As the guardian of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and the Protocols thereto, including the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air (Smuggling of Migrants Protocol) and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (Trafficking in Persons Protocol), UNODC strives to advance the agenda on strengthening the rule of law and countering human trafficking and migrant smuggling, as well as on protecting and assisting trafficking victims and migrants that are the object of smuggling, with full respect for their human rights.
UNODC welcomes the reference to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the draft and in particular, the call to develop indicators to measure the implementation of the Global Compact for Migration drawing from the global indicator framework for the Sustainable Development Goals. This will reinforce efforts to ensure accountability on effectively delivering what was committed to in the Compact.
UNODC further acknowledges the comprehensive narrative part of the draft and wishes to offer additional considerations. People on the move are particularly vulnerable to being recruited by traffickers at any stage of the migration cycle. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated already existing vulnerabilities and created larger pools of vulnerable persons who, due to the worsened socioeconomic situation or their irregular status, are at higher risk of becoming victims of trafficking in persons. In addition, longer and interrupted journeys due to border closures also led to increased risks of trafficking.[1]
At the same time, pathways for safe and regular migration were restricted and safe mobility options reduced. UNODC research shows that faced with obstacles and fluctuating COVID-19 containment measures, migrants have been increasingly compelled to rely on smugglers for crossing borders[2]. Furthermore, policies aimed at curbing irregular migration may compromise existing counter-smuggling efforts, leading to a surge in demand for smuggling services and increased protection risks for migrants, when such concerns are not fully integrated[3].
Exposure to aggravated forms of smuggling involving violence, abuse and death also increased during COVID-19, as smugglers were forced to use new, less explored and riskier routes because of border closures, often putting migrants’ lives at greater risk. Beyond loss of life, frequently reported crimes faced by smuggled migrants include sexual and gender-based violence, theft, kidnapping for ransom, robbery, extortion and human trafficking. The correlation between a repression of irregular migration in certain countries and migrants taking more perilous routes where more aggravations occur was further observed.[4]
Despite the large number of severe and violent abuse inflicted upon migrants during their journey, countries continue to report very few convictions, a gap that is often the result of the lack of access to justice for migrants that are victims of crime. Various legal and practical barriers still prevent people on the move from reporting crimes against them. These include lack of trust in authorities, and fear of arrest under legislation criminalizing smuggled migrants in breach of the Smuggling of Migrant’s Protocol’s provisions. Lack of information about the assistance and services available, and restricted access to legal institutions where they can safely report may also impact the reporting of abuses. As a result, traffickers and smugglers still enjoy a large impunity and migrants do not get justice and redress for the crimes suffered.
The Global Compact calls for specific measures to prevent and counter the smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons in the context of international migration through dedicated Objectives, strengthening and echoing the related existing legal frameworks.
UNODC welcomes references in the Progress Declaration to these two crimes, which have been causing increased concerns and violations during the COVID-19 pandemic. UNODC would like to call for the inclusion of clear language on the impact that the lack of pathways for regular migration has on human trafficking and migrant smuggling. In this regard, UNODC suggests stressing the importance of pathways for regular migration as a means to prevent smuggling as well as abuse, violations and trafficking in persons during migratory journeys.
UNODC further welcomes the inclusion of language related to the non-criminalization of the provision of humanitarian assistance to migrants, an essential element to prevent fatalities and also to fulfil States’ obligations to save lives at sea, in line with international law. In relation to losses of migrants’ lives around the world due to smuggling operations, UNODC would like to stress the need to include direct reference to the risks for the migrants who put their lives in the hands of criminals and the need for countries to investigate and prosecute aggravated forms of migrant smuggling.
Finally, UNODC would suggest the inclusion of a clear call to secure access to justice for migrant victims of crime, irrespective of their migration status, stressing in that regard the critical role of firewalls between immigration services and other services, to not deter migrants from reporting crimes to the authorities for fear of being arrested and deported.
In line with the above narrative, please see below UNODC’s concrete suggestions of amendments to the zero draft Progress Declaration.
In the narrative part of the declaration
Include language reflecting concerns relating to the incidence of trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants hampering efforts to achieve safe, orderly and regular migration. It could also be stressed that the need for migrants to resort to smugglers increased in the absence of regular alternatives and particularly since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This in turn leads to increased exposure to aggravated forms of the crime, and related human rights violations.
In the part dedicated to recommendations
[1] UNODC, “The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on trafficking in persons and responses to the challenges”, Vienna 2021, p.8.
[2] UNODC, “COVID 19 and the Smuggling of Migrants”, Vienna 2021, p.8.
[3] UNODC Observatory on Smuggling of Migrants, available at: https://www.unodc.org/res/som/index.html
[4] UNODC, “Abused and Neglected, A gender Perspective on aggravated Migrant Smuggling Offences and Response”, Vienna, 2021, p.6.
