In the Netherlands IOM meets with some 7,000 migrants every year. A good part of these people choose to return home with IOM. The decision to return is not always easy - there is much to consider, for oneself, and for one’s family. Return is a complex set of services. This issue of IOM the Netherland’s magazine Focus on Migration carries articles and stories illustrating this effort.

The provision of reintegration assistance to migrants in their countries of origin is an integral part of the Dutch return policy. There is much to learn from the Dutch. The time is ripe for sharing experiences, as assisted voluntary return is no longer a concept limited to the context of the European Union, but is being implemented from an increasing number of host and transit countries around the world.