A/RES/66/172 and conclusions of fourteen thematic meetings that took place worldwide from January to October 2011 on the central theme “Taking action on migration and development — coherence, capacity and cooperation” as a contribution to promoting international cooperation among States and between States and other actors in order to strengthen the capacity of States to address migration and development opportunities and challenges more effectively, and taking note with appreciation of the generous offer of Mauritius to assume the presidency of the Global Forum for 2012, Recognizing the cultural and economic contributions made by migrants to receiving societies and their communities of origin, as well as the need to identify appropriate means of maximizing development benefits and responding to the challenges which migration poses to countries of origin, transit and destination, especially in the light of the impact of the financial and economic crisis, and committing to ensuring dignified, humane treatment with applicable protections and to strengthening mechanisms for international cooperation, Emphasizing the global character of the migratory phenomenon, the importance of international, regional and bilateral cooperation and dialogue in this regard, as appropriate, and the need to protect the human rights of migrants, particularly at a time in which migration flows have increased in the globalized economy and take place in a context of new security concerns, Bearing in mind the obligations of States under international law, as applicable, to exercise due diligence to prevent crimes against migrants and to investigate and punish perpetrators, and that not doing so violates and impairs or nullifies the enjoyment of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of victims, Affirming that crimes against migrants, including trafficking in persons, continue to pose a serious challenge and require a concerted international assessment and response and genuine multilateral cooperation among countries of origin, transit and destination for their eradication, Bearing in mind that policies and initiatives on the issue of migration, including those that refer to the orderly management of migration, should promote holistic approaches that take into account the causes and consequences of the phenomenon, as well as full respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of migrants, Stressing the importance of regulations and laws regarding irregular migration, at all levels of government, being in accordance with the obligations of States under international law, including international human rights law, Stressing also the obligation of States to protect the human rights of migrants regardless of their migration status, and expressing its concern at measures which, including in the context of policies aimed at reducing irregular migration, treat irregular migration as a criminal rather than an administrative offence where the effect of doing so is to deny migrants full enjoyment of their human rights and fundamental freedoms, Aware that, as criminals take advantage of migratory flows and attempt to circumvent restrictive immigration policies, migrants become more vulnerable to, inter alia, kidnapping, extortion, forced labour, sexual exploitation, physical assault, debt servitude and abandonment, 3