A/65/222 management and the protection of the human rights of migrants as the sine qua non for harnessing the benefits of migration and making of it a choice and a crucial tool for sustainable development. 12. The present section is divided in three major sub-themes: (a) the impact of the criminalization of migration on the enjoyment of human rights; (b) the impact of the criminalization of migration on specific groups; (c) examples of good practices and alternatives to the criminalization of irregular migration. The report concludes with a number of recommendations aimed to ensure that States adopt successfully a rights-based approach to migration, which includes rights-based alternatives to the criminalization of migration. 13. The Special Rapporteur expresses his gratitude for the cooperation and valuable inputs provided by many stakeholders during the course of his mandate. A. The impact of the criminalization of migration on the enjoyment of human rights 14. The Special Rapporteur observes that migration policies, plans and programmes that aim to address solely security and border control concerns lack human and protection approaches, impact detrimentally on the enjoyment of human rights by migrants and do not serve the purpose of deterring irregular immigration and discouraging migrants’ smuggling and human trafficking. 15. The Special Rapporteur wishes to draw the attention of the General Assembly to the dangers of these policies, not only for migrants, but also for the migrants’ societies of transit and destination. Research studies have already demonstrated that many enforcement mechanisms designed to prevent irregular or unauthorized migration, including harsh policies of interception, carrier sanctions and immigration control activities, may themselves be responsible for violence and abuse and may have the side effect of encouraging the expansion of smuggling and trafficking networks. 2 16. In the Special Rapporteur’s view, criminalizing irregular migrants for the offence of being in a country without adequate documentation makes all migrants, regardless of immigration status, vulnerable to potential racist or xenophobic acts. Societies quickly distort the particular situations of migrants, and associate them with criminality, including organized crime, drug trafficking, robbery or even terrorism. As a result, migrants are prone to xenophobic outbreaks of abuse and violence, as evidenced by some of the alleged human rights violations brought to the attention of the Special Rapporteur over the past two years. 3 17. This detrimental pattern of individual and group behaviour in some transit and destination societies has a negative impact on children’s upbringing since xenophobic models are handed down to them by adults and discriminatory sectors of society. In that connection, the Special Rapporteur wishes to warn the General Assembly of the consequences of the criminalization of migration on the enjoyment __________________ 2 3 6 See Irregular Migration, Migrant Smuggling and Human Rights: Towards Coherence, International Council on Human Rights Policy, Geneva, 2010; Andrew Brower and Judith Kumin, “Interception and Asylum: Where Migration Control and Human Rights Collide”, Refuge, vol. 21, No. 4, December 2003. See A/HRC/14/30/Add.1 and A/HRC/11/7/Add.1. 10-47488