Assisted voluntary return and reintegration of migrants: A comparative approach

Abstract

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. Sustainable voluntary return of migrants back to their origin countries is an important aspect of comprehensive migration management. It is widely recognised as the preferred mode of return and its take-up is a key issue in return management. It should ensure that the rights and dignity of the migrants involved are respected. Both origin and destination countries support a wide range of policies and programs intended to facilitate sustainable voluntary return. Program criteria and conditions vary significantly, and it is not clear which settings are the most effective in enabling return, or promoting sustainable return and reintegration. A lack of accessible data and consensus on how to define and measure program effectiveness makes it more difficult to assess the impact of assisted voluntary return (Paasche, 2014). Program impact also varies across different types of migrants. This chapter presents a summary of the findings of a comparative study that explored the factors influencing the decision to return, including the role played by return policy interventions. The study also aimed to