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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon

Time: 11:25 pm

Results for human smuggling

127 results found

Author: Horwood, Chris

Title: In Pursuit of the Southern Dream Victims of Necessity: Assessment of the Irregular Movement of Men from East Africa and the Horn to South Africa

Summary: This document summarizes the research and findings of a project investigating the irregular movement of men from East Africa and the Horn of Africa to the Republic of South Africa (RSA). The key findings elaborated in this assessment concern the logistics, economics, causal factors and trends in the smuggling of migrants south through the eastern corridor of the African continent. It also emphasizes the dynamics of the abuse and exploitation of these irregular migrants during their multi-country journey.

Details: Geneva: International Organization for Migration, 2009

Source:

Year: 2009

Country: Switzerland

URL:

Shelf Number: 116662

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Migrants

Author: Webb, Sarah

Title: Organised Immigration Crime: A Post-Conviction Study

Summary: This report outlines the findings of an interview program conducted in 2006 with 45 prisoners convicted of human trafficking/smuggling offences in 2005. The research was commissioned to provide a fuller understanding of the market dynamics of facilitated illegal entry into the United Kingdom. The results present a picture by the perpetrators was of a market that conferred healthy profits with a low risk detection. The United Kingdom is perceived as an attractive destination for a number of reasons and illicit entry across UK borders is perceived to be easy. Many interviewess expressed genuine surprise at the severity of the sentences that they had received for involvement in human trafficking/smuggling offences.

Details: London: Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate, 2009

Source: Research Report 15

Year: 2009

Country: United Kingdom

URL:

Shelf Number: 115394

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Immigration
Organized Crime

Author: Saha, K.C.

Title: Smuggling of Migrants from India to Europe and in Particular to UK: A Study on Tamil Nadu

Summary: This field-based research study is a preliminary assessment of the situation of irregular migration from Tamil Nadu, India. As part of the study, an examination of records of relevant government agencies in the public domain, secondary data, as well as focus group studies were untertaken. The study concludes by recommending a number of concrete actions which will help to protect the interests of lawful unskilled labour going overseas for emplyment and minimize opportunities for the exploitation of vulnerable smuggled migrants.

Details: New Delhi: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Regional Office for South Asia, 2009. 60p.

Source:

Year: 2009

Country: India

URL:

Shelf Number: 117368

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Migrants

Author: Araia, Tesfalem

Title: Report on Human Smuggling Across the South Africa/Zimbabwe Border

Summary: Widespread xenophobic attacks on foreigners in South Africa in May 2008 generated new debates around the issue of border control. This research report adds to and refines this discussion by looking at the land-based human smuggling industry on the South Africa/Zimbabwe border.

Details: Johannesburg: Forced Migration Studies Programme, University of Witwatersrand, 2009. 54p.

Source: MRMP Occasional Report

Year: 2009

Country: Africa

URL:

Shelf Number: 116371

Keywords:
Border Control
Human Smuggling

Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Title: Migrant Smuggling by Air

Summary: This report presents the findings from an UNODC Expert Group Meeting in Vienna on 7 to 9 December 2009 aimed at increasing understanding of migrant smuggling by air, with the objective of better preventing and combating the phenomena. The Expert Group Meeting specifically aimed to gain a better understanding of: 1) the modus operandi of migrant smugglers who use air routes to commit their crimes; 2) good practice of law enforcement and other actors involved in responding to this problem; 3) what the gaps in knowledge of and response to this particular method of migrant smuggling are; and 4) how UNODC and other international actors can better assist states in strengthening capacities to prevent and combat the smuggling of migrants by air.

Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2010. 21p.

Source: Internet Resource; Issue Paper

Year: 2010

Country: International

URL:

Shelf Number: 119248

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Juvenile Delinquency
Juvenile Offenders
Mentoring
Mentors
Migrant Smuggling
Migrants
Prevention, Juvenile Delinquency

Author: Stephen-Smith, Saray

Title: Routes In, Routes Out: Quantifying the Gendered Experience of Trafficking to the UK

Summary: In April 2004 the POPPY Project published ‘When Women Are Trafficked’. This report provided an outline of the experiences of 26 women trafficked into the UK and subsequently supported by the POPPY Project between March 2003 and March 2004 and was the first report of its kind to be published in the U.K. Since then, research based on case studies of trafficking victims has been lacking from discussions on how to tackle human trafficking in the UK, as identified in 2007 in the UK Action Plan on Tackling Human Trafficking. This report responds to this need for more detailed research data, providing valuable information about the types of experiences women trafficked into the UK had prior to, during and after escaping their trafficking situation.

Details: London: The POPPY Project, Eaves Housing for Women, 2008. 34p.

Source: Internet Resource

Year: 2008

Country: United Kingdom

URL:

Shelf Number: 116473

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Prostitution
Sexual Exploitation

Author: Aung, Winston Set

Title: Illegal Heroes and Victimless Crimes: Informal Cross-border Migration frm Myanmar

Summary: This paper highlights the perception of those involved in the course of cross-border migration from Myanmar in each step they, intentionally or unintentionally, maintain the status of illegality. It also attempts to identify the implications of cross-border migration on migrants’ families and their community in the country of origin. Interviews and questionnaire surveys conducted in different projects in 2008 and 2009 in different places in Myanmar and neighboring countries, coupled with qualitative and quantitative analyses, attempt to enhance the reliability and representativeness of the findings in this paper.

Details: Stockholm: Institute for Security and Development Policy, 2009. 56p.

Source: Internet Resource; Asia Paper

Year: 2009

Country: Burma

URL:

Shelf Number: 118592

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Illegal Aliens
Migrants
Migration

Author: Velkoska, Violeta

Title: Criminal Justice Responses to Organized Crime

Summary: This survey represents a systematized collection of data at the national leval about the majority of cases related to the criminal offences of trafficking in human beings, mediation in prostitution, and smuggling of migrants, as well as other forms of organized crime, which are tried before the basic courts in Macedonia.

Details: Skopje, Macedonia: Coalition "All for Fair Trials", 2007. 103p.

Source: Internet Resource

Year: 2007

Country: Macedonia

URL:

Shelf Number: 119454

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Migrants
Organized Crime (Macedonia)
Prostitution
Sexual Exploitation

Author: Velkoska, Violeta

Title: Combating Trafficking in Human Beings Through the Practice of the Domestic Courts

Summary: The lack of thorough empirical analysis of the situation in the Republic of Macedonia regarding the issue of the state’s success in tackling the phenomenon of trafficking in human beings within the institutions responsible for its prosecution and suppression is a motive for developing the report “Suppression of Trafficking in Human Beings through the practise of the domestic of the domestic courts” of the Coalition “All For Fair Trial”. The research encompassed within the Report, for most of the cases in relation to the criminal offences of “Trafficking in Human Beings”, “Mediation in Prostitution” and “Smuggling of Migrants” tried before basic courts in Macedonia, is the first systemized data collection on a national level.

Details: Skopje, Macedonia: Coalition "All for Fair Trials", 2005. 91p.

Source: Internet Resource; Accessed August 8, 2010 at http://www.osce.org/documents/mms/2005/12/17412_en.pdf

Year: 2005

Country: Macedonia

URL: http://www.osce.org/documents/mms/2005/12/17412_en.pdf

Shelf Number: 110878

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Prostitution
Sexual Exploitation
Smuggling of Migrants

Author: Zhang, Sheldon

Title: Get There Anyway You Can - Human Smuggling to the U.S. and the Policy Implications

Summary: Human smuggling, although often sensationalized in the news media, is mostly a rather mundane business arrangement in which one assists or facilitates, often for a fee, the unauthorized entry of a foreign national into another country. In recent years, illegal immigration and the associated human smuggling activities have gone through discernible changes, some of which are brought about by the intensified debate on securing the nation’s borders and probably more are caused by the economic conditions and fundamental shifts in U.S. labor market.

Details: Santiago, Chile: Global Consortium on Security Transformation, 2010. 19p.

