Strengthening policies against organized criminal networks involved in the smuggling of migrants and related crimes along the Central and Western Mediterranean Routes [fr]
The UNODC’s Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling section organised an expert group meeting on May 10th with funding and support from France & Sweden. The goal was to discuss the findings of the study conducted by the UNODC on the involvement of organised criminal networks in the smuggling of migrants and related crimes, in particular trafficking in human beings, along the central and western Mediterranean routes.
This one-day meeting brought together UNODC experts as well as representatives of law enforcement, prosecution authorities, protection services and diplomacy.
The UNODC presented the results of a rapid data collection exercise conducted between October 2022 and February 2023 whose purpose is to inform policy discussions and decisions on the nexuses between migrant smuggling and organised crime networks along the Western and Central Mediterranean routes.
The paper examines the databases available along these routes, particularly in Nigeria, Niger, Senegal, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Italy and Spain.
An extensive literature has been reviewed in order to both structure and buttress this rapid data collection. It includes policy documents, studies and research reports which facilitate the recognition of travel routes and the identification of smugglers’ modus operandi and migrant profiles.
Additional information has been gathered through interviews with key informants and the analysis of data provided by the Directorate for International Security Cooperation of the French Ministry of the Interior. The analysis covers key topics such as the existing and available data on migrant smuggling and organised crime, the main patterns detected along these routes and the interconnections identified between migrant smuggling and related offences - in particular human trafficking - in this context.
Ambassador Olivier Caron, Special Envoy for Combating Terrorism and Organised Crime, underlined that in the framework of its new Action Plan 2021-2025 against migrant smuggling, the European Commission proposes tailor-made partnerships with countries and regions along the migration routes leading to its member countries. These partnerships will be based on 4 pillars: enhanced cooperation with partner countries and international organisations, sanctioning of smugglers, strengthening of judicial cooperation, and development of databases.
Reinforcing cross-border operational cooperation among all actors in the involved countries is needed, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led traffickers to evolve their modus operandi and make greater use of social networks, online platforms and mobile applications.
Participants shared their experiences, exchanged their views and discussed the findings presented. The UNODC is now working on a report containing the main recommendations outlined in order to strengthen policies to combat organised crime networks in migrant smuggling and related crimes, in particular trafficking in human beings, along the central and western Mediterranean routes.
These recommendations will be presented during the side event to be held in hybrid format on 23 May 2023 from 1:00 to 1:50 pm in room M3 at the Vienna International Centre, in the margins of the 32nd session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.
