[Abstract] The current monograph is a contribution to this process. It is a comprehensive discussion of issues of labour migration in a globalizing world, and highlights ILO perspectives on labour migration, the connections between migration and development, decent work for migrant workers, the normative framework for protection of migrant rights, the governance of international labour migration, and the role of social dialogue and international cooperation. In so doing, it brings together the elements of a rights-based approach to labour migration as identified by its constituents. It is my hope that this monograph will stimulate further discussion and debate among policy-makers, social partners, civil society, academics and the media about the role of international labour migration as a powerful force for social and economic development in the twenty-first century.