Source: Internet Resource; Policy Brief Series, No. 8. Accessed August 10, 2010 at http://www.securitytransformation.org/gc_publications.php

Year: 2010

Country: International

URL: http://www.securitytransformation.org/gc_publications.php

Shelf Number: 119583

Keywords:
Border Security
Human Smuggling
Illegal Aliens
Illegal Immigration

Author: U.S. Government Accountability Office

Title: Alien Smuggling: DHS Needs to Better Leverage Investigative Resources and Measure Program Performance along the Southwest Border

Summary: The southwest border is a threat to the security of the United States and Mexico. Within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Office of Investigations (OI) — part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — is the primary federal agency responsible for investigating alien smuggling along the southwest border. As requested, this report addresses, for the southwest border, (1) OI’s efforts to counter alien smuggling since 2005, and opportunities, if any, for ICE to use its resources more effectively; (2) the progress DHS has made in seizing alien smugglers’ assets since fiscal year 2005 and any promising techniques that could be applied to seize smugglers’ assets; and (3) the extent to which ICE has objectives related to alien smuggling and measures to assess progress. GAO interviewed officials in all four OI offices along the southwest border and analyzed data on OI’s cases and seizures, from fiscal years 2005 through 2009. GAO recommends, among other things, that DHS evaluate the feasibility of expanding the LEAR program, assess the Arizona Attorney General’s investigations strategy, and develop performance measures for MIRP. DHS agreed with four of five recommendations in this report directed to DHS but disagreed with establishing MIRP performance measures because it did not believe such action was appropriate. GAO believes this recommendation is consistent with the program’s intent.

Details: Wshington, DC: U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2010. 76p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 19, 2010 at: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d10328.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: United States

URL: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d10328.pdf

Shelf Number: 119630

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Illegal Aliens

Author: Bateman, Sam

Title: Good Order at Sea in Southeast Asia

Summary: This policy paper examines the threats to good order at sea in Southeast Asia . Threats to good order include piracy and armed robbery against ships, maritime terrorism, illicit trafficking in drugs and arms, people smuggling, pollution, illegal fishing and marine natural hazards. This paper reviews the current situation and makes recommendations for non-governmental actions that would enhance cooperation in addressing the problem.

Details: Singapore: S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, 2009. 52p.

Source: Internet Resource: RSIS Policy Paper: Accessed August 20, 2010 at: http://www.rsis.edu.sg/publications/policy_papers/RSIS_Policy%20Paper%20-%20Good%20Order%20at%20Sea_270409.pdf

Year: 2009

Country: Asia

URL: http://www.rsis.edu.sg/publications/policy_papers/RSIS_Policy%20Paper%20-%20Good%20Order%20at%20Sea_270409.pdf

Shelf Number: 119644

Keywords:
Drug Smuggling
Human Smuggling
Illegal Fishing
Illicit Trafficking
Maritime Crime
Maritime Security
Offenses Against the Environment
Pirates
Wildlife Crime

Author: Beare, Margaret

Title: Global Transnational Crime: Canada and China

Summary: This paper presents a review of the phenomena of transnational crime/organized crime (TNC/OC) as it relates to Canada and China. The paper begins by outlining the changing understanding of TNC/OC. Three issues dominate much of the current debate: issues of the breakdown in strictly ‘ethnic’-based operations and the refocus of law enforcement on criminal markets; the changing perception of the structure of criminal organizations and finally, a recognition of harm as a determinant of the types of criminal activity that ought to be treated internationally with the seriousness of the more traditional organized crimes. Next, this paper identifies the key illicit markets related to Canada and China. These markets include: money laundering, drug trafficking, human smuggling and the counterfeiting of goods, cards and currency. This paper concludes with a discussion on areas of tension and opportunities for enhanced cooperation on a bilateral and multilateral basis between Canada and China. One key unresolved tension relates to China’s quest for international assistance in combating corruption. China and Canada have ratified the UN Convention Against Corruption and in addition Canada is involved in four international agreements dealing with the criminal aspect of corruption – but from China’s perspective these agreements were supposed to assist countries in their fight against various forms of corruption but are either not effective or are not implemented.

Details: Toronto: Canadian International Council, 2010. 24p.

Source: Internet Resource: China Paper No. 16: Accessed August 22, 2010 at: http://www.onlinecic.org/resourcece/archives/chinapapers/cic_chinapapersno16_bearepdf

Year: 2010

Country: Canada

URL: http://www.onlinecic.org/resourcece/archives/chinapapers/cic_chinapapersno16_bearepdf

Shelf Number: 119658

Keywords:
Counterfeiting
Drug Trafficking
Human Smuggling
Illicit Markets
Money Laundering
Organized Crime
Transnational Crime (Canada and China)

Author: Bouteillet-Paquet, Daphne

Title: Smuggling of Migrants: A Global Review and Annotated Bibliography of Recent Publications

Summary: The purpose of this thematic review is to survey existing sources and research papers on migrant smuggling and to provide a gap analysis of existing knowledge from a global perspective. Indeed, despite the fact that migrant smuggling has attracted great media and political attention over the last two decades, there has not been any comprehensive analysis of the state of expert knowledge. Great confusion still prevails about what is migrant smuggling within the global context of irregular migration. Smuggling of migrants is a crime defined under international law as “the procurement, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit, of the illegal entry of a person into a State of which the person is not a national or a permanent resident”, according to the definition of Article 3 (1) of the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air – commonly referred to as the Migrant Smuggling Protocol – supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime. In order to comply with the Migrant Smuggling Protocol, Article 6 also requires States to criminalize both smuggling of migrants and enabling of a person to remain in a country illegally in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit as well as aggravating circumstances that endanger lives or safety, or entail inhuman or degrading treatment of migrants. By virtue of Article 5, migrants shall not become liable to criminal prosecution for the fact of having been smuggled under the Migrant Smuggling Protocol. It is therefore to be understood that the Migrant Smuggling Protocol aims to target migrant smugglers, not the people being smuggled. While most researchers refer to the Migrant Smuggling Protocol, some authors have developed a broader definition referring to the sociological characteristics of migrant smuggling. According to Van Liempt, a broader definition is necessary in order to properly reflect the changing character of intermediary structures in international migration processes and to shed a light on the possible criminal character of smuggling. From a sociological perspective, migrant smuggling may then include every act lying on a continuum between altruism and organized crime. Doomernik defines migrant smuggling as “every act whereby an immigrant is assisted in crossing international borders whereby this crossing is not endorsed by the government of the receiving state, neither implicitly nor explicitly”. To the extent that the literature available making a distinction to be made, the issues of “irregular migration” and “trafficking in persons” are deliberately not covered per se by this thematic review, despite the fact that these phenomena are closely connected with migrant smuggling in practice. The overall objective of the report is to enhance the concrete understanding of this phenomenon by looking at the following issues: - Chapter 2 will look at legal definitions of closely connected issues and the conceptualization of migrant smuggling; - Chapter 3 will look at the methodology currently applied for researching migrant smuggling; - Chapter 4 will discuss the strengths and limitations of the methods used to quantify irregular migration and migrant smuggling. It will also consider the current state of knowledge – or lack thereof – regarding smuggling trends, geography and organization of travel in different regions; - Chapter 5 will include a discussion about the motivations (root causes) and profile of smuggled migrants; - Chapter 6 will discuss the profile of migrant smugglers and motivations; - Chapter 7 will analyse smuggler-migrant relationships; - Chapter 8 will discuss the organizational structures of smuggling networks in different regions of the world; - Concrete recruitment processes and fees are discussed in chapter 9. The different methods to smuggle (basic transfer services versus all-inclusive service with travel visa smuggling, forged documents) but also the role of corruption as a cause and consequence of migrant smuggling will be considered; - Chapter 10 will be devoted to the human and social costs of migrant smuggling. The research is based on literature available in English and French language, such as journalistic books, reports and academic articles. Research reports published by international organizations and NGOs were also considered. Neither the annotated bibliography, nor the thematic review pretends to be comprehensive. Rather, they are conceived as a summary of existing knowledge and identified gaps based on the most recent and relevant research available.

Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2010. 163p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 3, 2010 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/human-trafficking/Marian/Smuggling_of_Migrants_A_Global_Review.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: International

URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/human-trafficking/Marian/Smuggling_of_Migrants_A_Global_Review.pdf

Shelf Number: 119735

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Illegal Aliens
Immigrants
Migrants
Organized Crime

Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Title: Model Law Against the Smuggling of Migrants

Summary: The Model Law against the Smuggling of Migrants was developed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in response to a request by the General Assembly to the Secretary-General to promote and assist the efforts of Member States to become party to and implement the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols thereto. It was developed in particular to assist States in implementing the provisions contained in the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the Convention. The Model Law will both facilitate and help systematize the provision of legislative assistance by UNODC as well as facilitate the review and amendment of existing legislation and the adoption of new legislation by States. It is designed to be adapted to the needs of each State, whatever its legal tradition and social, economic, cultural and geographic conditions. The Model Law contains all the provisions that the Protocol requires or recommends that States introduce in their domestic legislation. The commentary to the Model Law indicates which provisions are mandatory and which are optional. That distinction is not made with regard to the general provisions (chapter I) and the definitions (article 3), as they are an integral part of the Model Law but are not mandated by the Protocol per se. Recommended provisions may also stem from other international instruments, including international human rights law, humanitarian law and refugee law. Whenever appropriate or necessary, options for the wording of the provision are suggested in order to reflect the differences between legal cultures. The commentary also indicates the source of the provision and, in some cases, supplies alternatives to the suggested text or examples of national legislation from various States (in an unofficial translation where necessary). Due regard is also given to the interpretative notes for the official records the implementation of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, and the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, both supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. The Government of Canada contributed to the organization of one of the expert group meetings.

