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1Migration and Development:the Forgotten MigrantsFrank LaczkoHead of Research and Publications, IOM GenevaResearch and policy interest in the linkages between migration anddevelopment is probably at an all-time high, with numerous meetings,studies and publications devoted to the subject. At the international levelthere are renewed efforts to promote policy dialogue between statesconcerned with issues relating to migration and development. For example,the UN General Assembly organized in 2006 a High Level Dialogue onInternational Migration and Development in New York and in 2007, theGlobal Forum on Migration and Development was launched in Brussels.For many years migration was often seen as resulting from a lack ofdevelopment, today policy makers in both countries of origin and destination,are highlighting the positive potential of migration for development. Whythis renewed interest in the subject of migration and development? Thereare many reasons, but one factor which is commonly mentioned is the recentgrowth in South-North migration. As a result, much of the policy debateabout ways in which to manage the benefits of migration for developmenthas tended to focus on issues relating to South-North migration. This hasmeant that questions relating to South-South migration have received lessattention. Moreover, if there is a discussion about South-South migration,that is migration between developing countries, the focus tends to be onmovements of people across borders, rather than within countries.Although there is a growing recognition that there is significant South-South international migration, there has been very little discussion inthe recent international policy debate about migration and developmentabout the significance of internal migration for development. Yet, in manycountries, internal migration, i.e. that which occurs inside the borders ofa country, is actually far more important both in terms of the numbersof people involved and the resulting impact on development throughremittances and other effects.7The scale of internal migration globally has not been fully recorded, butthere is little doubt that the numbers of people moving internally is fargreater than the level of international migration. For example, in 2006, the