The article examines, as a challenge for public policies, the theme of otherness of migrants and refugees when it is experienced or interpreted as a difference that discriminates, excludes or even criminalizes, transforming their richness into inequalities that produce and reproduce vulnerabilities. After an extensive introduction, the text unfolds in three parts: contributions to the theme from the World Report 2013 of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on migration and from the Final Document of the Second High-level Dialogue of the United Nations on Migration and Development 2013, followed by a in-depth analysis on the criminalization of migration, considered an aspect that determines the approach to the subject. A brief conclusion emphasizes the importance of recognizing migrants and refugees as protagonists in the formulation of equitable migration policies.
migration; human rights; inequality; migration policies