Details: Vienna: United Nations, 2010. 108p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 4, 2010 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/human-trafficking/Model_Law_Smuggling_of_Migrants_10-52715_Ebook.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: International

URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/human-trafficking/Model_Law_Smuggling_of_Migrants_10-52715_Ebook.pdf

Shelf Number: 120189

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Migrants
Organized Crime

Author: Doucey, Marie

Title: Gender and Human Security in the Haitian-Dominican Border Zone

Summary: The border shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic (DR) is a North-South 391 km porous and neglected piece of land. Its vulnerability to various forms of traffcking and smuggling defnitely poses a risk to the safety of the area at a national, binational and regional level. Security in Haiti is a recurrent topic for researchers and policy analysts. The violence in Port-au-Prince's slums and the challenges faced by the security sector since the 1990's have been extensively studied. However, the border zone has rarely been explored from a security point of view, and, so far, there is no report1 that captures the dynamics and tensions related to gender and human security on either side of the Haitian-Dominican border. This research paper seeks to fill that gap and expose relevant findings that can help us understand a complex region, which since the earthquake has become an area of interest to many researchers and policy-makers.

Details: Santiago, Chile: Global Consortium on Security Transformation, 2010. 39p.

Source: Internet Resource: New Voices Series, No. 8: Accessed November 10, 2010 at: http://www.securitytransformation.org/images/publicaciones/New%20Voices%20Series%208.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: Haiti

URL: http://www.securitytransformation.org/images/publicaciones/New%20Voices%20Series%208.pdf

Shelf Number: 120078

Keywords:
Border Security
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking (Haiti)
Violence Against Women

Author: International Council on Human Rights Policy

Title: Irregular Migration, Migrant Smuggling and Human Rights: Towards Coherence

Summary: Migration policies across the world are driven by three core concerns: law and border enforcement, economic interest, and protection. This report argues that official policies are failing partly because one of these concerns, protection, has been marginalised. Intensified efforts to suppress migration have not deterred people from seeking security or opportunity abroad but drive many into clandestinity, while the promotion of open economic markets has attracted millions of people to centres of prosperity but tolerated widespread exploitation. As a political consequence, discussion of migration is widely polarised and distorted by xenophobia and racism. The report suggests that it is in governments’ interest to affirm their legal and moral responsibility to protect everyone, including migrants. Human rights law provides a baseline of essential protection for migrants, and also some key components of a more balanced and rational policy approach. A substantial appendix summarises the rights of irregular migrants in international law.

Details: Geneva: International Council on Human Rights Policy, 2010. 148p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 7, 2010 at: http://www.ichrp.org/files/reports/56/122_report_en.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: International

URL: http://www.ichrp.org/files/reports/56/122_report_en.pdf

Shelf Number: 120407

Keywords:
Human Rights
Human Smuggling
Illegal Immigrants
Migration

Author: Monzini, Paola

Title: Smuggling of Migrants Into, Through and From North Africa: A Thematic Review and Annotated Bibliography of Recent Publications

Summary: “Smuggling of migrants” is defined in article 3 of the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, as “the procurement, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit, of the illegal entry of a person into a State Party of which the person is not a national or a permanent resident”. Article 6 of the Protocol requires the criminalization of such conduct and that of enabling a person who is not a national or a permanent resident to remain in the State concerned without complying with the necessary requirements for legally remaining in the State by producing a fraudulent travel or identity document, or procuring, providing or possessing such a document, or any other illegal means in order to obtain a financial or other material benefit. Based upon this definition, the purpose and scope of this publication is to survey existing sources and research papers on smuggling of migrants into, through and from North Africa reflecting the current state of academic knowledge, as well as knowledge gaps and discussions on the subject. This study has two main United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2241, No. 39574. objectives: to describe major findings on smuggling of migrants into, through and from North Africa, and to highlight the need for further research on specific issues that have not yet been studied and on areas where little analysis has yet been carried out. The publication reviews literature that has been published by academics, journalists, international organizations and non-governmental organizations. The reviewed literature was selected on the basis of its thematic relevance and date and the language of publication: only publications in English, French and Italian were reviewed. The research does not pretend to be comprehensive. As far as the geographical scope of the review is concerned, it is important to note that it actually goes beyond the North African countries, because irregular migration and smuggling flows are transnational in nature; they often originate and/or end in the North African region. For this reason, sub-Saharan African and European countries are also considered. The presence of smugglers is recorded mainly in relation to crossing of the Sahara Desert and the maritime passages to Europe. Thus, while the main focus of the review is on North African countries (Algeria, Egypt, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Morocco and Tunisia), literature considering countries of origin and transit such as Mali, the Niger and the Sudan, and countries of destination and transit, such as Greece, Italy and Spain, has also been reviewed to some extent. As far as the routes to Europe are concerned, those ending in Spain have not been given the same attention in this review as have journeys ending on Italian shores. Some of the most important theoretical research papers published on the subject of migrant smuggling in general have also been considered. Where statistical data and other figures are quoted, reference is made to their source. The review is divided into thematic chapters that review research publications on the following topics: •• Quantifying irregular migration and smuggling of migrants into, through and from North Africa •• The geography of migrant smuggling routes •• Profiles and characteristics of smuggled migrants •• Smuggler-migrant relationships •• Organizational structures of migrant-smuggling networks •• Modus operandi of migrant smugglers •• Smuggling fees •• Human and social costs of smuggling Finally, the thematic review presents a summary of major findings, highlighting the challenges of carrying out research into the issue of migrant smuggling and the gaps in that research. The review is complemented by an annotated bibliography of the relevant literature.

Details: Vienna: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2010. 62p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 2, 2011 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/human-trafficking/Migrant_smuggling_in_North_Africa_June_2010_ebook_E_09-87293.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: International

URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/human-trafficking/Migrant_smuggling_in_North_Africa_June_2010_ebook_E_09-87293.pdf

Shelf Number: 120680

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Illegal Migration

Author: Finckenauer, James O.

Title: Researching and Rethinking Sex Trafficking: The Movement of Chinese Women to Asia and the United States for Commercial Sex

Summary: Despite the concern and attention devoted to human trafficking in general and sex trafficking in particular over the past decade, there is still much about it that is unknown or subject to disagreement. And in general there has been little empirical research on the issue. Where there have been studies, the researchers have often drawn conclusions or generalized findings based on biased samples. Given this state of affairs, we have chosen in the study reported here to assume that prostitution is a multifaceted business with a proliferation of diverse women, and that therefore it is essential to study women in different sex venues and different destination countries in order to have a more nuanced and better balanced understanding of the transnational commercial sex business and its relation to sex trafficking. In contrast to the prevailing research approach in this area, of relying upon subjects defined by others, we instead decided to cast the broadest net possible, and to interview subjects under the broadest range of possible statuses. We also decided to conduct our subject interviews under circumstances that would maximize the probability that the subjects would be forthcoming and not constrained by other motives or agendas. In brief, we set out to conduct a study with the following specific aims: 1. To examine the underlying reasons for the illicit movement of women from China to destinations throughout Asia and to the U.S. for the purpose of prostitution. 2. To explore the structure or social organization of the movement of women from China to Asia and the U.S. 3. To understand the methods of recruiting, transporting, and managing Chinese women by various participants in the smuggling, trafficking, and sex businesses. 4. To investigate the economic aspects of smuggling, trafficking, and prostitution. 5. To examine the social adjustment and settlement patterns among Chinese women and the victimization and exploitation of these women by smugglers and traffickers and sex industry operators. 6. To analyze the individual and group characteristics of smugglers and traffickers and their relationships with gangs and organized crime. 7. To evaluate the problems and prospects of combating the movement of women from China to the rest of the world. Our goal was to shed light on one group of women who go overseas to engage in commercial sex – in this case women from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) – and to provide a more nuanced understanding of the movement of these women and its possible relation to sex trafficking. Our underlying assumption is that commercial sex, the transnational movement of women to overseas sex venues, and sex trafficking are linked. In this study, we sought to explore that linkage, and to consider whether that linkage is as characterized by the U.S. government and the United Nations in their respective codifications of human trafficking . A secondary goal was to inform the development of better strategies and responses to cope with these phenomena.

Details: Newark, NJ: School of Criminal Justice, Rutgers University, 2010. 204p.

