indirect taxes than they receive in the way of services. 3 The use of the appropriate language and studies, the presentation of facts and policies that favour diversity and the inclusion of migrants are key to facilitating their integration and contribution to development and to reducing negative populist representations of migrants. 20. The continued ineffectiveness and paradoxes of border management and the lack of a coherent, human rights-based framework for migration have been vividly and visibly demonstrated by the tragic deaths of migrants in transit, propelling the issue of the human rights of migrants into the spotlight. Although less frequently discussed, suffering is experienced at all other stages of migration. __________________ 2 3 16-13509 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, International Migration Outlook 2013 (Paris, OECD, 2013). Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), “The economic, social and cultural rights of migrants in an irregular situation ”, 2014, p. 99. Available from: www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/HR-PUB-14-1_en.pdf. 5/24