Vienna (Austria), 23 December 2022 — The latest update of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) research brief on risks of migrant smuggling and human trafficking related to the war in Ukraine shows a highly dynamic context of forced displacement.
First issued in March 2022, one month after the war broke out, UNODC has updated ‘Conflict in Ukraine: Key Evidence on Risks of Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants’ to reflect the latest data and analysis of the current situation.
The forced displacement context related to the war in Ukraine encompasses ongoing internal displacement, cross-border displacement, mobility between transit and hosting countries, and returns.
The number of people who have fled Ukraine and been registered abroad since the outbreak of conflict has reached over 8.13 million. Of these, 7.86 million are recorded as being in European countries.
Around half of those fleeing to European countries are adult women, 40 per cent are children and 10 per cent are adult men. In recent months, many people have moved on from the countries bordering Ukraine to other parts of Europe.
Conversely, people have crossed Ukraine’s borders back into the country 8.7 million times, for reasons including joining family, accessing economic opportunities, perception of safety in specific areas and for temporary trips.
Legal entry and rapid access to legal status (‘temporary protection’) for people fleeing the war in Ukraine continue to prevent smuggling of migrants and to increase people’s resilience to trafficking in persons. Over 4.86 million people who fled Ukraine have registered for temporary protection or similar national protection schemes in European countries.
Despite this, some cases of trafficking of Ukrainians are being detected in Europe, particularly cases of child trafficking in the contexts of illegal adoption and illegal surrogacy. Other forms of trafficking that refugees from Ukraine are at risk of include sexual exploitation, forced labour, forced begging and forced criminality.
There are isolated indications of migrant smuggling related to the conflict. Some cases of document fraud have been identified, with people of other nationalities fraudulently using Ukrainian documents to enter other countries.
At least one in five people surveyed who were arriving in the European Union from Ukraine had to pay someone for transportation out of the country, though in most cases this is not likely to have constituted a migrant smuggling offence. The vast majority of those fleeing have not used migrant smuggling and the crisis has not led to a significant increase in reported migrant smuggling offences.
According to UNODC experts, while efforts to find a resolution to the conflict are ongoing, if countries continue to grant legal entry and legal status, then they can effectively prevent migrant smuggling and the vulnerabilities to trafficking for people affected by the war in Ukraine. For people fleeing Ukraine and seeking safety in neighbouring countries and further afield, access to safety, income-generating opportunities and essential services, including education and childcare, are also crucial.
UNODC is working closely with other UN and international entities, non-governmental organizations and law enforcement authorities to coordinate responses to the current trafficking and migrant smuggling risks.
And UNODC Research, through its online UNODC Observatory on Smuggling of Migrants, produces regular data and research updates and analyses on key smuggling issues.