Source: Internet Resource: Final Report to the U.S. Department of Justice: Accessed March 17, 2011 at: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/233583.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: International

URL: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/233583.pdf

Shelf Number: 121045

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Prostitution
Sexual Exploitation

Author: Jones, Jackie

Title: Trafficking of Women and Children in Wales 2010

Summary: This report centres around the lived experience of victims of trafficking, be they men, women or children. It focuses on responses to the victims of trafficking as this is the area in which WAG has the most room to enact effective, rights-based policies. To this end, the report surveys the literature and legal instruments on trafficking in human beings. Much has been written about trafficking, much more needs to be said about trafficking in Wales. The literature reveals a clear lack of understanding about the issues involved in trafficking. For example, the relationships between trafficking and smuggling, forced labour and irregular work, the link between prostitution and trafficking, the link between marijuana consumption and child forced labour. There are gaps in knowledge over issues of identification of victims of trafficking and responses once identified as well as specialist provisions of services, despite the recent creation of a refuge for trafficked women in Wales. Gender-specific and child-friendly policy initiatives are at the heart of effective enforcement and protection strategies. These need to be tailored to the particular needs of local communities in Wales. Strategies that reflect the different landscapes – rural, urban, language, cultural – all require co-ordination in a national (Welsh) centre for trafficking. From that multi-agency point, training, awareness-raising, advocacy and many other services can be provided and tailored for the needs of the people in Wales.

Details: Bristol, UK: Bristol Law School, University of the West of England, 201o. 29p.

Source: Internet Resource: Center for Legal Research, Working Paper No. 1: Accessed March 23, 2011 at: http://law.uwe.ac.uk/pdf/trafficking.pdf

Year: 0

Country: United Kingdom

URL: http://law.uwe.ac.uk/pdf/trafficking.pdf

Shelf Number: 121108

Keywords:
Forced Labor
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking (Wales)
Prostitution
Sexual Exploitation

Author: Wuebbels, Mark

Title: Demystifying Human Smuggling Operations Along the Arizona-Mexican Border

Summary: The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview and analysis of the problem of human smuggling along the U.S. - Mexican border. Using open source material, economic analysis, and experts’ opinions, the paper details the scope, methods, and associated negative externalities of human smuggling. In writing this report, careful attention was made to separate between incidents of trafficking and human smuggling. However, since many times media articles, especially in Spanish, use the term trafficking instead of smuggling, some of the citations and original sources will include the terms human trafficking. As such, to the greatest extent, information applicable only to human trafficking has been eliminated. This paper is split into two parts. The first part begins by defining human smuggling and its component crimes. To this end, it lays out the international, federal, and state legal definitions of human smuggling as well as the federal jurisdictions for human smuggling’s component crimes. After defining the problem, this paper discuses the logic behind the decision to migrate. It reflects the prevailing wisdom among migration experts as well as an alternative explanation of the decision making process. Next, the paper lays out the various estimates of the UDA population and extrapolates the potential flow of undocumented aliens (UDA) across U.S. borders. The paper then describes the UDA population in terms of nationality and socio-economic characteristics. Finally, the paper presents the necessary elements for smuggling operations. The second part is a primer on current smuggling operations in different states in Mexico. Using open source literature from Mexican and U.S. newspapers, it outlines human smuggling methods, the roads and transportation they use, and the path UDAs use to reach the United States. In general, the purpose is to show how the fundamental elements of human smuggling are expressed in reality.

Details: Report prepared for the Arizona State Attorney General, 2005. 56p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 1, 2011 at: http://policy-traccc.gmu.edu/resources/publications/wuebbe01.pdf

Year: 2005

Country: United States

URL: http://policy-traccc.gmu.edu/resources/publications/wuebbe01.pdf

Shelf Number: 121216

Keywords:
Border Security
Human Smuggling
Illegal Aliens
Illegal Immigrants
Immigration

Author: Hamood, Sara

Title: African Transit Migration Through Libya to Europe: The Human Cost

Summary: This report seeks to shed light on the experiences of refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants temporarily residing in and passing through Libya en route to the EU. The report examines the experiences of refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants in Libya. It also analyzes the notion of protection for refugees and asylum-seekers in Libya both from a legal perspective and as understood by refugees and asylumseekers themselves. It further tracks the journeys of refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants, originating from Egypt, Sudan and the Horn of Africa, from their countries of origin to the ultimate destination of the EU. Finally, it outlines and analyzes the cooperation between the EU and Libya on migration issues.

Details: Cairo: American University in Cairo, Forced Migration and Refugee Studies, 2006. 86p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 31, 2011 at: http://www.migreurop.org/IMG/pdf/hamood-libya.pdf

Year: 2006

Country: Africa

URL: http://www.migreurop.org/IMG/pdf/hamood-libya.pdf

Shelf Number: 122569

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Illegal Immigrants
Immigration (Africa)

Author: Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies (BIPSS)

Title: Human Trafficking: A Security Concern for Bangladesh

Summary: Trafficking in persons, the darkest episode of population mobility, has been widely considered as a major human security issue today. Increasingly, people from the poor families are being forced to this new form of human slavery and the trade of human dignity. Human trafficking has been used to denote a wide range of human rights abuses and crimes that combine the recruitment, movement and sale of people into an exploitative condition. While recognition of its persistence and impact on society has increased over recent years, it is not a new phenomenon rather it continues as a set of activities and effects that is hard to put a figure on. Some forms of human trafficking have existed for thousands of years, while others take advantage of opportunities presented by emerging economic niches. In Bangladesh, human trafficking has gone to an acute condition. Governments, though endowed huge effort, failed evidently to control the trafficking in persons in the country. Activities of the NGOs and Multilateral agencies are also limited to the function of awareness building and advocacy. The complicity of the government with the trafficking nexus has added much doubt whether the government is abundantly willing to address the issue, while the US Department of state included Bangladesh in its trafficking watchlist in the 2 tier ranking that poses the threat of sanctions upon Bangladesh, if the country fails to improve the trafficking condition by next year. Therefore, re-positioning the trafficking as a human security threat would enable practitioners and policymakers to approach this issue more holistically and to ban and combat the practice.

Details: Dhaka: BIPSS, 2011. 16p.

Source: Internet Resource: Issue Brief 9: Accessed September 30, 2011 at: http://www.bipss.org.bd/pdf/Issue%209%20Quark%20Link%20Off.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: United States

URL: http://www.bipss.org.bd/pdf/Issue%209%20Quark%20Link%20Off.pdf

Shelf Number: 122962

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking (Bangladesh)
Sexual Exploitation

Author: Conley, Christopher J.

Title: Interdicting Maritime Migrant Smuggling: Applying Some Concepts of Operational Art to Coast Guard Operations

Summary: The issue of illegal human trafficking, smuggling, and migration in the maritime domain presents a challenge to the organizations charged with protecting the borders of the United States. As an agency responsible for enforcing laws on the high seas, the U.S. Coast Guard is the primary instrument for interdicting illegal maritime migration. Except in extreme circumstances of mass migration, the Coast Guard has relied on the principle of effective presence to accomplish its mission and done so with measurable success. However, with the growing transnational criminal nature of human trafficking and increased pressure on U.S. maritime borders due to tougher border enforcement, the Coast Guard should seek to expand its concept of operations for interdiction of human smuggling in the maritime domain. The Coast Guard could do this by inviting relevant agencies to participate in a Joint Interagency Task Force to bring a unified effort to counter maritime smuggling. Furthermore, the Coast Guard should apply the appropriate concepts of operational art consistent with joint doctrine in planning and executing its mission to ensure the most effective and efficient application of national resources.

Details: Newport, RI: Joint Military Operations Department, Naval War College, 2008. 25p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 7, 2011 at: http://dodreports.com/pdf/ada484333.pdf

Year: 2008

Country: United States

URL: http://dodreports.com/pdf/ada484333.pdf

Shelf Number: 123003

Keywords:
Border Security
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Illegal Aliens
Maritime Crime
Maritime Security
Migrants
U.S. Coast Guard

Author: Autry, Phillip G.

Title: An Analysis of the Effectiveness of Sino-U.S. Law Enforcement Cooperation to Combat Human Smuggling

Summary: This paper analyzes the effectiveness of Sino-U.S. governmental law enforcement cooperation to combat human smuggling. A history of bilateral law enforcement cooperation against human smuggling is presented, with emphasis given to the period since 1993. U.S. immigration statistics, along with statistics from the U.S. Coast Guard, are presented as a measure of the success of law enforcement efforts. In the analysis that follows, identification is made of factors that seem to have hindered and obstructed, or promoted and advanced Sino-U.S. law enforcement cooperation. This study finds that sudden shifts in the macroclimate of Sino-U.S. relations may positively or adversely affect cooperation on law enforcement matters, including human smuggling. In the current case, bilateral cooperation against human smuggling has been advanced by spillover effects of convergent Sino-U.S. counterterrorism interests that occurred in the wake of September 11. Next, it is found that the creation of formal bilateral institutions for law enforcement cooperation since 1997 has facilitated improved effectiveness in Sino-U.S. work against human smuggling.. Finally, this study finds that the effectiveness of bilateral law enforcement cooperation against human smuggling has been substantially undermined by the inability of the two sides to maintain an effective repatriation-based deterrent against human smuggling.

