The World Bank's 2023 world development report: A missed opportunity to recognize that all migrants have rights

The 2023 World Development Report (WDR, 2023), Migrants, Refugees, and Societies, is a vast resource—intended by its author as a ‘message of hope’ (World Bank, 2023: 15)—for policymakers responding to human migration across international borders and seeking to understand that ‘well-managed’ migration can be a ‘powerful force for prosperity’ (Ibid). The World Bank's focus on this topic is welcome. A greater focus on human rights would have enhanced its message. While the report makes general reference to international human rights law and its application to protect migrants' rights, as well as to those protections due to migrants under international refugee law, the WDR 2023's treatment of rights overall is muddled and surprisingly limited. Most concerning, the report does not clearly…