Despite the common perception of irregular migration as a challenge affecting primarily developed countries, irregular flows also constitute an important aspect of the South-South migration context and present a series of specificities often overlooked.

This background note is aimed at defining irregular migration and its characteristics and at presenting a general overview of the main irregular migration patterns and emerging trends in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and the global South. Based on those elements, initial proposals for better addressing this phenomenon in the interest of migrants as well as origin, transit and destination countries will be provided.