Details: Atlanta, GA: Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007. 113p.

Source: Internet Resource: Master's Thesis: Accessed November 1, 2011 at: http://smartech.gatech.edu/jspui/bitstream/1853/16263/1/autry_phillip_g_200708_mast.pdf

Year: 2007

Country: United States

URL: http://smartech.gatech.edu/jspui/bitstream/1853/16263/1/autry_phillip_g_200708_mast.pdf

Shelf Number: 123202

Keywords:
Alien Smuggling
Human Smuggling
Illegal Immigration (U.S.)

Author: Roberts, Bryan

Title: An Analysis of Migrant Smuggling Costs along the Southwest Border

Summary: Border enforcement is intended to prevent and deter the illegal movement of goods and people across a country’s border. The intensification of border enforcement activities creates impediments to illegal entry that increase the costs incurred by migrants when crossing the border. Increased costs may include additional time investment, physical hardship, and higher fees charged by smugglers who assist migrants across the border. The impact of enforcement on illegal immigration depends on how enforcement affects migration costs and how migration costs affect the decision to migrate. Our goal in this paper is to estimate the impact that enforcement has on the price smugglers charge to bring illegal immigrants across the U.S.-Mexico border.

Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Immigration Statistics, Policy Directorate, 2010. 22p.

Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper: Accessed November 1, 2011 at: http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/ois-smuggling-wp.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: United States

URL: http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/ois-smuggling-wp.pdf

Shelf Number: 123203

Keywords:
Alien Smuggling
Border Patrol
Border Security
Costs of Criminal Justice
Human Smuggling
Illegal Immigration
Migrant Smuggling

Author: International Centre for Migration Policy Development

Title: Yearbook on Illegal Migration, Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe: A Survey and Analysis of Border Management and Border Apprehension Data from 2008: Including: Special Survey on the 2007 Enlargement of the Schengen Area

Summary: Based on the contributions of the border services of 22 Central and Eastern European states, this Yearbook again provides a unique compilation and overview of irregular migration trends in the region. This year’s edition comprehensively covers the region and features major improvements in the quality and analysis of the compiled data. Like its predecessors, this book will be an indispensable source for all scholars and practitioners interested in irregular migration.

Details: Vienna: International Centre for Migration Policy Development, 2010. 250p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 10, 2011 at: http://research.icmpd.org/fileadmin/Research-Website/Publications/reports_and_studies/ICMPD-Yearbook-of-Illegal-Migration-in-2008-with_cover.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: Europe

URL: http://research.icmpd.org/fileadmin/Research-Website/Publications/reports_and_studies/ICMPD-Yearbook-of-Illegal-Migration-in-2008-with_cover.pdf

Shelf Number: 123305

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Illegal Migration
Migration (Europe)

Author: Juntunen, Marko

Title: Between Morocco and Spain: Men, migrant smuggling and a dispersed Moroccan community

Summary: This study concerns the social construction of gender in a context characterised by movement across international borders. What follows can be classified as the ethnography of Moroccan sha´bi young men whose lives are deeply touched by "harraga" migrant smuggling from Morocco to Spain. The main stage of this study is in Morocco but constant side-tracks opened by the subjects' social connections lead us to Spain, especially to industrial regions around Barcelona. The cultural context within which these men operate refuses to be bounded by geographical borders. In short: we are dealing with processes of constructing male gender in a cultural setting which resists labelling in geographical terms. These men, if not actually crossing borders themselves, would very much like to see themselves do so. They identify themselves in complex ways so that notions of 'belonging', 'loyalty' and 'home' are ambiguous and often contradictory. In many ways these men are between Morocco and Spain. In respect to the men that form the subject of this study, the nature of their social connections and the centrality of migration in their lives as an actual practice or aspiration make it essential to think of Morocco and migrant concentrations in Spain as a single cultural space with its flows of influences which bear upon male identities. The main interest lies in the following questions: how do these men orient in a social reality characterised by tensions between international mobility made possible by harraga and the restrictions of mobility imposed by the European Union's (EU) migration policy? What does this, in many respects new political, economic and social space mean to these men and how do they conceptualise their place in it? What do their migration practices and discourses concerning migration tell about notions of male identity and masculinity? How should we understand the choices of thousands of Moroccans who pay fortunes to migrant smugglers, embark on small open boats (pateras) and risk their lives hoping to reach the northern shore of the Mediterranean?

Details: Helsinki: University of Helsinki, 2002.

Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed on December 8, 2011 at: http://ethesis.helsinki.fi/julkaisut/hum/aasia/vk/juntunen/betweenm.pdf

Year: 2002

Country: Finland

URL: http://ethesis.helsinki.fi/julkaisut/hum/aasia/vk/juntunen/betweenm.pdf

Shelf Number: 123508

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Males
Migrants
Morocco
Spain

Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Title: Issue Paper: Smuggling of Migrants by Sea

Summary: Smuggling of migrants is defined by Article 3 of the Migrant Smuggling Protocol supplementing the United Nations Transnational Organized Crime Convention (UNTOC), as “...the procurement, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit, of the illegal entry of a person into a state party of which the person is not a national.” The specific nature of the sea‐based component of the smuggling journey resulted in a dedicated section on the issue in the Migrant Smuggling Protocol. While smuggling by sea accounts only for a small portion of overall migrant smuggling around the world, the particular dangers of irregular travel at sea make it a priority for response; though more migrant smuggling occurs by air, more deaths occur by sea. The journey of the migrant smuggled by sea often starts a significant distance away from the coast of departure. Some journeys to the coast may take mere days, but others can take place over years during which the migrant must work en route to raise money for his passage. Arduous desert crossings and victimization by smugglers and other criminals en route mean that some do not survive overland journeys to the coast. Contrasted with these extreme experiences, economically empowered migrants can afford a higher level of smuggling service and may experience no particular hardship, simply travelling through various international airport hubs toward the coastal country from where their sea journey commences. The type and size of vessel used to smuggle migrants by sea depends on the time, place and financial capacity of migrants undertaking the smuggling journey. In some countries, boats of only a handful of passengers are commonly intercepted by authorities, while in others vessels of several hundred people have been used. While voyages may be comfortable when conditions at sea are mild and the vessel is equipped with adequate food, water and sanitation, the journey is a harrowing one for the majority of migrants who report rough conditions, terrible cold and scarce food and water. The nature of the crime and its relationship with smuggling of migrants by land and by air means that it is a successful crime type that yields high profits for smugglers with all the risks being borne by migrants. Indeed, migrant smuggling by sea can be understood as a criminal business, which is competitively run as such. Smuggling by sea is generally carried out by flexible criminal groups or individuals operating on the basis of repeated contractual arrangements, rather than by hierarchical organizations. There are two methods used when vessels approach coasts of destination. One aims to reach land by evading detection by authorities, the other sets out to be detected and intercepted or rescued by authorities in territorial waters of destination coastal countries. In both situations, detecting smuggling vessels at sea is a key challenge for coastal states which may have limited resources and large search and rescue areas of responsibility. Upon detecting vessels, the key challenge is to balance objectives with obligations at international law, including the Migrant Smuggling Protocol. Smugglers are generally well‐informed about states’ protection obligations and act to exploit them, instructing migrants what to do upon interception to increase their chances of gaining entry into and remaining in countries of destination. For instance, officials responsible for intercepting vessels at sea have been faced with situations of people sabotaging their own vessels to force authorities to carry out rescues. Suggestions made in respect of encountering migrant smuggling at sea include Page 8 of 71 increased support of coastal states through joint patrols and provision of resources, and increased compliance with international legal standards and obligations in carrying out interceptions of smuggling vessels at sea. While responding to the situation at hand and ensuring that persons on board are appropriately assisted, a key challenge is to seize evidentiary opportunities to investigate smuggling‐related crimes. The complex nature of migrant smuggling networks and their modus operandi means that smugglers cannot be identified purely by looking to smugglers who may be on board boats; the transnational criminal network itself must be traced from a smuggling vessel, back to the coast of embarkation, and from there back to countries of transit and origin. Suggestions made for improved investigation and prosecution of migrant smuggling by sea include harmonizing domestic legislation with the UNTOC and the Migrant Smuggling Protocol. Further it is suggested that sentences imposed for smuggling offences be publicized as a means of deterring would‐be smugglers. Capacity building measures are also suggested so as to increase identification of smugglers on vessels, and to better link sea‐based crimes with land‐based smugglers. Preventing migrant smuggling by sea requires states to balance their obligations in international law with their legitimate interests in protecting state sovereignty from violation by organized crime groups. But law enforcement efforts alone are not adequate to prevent migrant smuggling by sea; the Migrant Smuggling Protocol stresses that prevention efforts must address root causes that lead a person into the hands of smugglers in the first place. Suggestions made for preventing migrant smuggling at sea include raising awareness about the dangers of sea smuggling journeys and the criminality of smuggling. Suggestions are also made to raise awareness of those who influence political and policy decisions, so policies put in place protect state sovereignty, uphold international obligations, and are not vulnerable to exploitation by smugglers. Also emphasised is the responsibility of coastal states of departure to intercept smuggling vessels before they embark on sea journeys. Beyond this, comprehensive data collection, analysis and research are suggested to strengthen evidence‐based responses. Experts from countries of origin, transit and destination unanimously agree that the most essential ingredient for effective and comprehensive response to migrant smuggling by sea is strengthened international cooperation to remove areas of impunity for smugglers along smuggling routes. Suggestions made for cooperating in response to migrant smuggling at sea include aligning activities with the Migrant Smuggling Protocol and increasing the role of UNODC in facilitating cooperative response. The value of bilateral and regional cooperation arrangements is stressed, with emphasis on flexible cooperative networks for effective and efficient on‐the‐ground response. Regular coordination meetings and joint operations are suggested to improve strategic and operational interagency coordination, as is the empowerment of central designated authorities to address migrant smuggling by sea. In short, while it is difficult to make generalizations about migrant smuggling by sea, two key points hold true around the world. Firstly, migrant smuggling by sea is the most dangerous type of smuggling for the migrants concerned, making it a priority concern for State response. Secondly, efforts to combat smuggling of migrants will be unsuccessful unless cooperation is strengthened not only between countries of sea departure and arrival, but also among the countries of origin, transit and destination along the entire smuggling route.

Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2011. 71p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 17, 2012 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/human-trafficking/Migrant-Smuggling/Issue-Papers/Issue_Paper_-_Smuggling_of_Migrants_by_Sea.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: International

URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/human-trafficking/Migrant-Smuggling/Issue-Papers/Issue_Paper_-_Smuggling_of_Migrants_by_Sea.pdf

Shelf Number: 123647

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Illegal Aliens
Illegal Migrants
Maritime Crime

Author: Monzini, Paola

Title: Human Smuggling To/Through Italy

Summary: This report contains the following two papers: The Irregular Immigration Industry on the North-East Border, by Giuseppe Sciortino and Migrant Smuggling via Maritime Routes, by Paola Monzini.

Details: Rome (?):Centre Studi di Politica Internazionale, 2004. 67p.

Source: Internet Resource: http://www.cespi.it/cnr/Monzini-Sciortino-ing_rev_.pdf

Year: 2004

Country: Italy

URL: http://www.cespi.it/cnr/Monzini-Sciortino-ing_rev_.pdf

Shelf Number: 123737

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Maritime Crime

Author: Sörenson, Karl

Title: Wrong Hands on Deck? Combating Piracy & Building Maritim Security in Eastern Africa

Summary: This report investigates the threats to maritime security in Eastern Africa, the responses to deal with these threats and the prospects for building maritime security in the region. The report discusses three aspects of maritime security: economic security, state security, and human security. While the Somali piracy, which dominates the security agenda, is mainly an economic security problem, it has both state and human security implications. Other illegal activities, such as smuggling of weapons and drugs, illegal fishing, waste dumping and smuggling of humans are also analysed according to these categorises. The report argues that paying more attention to all these activities; their underlying incentives and area of impact, would benefit the international community’s current work to build maritime security in Eastern Africa.

Details: Stockholm, Sweden: FOI, Swedish Defense Research Agency, Division of Defense Analysis, 2011. 52p.

Source: User Report: Internet Resource: Accessed on January 29, 2012 at http://www.foi.se/upload/projekt/Afrikagruppen/FOI-R--3228--SE%20Marin%20S%C3%A4kerhet.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: International

URL: http://www.foi.se/upload/projekt/Afrikagruppen/FOI-R--3228--SE%20Marin%20S%C3%A4kerhet.pdf

Shelf Number: 123877

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Illegal Fishing
Maritime Security (Eastern Africa)
Piracy (Eastern Africa)
Weapons Smuggling

Author: Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference

Title: Final report of the Working Group on Trafficking in Human Beings

Summary: Trafficking is an international cross-border crime that requires international cooperation and concerted action across borders. According to the Working Group the most important elements in the fight against this crime are to secure long term funding of for instance public authorities, specialized agencies, NGOs and intergovernmental organizations and projects, to apply victim-based, with particular emphasis on children, approach respecting human rights and to follow the money flows stemming from trafficking.

Details: Copenhagen, Denmark: NORDEN, 2011. 54p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 5, 2012 at http://www.norden.org/en/publications/publikationer/2011-416/at_download/publicationfile

Year: 2011

Country: International

URL: http://www.norden.org/en/publications/publikationer/2011-416/at_download/publicationfile

Shelf Number: 123987

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking (Europe)
International Crime
Transnational Crime

Author: Lanzante, Joseph A.

Title: The Relationship between Criminal and Terrorist Organizations and Human Smuggling

Summary: This thesis sought to expand on the literature that has been written on the possibility and impact of a relationship forming between criminal and terrorist organizations in terms of human smuggling. These entities could form a strategic alliance and leverage existing narcotics, weapons, and human smuggling corridors that exist south of the U.S./Mexico border to smuggle terrorist operatives into the U.S. thereby threatening U.S. interests and national security. The analysis of the scholarly literature, interview data, and case studies point to a relationship between criminal and terrorist organizations and the fact that they have worked together to smuggle terrorists into the U.S. Additionally, corruption efforts by these organizations places a weak link in U.S. border security that can be exploited for nefarious purposes. Enhanced information sharing between law enforcement entities may be the single best way to detect the relationship between criminal and terrorist organizations and prevent them from smuggling a terrorist operative into the U.S.

Details: Monterey, CA: Naval Postgraduate School, 2009. 115p.

Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed February 14, 2012 at: http://www.thecre.com/ccsf/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Lanzante.pdf

Year: 2009

Country: United States

URL: http://www.thecre.com/ccsf/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Lanzante.pdf

Shelf Number: 124131

Keywords:
Border Security
Drug Trafficking (U.S.)
Human Smuggling
Organized Crime
Terrorism

Author: Friebel, Guido

Title: Human Smuggling

Summary: Despite its importance in global illegal migration, there is little, and mostly theoretical research on human smuggling. We suggest an analytical framework to understand the micro structure of the human smuggling market. Migrants interact with smuggling and financing intermediaries; these may or may not be integrated with each other, and with the migrants' employers. Policies of receiving countries (border controls, employer sanctions, deportation policies, sales of visa) affect the interactions in the smuggling market, and, hence, migration flows. We review the theoretical work, point to the scarce empirical evidence, and identify challenges for future theoretical, empirical work and policy advice.

Details: Bonn, Germany: Institute for the Study of Labor (IXA), 2012. 28p.

Source: IZA Discussion Paper No. 6350: Internet Resource: Accessed March 14, 2012 at http://ftp.iza.org/dp6350.pdf

Year: 2012

Country: International

URL: http://ftp.iza.org/dp6350.pdf

Shelf Number: 124541

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Illegal Migration
Trafficking

Author: Friebel, Guido

Title: Smuggling Humans: A Theory of Debt-Financed Migration

Summary: We introduce financial constraints in a theoretical analysis of illegal immigration. Intermediaries finance the migration costs of wealth-constrained migrants, who enter temporary servitude contracts to repay the debt. These debt/labor contracts are easier to enforce in the illegal than in the legal sector of the host country. Hence, when moving from the illegal to the legal sector becomes more costly, for instance, because of stricter deportation policies, fewer immigrants default on debt. This reduces the risks for intermediaries, who are then more willing to finance illegal migration. Stricter deportation policies may thus, ex ante, increase rather than decrease the flow of illegal migrants. Furthermore, stricter deportation policies worsen the skill composition of immigrants. While stricter border controls decrease overall immigration, they may result in an increase of debt-financed migration. We also show that there are complementarities between employer sanctions and deportation policies. We use available evidence to check the empirical consistency of the theory.

