Original Language
English
Number of Pages
28
Reference Number
ENG0634
Year of Publication
2018
Hide Region
Region
Europa Oriental
Europa Septentrional
Europa Meridional
Europa Occidental
Asia Occidental
Hide all countries
Country
Belarús
Bulgaria
Chequia
Hungría
Polonia
Republic of Moldova
Rumania
Russian Federation
Slovakia
Ucrania
Dinamarca
Estonia
Finlandia
Islandia
Ireland
Letonia
Lituania
Noruega
Suecia
Reino Unido de Gran Bretaña e Irlanda del Norte
Albania
Andorra
Bosnia y Herzegovina
Croacia
Gibraltar
Grecia
Holy See
Italia
Malta
Montenegro
Macedonia del Norte
Portugal
San Marino
Serbia
Eslovenia
España
Austria
Bélgica
Francia
Alemania
Liechtenstein
Luxemburgo
Monaco
Netherlands
Suiza
Türkiye

Promoting Innovative Ideas and Supporting New Models of Cooperation in Addressing Migrant Smuggling

This report gives a comprehensive overview of the key messages, discussion points and conclusions articulated during the Regional Conference on Counter Migrant Smuggling: Innovative Ideas and New Models of Cooperation, and extends it with the authors’ analytical reflections. The conference was held in Istanbul on 5–6 July 2017 and hosted by the Government of Turkey, with support from the International Organization for Migration. It brought together more than 70 participants from countries in the region that are affected by the recent surge of smuggled migrants moving towards Europe. With the overall objective of generating innovative ideas to disrupt, detect and prosecute migrant smugglers, as well as exploring the development of new models of cooperation, the conference facilitated a fruitful discussion among experts in governments, research institutes, academia and intergovernmental organizations. High-level and diverse input were provided by a variety of panellists with expertise in the areas of law enforcement, migration management, border management and criminal justice.



During the conference, the following five broad themes were addressed: (a) strengthening legal frameworks and capacity-building on counter-migrant smuggling; (b) countering migrant smuggling while ensuring the safety and dignity of migrants; (c) dismantling the business model: organized criminal networks and migrant smuggling; (d) strengthening the evidence base on migrant smuggling; and (e) improving cooperation at the regional and international levels. 



This report captures the key interventions of the panellists in these thematic areas and puts forward a set of policy recommendations to effectively counter migrant smuggling while ensuring the protection of migrants. These recommendations have the potential of enhancing the capacity of States to develop policy, legislation and the operational capability to disrupt, interdict and prosecute migrant smugglers while ensuring the safety and dignity of migrants.