Details: Bonn, Germany: Insitute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Undated. 48p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 14, 2012 at http://pages.nes.ru/sguriev/papers/Friebel-Guriev.pdf

Year: 0

Country: International

URL: http://pages.nes.ru/sguriev/papers/Friebel-Guriev.pdf

Shelf Number: 124542

Keywords:
Debt Bondage
Human Smuggling
Illegal Migration

Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

Title: International Framework for Action To Implement the Smuggling of Migrants Protocol

Summary: While 129 States, to date, have ratified the United Nations Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, giving effect to the Protocol remains a challenge in all regions. Most countries do not have dedicated action plans or strategies. Most commonly, migrant smuggling is partially addressed through efforts to combat irregular migration, by strengthening border controls and through efforts undertaken against transnational organized crime. Where migrants are simply detained and returned to countries of origin without the smuggling actors involved in their migration being investigated, the criminal processes at work continue unchallenged. Where border controls are strengthened without addressing the root causes of irregular migration and demand for smuggling services, the modus operandi of smugglers will simply adapt. Where opportunities to safely and regularly migrate are not offered as part of a holistic response to migrant smuggling alongside measures to address root causes of irregular migration, the demand for migrant smuggling services will only increase. These considerations highlight the need to elaborate an International Framework for Action to implement the Smuggling of Migrants Protocol (Framework for Action) to harmonize and coordinate a holistic and global response to the phenomenon in countries of origin, transit and destination. The purpose of the Framework for Action is to assist Member States and non-state actors in identifying and addressing gaps in their response to migrant smuggling in accordance with international standards. The Framework for Action unpacks provisions of the Smuggling of Migrants Protocol, drawing upon international instruments, political commitments, guidelines and best practices to enable the implementation of a comprehensive response to migrant smuggling. The Framework for Action consists of a narrative section and a set of tables. The Narrative describes the key challenges in the implementation of the Migrant Smuggling Protocol and elaborates guiding principles in responding to them. The set of tables details practical measures that can be taken in response of four key pillars: i) Prosecution of migrant smugglers; ii) Protection of smuggled migrants and their rights; iii) Prevention of migrant smuggling; iv) Cooperation to address migrant smuggling. For each of the four pillars, the Framework for Action is divided into: Protocol Objectives, which reflect the provisions of the Smuggling of Migrants Protocol; Specific Objectives, which explain the intent of the provisions; Framework Requirements, setting out minimum standards for action; Implementation Measures, which offer best practices to achieve effective implementation; and Operational Indicators, to measure implementation and help monitor change over time.

Details: Vienna: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), 2011. 176p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 23, 2012 at http://www.unodc.org/documents/human-trafficking/Migrant-Smuggling/Framework_for_Action_Smuggling_of_Migrants.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: International

URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/human-trafficking/Migrant-Smuggling/Framework_for_Action_Smuggling_of_Migrants.pdf

Shelf Number: 124722

Keywords:
Crime Prevention
Human Smuggling
International Cooperation
Migrant Smuggling
Prosecution
Victims Services

Author: Emerton, Robyn

Title: Trafficking of Women into Hong Kong for the Purpose of Prostitution: Preliminary Research Findings

Summary: The issue of trafficking of women for the purpose of prostitution has been a matter of international concern since the turn of the 19th century, when several international conventions on “white slavery” were adopted. Recently there have been renewed efforts to address the issue of trafficking in women at the international and regional level, largely prompted by the work of non-governmental organisations, which have brought to light the huge numbers of women involved and the extent of the human rights abuses they suffer. The trafficking of women for the purposes of prostitution into certain parts of Asia, in particular into Thailand, India and Japan, is now relatively well-documented. However, there is very little information available on the trafficking of women into Hong Kong. This study is an attempt to correct that, although, given the “hidden” nature of the problem and the time and difficulties involved in obtaining primary information, it must be regarded very much as a preliminary study, but one which is intended to provide the foundation for further work in the future. The study first considers some of the definitional problems which continue to plague the discussion of trafficking in women, in particular within the context of international law developments (Part II). It then turns to Hong Kong‟s domestic law and Hong Kong‟s international and regional obligations (Part III). On the basis of information available, the various situations of non-local women who have been recruited to work in the Hong Kong sex industry are described. The report considers whether these women are, or might be, victims of trafficking, both under Hong Kong law, which is based on a traditional concept of trafficking, and under a more modern definition of trafficking (Part IV). This is followed by a review of the approach taken by the Hong Kong authorities to the issue of trafficking (Part V). Finally, the report makes some observations and recommendations in relation to the position in Hong Kong (Part VI).

Details: Hong Kong: Centre for Comparative and Public Law, University of Hong Kong, 2001. 69p.

Source: Occasional Paper No. 3: Internet Resource: Accessed May 6, 2012 at http://www.law.hku.hk/ccpl/pub/Documents/paper3.pdf

Year: 2001

Country: Hong Kong

URL: http://www.law.hku.hk/ccpl/pub/Documents/paper3.pdf

Shelf Number: 125163

Keywords:
Female Victims
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking (Hong Kong)
Prostitution (Hong Kong)
Sex Trafficking (Hong Kong)
Transnational Crime

Author: Perrin, Benjamin

Title: Migrant Smuggling: Canada's Response to a Global Criminal Enterprise

Summary: Migrant smuggling is a dangerous, sometimes deadly, criminal activity which cannot be rationalized, justified, or excused. From both a supply and demand side, failing to respond effectively to migrant smuggling and deter it will risk emboldening those who engage in this illicit enterprise, which generates proceeds for organized crime and criminal networks, funds terrorism and facilitates clandestine terrorist travel; endangers the lives and safety of smuggled migrants, undermines border security, with consequences for the Canada/U.S. border, and undermines the integrity and fairness of Canada’s mmigration system. Introduced in Parliament in June, 2011, the Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada’s Immigration System Act (Bill C-4) includes amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) that would: 1. Enhance the existing offence of migrant smuggling, in terms of the elements of the offence, the penalties available, and recognized aggravating factors; 2. Modify the general provisions of the IRPA to provide for detention of foreign nationals on arrival in Canada on grounds of serious criminality, criminality, or organized criminality; and 3. Create a separate legislative scheme for groups of smuggled migrants who arrive in Canada that relates to detention, release, and timing to apply for various forms of immigration status. This paper supports Bill C-4, but with two necessary amendments, namely: 1. Initial review of detention of designated foreign nationals should take place within 48 hours of detention, with further reviews every three or six months thereafter, in order to comply with binding Supreme Court of Canada jurisprudence; and 2. An exemption for designated foreign nationals who are minors (persons under 18 years of age) from the detention provisions of Bill C-4, which would instead subject them to the general rules related to detention of foreign nationals who are minors. These changes would provide Bill C-4 with a more balanced response to migrant smuggling. Bill C-4 is just part of the overall action being taken by the Government of Canada to address migrant smuggling. A comprehensive approach to addressing migrant smuggling ultimately requires three primary strategies pursued together at the national and international levels: 1. National jurisdictions must take greater action to discourage illegal migration and disrupt migrant smuggling operations through legislation like Bill C-4 and through international cooperation; 2. National jurisdictions must establish more efficient refugee-determination processes and expedient procedures to remove failed claimants; and, 3. As part of the solution, the international community should continue to develop a proactive response to the global refugee situation.

Details: Ottawa: Macdonald-Laurier Institute, 2011. 30p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 19, 2012 at http://ssrn.com/abstract=1961284

Year: 2011

Country: Canada

URL: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1961284

Shelf Number: 125358

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Migrant Smuggling (Canada)
Migrants

Author: Reisen, Mirjam van

Title: Human Trafficking in the Sinai: Refugees between Life and Death

Summary: This report describes the horrific situation of trafficking of refugees in the Sinai desert, a crisis that started in 2009. The refugees include men, women, children and accompanying infants fleeing from already desperate circumstances in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan. An estimated 95% of the refugees held hostage in the Sinai (also referred to as hostages) are Eritreans. Smuggled across borders by middlemen, or kidnapped from refugee camps in Ethiopia and the Sudan as well as their surrounding areas, and then captured or sold, the refugees are held hostage close to the Israeli border in inhumane conditions and tortured for ransoms up to USD 50,000. A large number of the refugees have died, either while being held hostage or after their release – often even after their ransom has been paid. A large number of refugees simply ‘disappear’, killed while being held or shot by the Egyptian military guarding the border with Israel after release. The aim of this report is to give the Sinai refugees a voice. Through the interviews we can hear their stories, and connect with them. It is hoped that this document will raise awareness among the broader public of the desperate plight of these people as a step towards stopping this crime. A second aim of the report is to contextualise these practices within the international legal framework, and, in this way, highlight the obligations of states and international organisations, including the EU, to take action against these practices. This report examines the processes involved in the trafficking of the refugees (i.e., how the refugees are recruited, how they are transported to the Sinai including their routes, and the conditions under which they are being held) and the international legal framework applicable to these practices (i.e., whether or not these practices can be considered ‘trafficking in persons’, ‘torture’ or other).

Details: Tilburg, Brussels: Tilburg University/EEPA, 2012. 87p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 19, 2012 at: http://www.eepa.be/wcm/dmdocuments/publications/report_Human_Trafficking_in_the_Sinai_20120928.pdf

Year: 2012

Country: Egypt

URL: http://www.eepa.be/wcm/dmdocuments/publications/report_Human_Trafficking_in_the_Sinai_20120928.pdf

Shelf Number: 126756

Keywords:
Debt Bondage
Forced Begging
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Refugees (Egypt)
Torture
Trafficking in Human Organs

Author: Alpes, Maybritt Jill

Title: Bushfalling: How Young Cameroonians Dare to Migrate

Summary: This book is written in reaction to, on the one hand, trafficking and smuggling discourses in Europe, and, on the other hand to the strong belief in the possibilities of bushfalling in Cameroon. Tensions between ambitions for mobility and imposed immobility are reflected in the way that Anglophone Cameroonians have started since the late 1990s to refer to emigration in Pidgin as ‘bushfalling’. Bushfalling is the act of going out to the wilderness (bush) to hunt down meat (money) and bring back these trophies. On the basis of an ethnographic study of migration brokers, consulate officers, aspiring migrants and their families, as well as deported migrants, this research investigates what makes young Cameroonians migrate at all cost. The books argues that we can only come to understand dynamics of trafficking and bushfalling if we take seriously the perspectives of people in countries of departure, as well as the plurality of regulatory dynamics that shape conditions of departure. By studying rather than presupposing the place of state, market and family actors within conditions of departure, this study unravels how the phenomena of bushfalling and trafficking do not exist merely because individuals chose to migrate at all cost.

Details: Amsterdam: Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research, 2011. 266p.

Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed November 9, 2012 at: http://dare.uva.nl/record/399071

Year: 2011

Country: Cameroon

URL: http://dare.uva.nl/record/399071

Shelf Number: 126909

Keywords:
Deportation
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Illegal Immigrants
Marriage Migration
Migration (Cameroon)

Author: Kreyling, S.J.

Title: Technology and Research Requirements for Combating Human Trafficking: Enhancing Communication, Analysis, Reporting, and Information Sharing

Summary: The U.S. Department of Energy’s Science & Technology Directorate directed PNNL to conduct an exploratory study on the domain of human trafficking in the Pacific Northwest in order to examine and identify technology and research requirements for enhancing communication, analysis, reporting, and information sharing – activities that directly support efforts to track, identify, deter, and prosecute human trafficking – including identification of potential national threats from smuggling and trafficking networks. This effort was conducted under the Knowledge Management Technologies Portfolio as part of the Integrated Federal, State, and Local/Regional Information Sharing (RISC) and Collaboration Program. The major recommendations of this report are: • Defensible methodologies are needed to estimate the number of victims of human trafficking, both nationally and regionally. Various modeling and expert elicitation techniques can be applied, using the members of each DOJ anti-trafficking task force as the pool of experts, including victim service providers. Separately, there is a need to harmonize and standardize the existing efforts to estimate the scale of human trafficking in the US. • Variations in the definitions of human trafficking employed by law enforcement, service providers, and others pose a significant challenge to accurate measurement. Develop and implement a methodology that helps practitioners clarify and describe their conceptual frameworks/mental models. • Further identification of information-sharing processes and technologies currently in use by both DHS component agencies and partner organizations that participate in each of the federally-funded Anti-Human-Trafficking Task Forces across the county is required. • Research is needed on the applicability of collecting victim data from a wide variety of sources beyond law enforcement, the outreach strategies necessary to increase the breadth of sources from which information is collected, the reduction of the methodological challenges as more data is collected from different sources, and methods for using this data for the regional examination of patterns and trends. • The information collected about human trafficking investigations by local, regional and federal law enforcement is not easily accessible by investigating agents and data is not efficiently compared between agencies or across systems. Identify an emerging industry standard for federated search and begin to move existing and new systems to support it. • Ad-hoc information sharing between investigating officers/agents in different agencies is difficult and not a routine occurrence. Given the difficulties of browsing and searching the systems of other agencies, research is needed into tools that can be accessed and edited by any vetted law enforcement officer, yet with fixed geographic and categorical sections to focus on their specific interests (human trafficking, Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC), gangs, narcotics, etc.). • Despite significantly increased attention to human trafficking, Washington State has not seen an increase in identifiable and prosecutable human trafficking-related cases associated with forced labor and domestic servitude of foreign nationals. An analysis based on analyzing visa applications (e.g., B1, H2A, H2B) should be conducted to produce a “proactive triage” of potential victims from high-risk populations. • Despite significantly increased attention to human trafficking nationwide, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has not seen a comparable increase human trafficking related criminal convictions - only 30% of human trafficking cases that ICE initiated in FY09 eventually led to a criminal conviction. A lessons-learned study should be conducted to identify the factors that are most influential to a case’s successful transition from investigation to a conviction. • An International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Working Group should be convened that builds on IACP’s pre-existing work related to combating human trafficking with a specific focus on the application of technology for training and investigations from the user perspective. Lessons learned, best practices and tools or technologies needed by local law enforcement will be the expected knowledge-product outcomes. • There is large body of knowledge and perspective on trafficking and smuggling residing in the Intelligence Community (IC) which is not widely available within law enforcement. Research should be conducted on lessons learned from the intelligence community concerning human trafficking and related networks (terrorism, smuggling, narcotics, weapons, etc.) which can then be applied to law enforcement and presented in an unclassified report. • There is no systematic means of proactively assessing the scale, movement, demand, inter-connectedness, or general operation of juvenile prostitution and Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking (DMST) at a regional or larger level. A pilot sensor platform should be built to examine a significant subset of on-line prostitution sites in a regional set of participating urban areas, as well as, street-based prostitution associated with DMST. • The greatest and most immediate need that the Co-Chairs of WashACT (Seattle Police, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, ICE, and the Washington Anti-trafficking Response Network) identified was for more shelters with specialized services for victims. In order to successfully investigate and prosecute traffickers, victims must be stable and free from fear and intimidation to be effective witnesses. • There is also a lack of capacity to deal with large numbers of trafficking victims at once, should the need arise (i.e., there is no “surge capacity”).

Details: Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 2011. 39p.

Source: Internet Resource: PNNL-20258: Accessed December 1, 2012 at: http://www.pnl.gov/main/publications/external/technical_reports/PNNL-20258.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: United States

URL: http://www.pnl.gov/main/publications/external/technical_reports/PNNL-20258.pdf

Shelf Number: 127088

Keywords:
Human Sexual Exploitation
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking (Washington State, U.S.)
Information Sharing
Inter-Agency Collaboration
Technology

Author: Mehlman-Orozco, K.

Title: Smuggling and the Likelihood of Detention: An Exploratory Study of Undocumented Migrants in Northern Virginia

Summary: Current political and security realties have focused attention on the mechanisms of undocumented migration at the US southern border. Although data show that the incidence of human smuggling has increased, it is unclear whether smuggled undocumented migrants evade detention more often than non-smuggled undocumented migrants. Do smuggled undocumented migrants evade detention more than undocumented migrants who cross without the help of smugglers? This study uses survey data collected from a convenience sample of day laborers in Northern Virginia to provide an exploratory answer to this question. Bivariate analyses of undocumented migrant entry and detention in the United States provides statistically significant evidence that smuggled undocumented migrants are less likely to be detained than undocumented migrants who traveled individually. This evidence suggests that smuggled undocumented migrants may be continuing to evade border security at a greater rate than individual migrants.

Details: Alexandria, VA: Justitia Institute, 2012. 4p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 13, 2013 at: http://www.justitiainstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/TJISmugglingReport.pdf

Year: 2012

Country: United States

URL: http://www.justitiainstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/TJISmugglingReport.pdf

Shelf Number: 127597

Keywords:
Border Security
Human Smuggling
Illegal Immigrants (U.S.)
Immigration

Author: U.S. Government Accountability Office

Title: Border Security: Additional Actions Needed to Strengthen CBP Efforts to Mitigate Risk of Employee Corruption and Misconduct

Summary: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data indicate that arrests of CBP employees for corruption-related activities since fiscal years 2005 account for less than 1 percent of CBP’s entire workforce per fiscal year. The majority of arrests of CBP employees were related to misconduct. There were 2,170 reported incidents of arrests for acts of misconduct such as domestic violence or driving under the influence from fiscal year 2005 through fiscal year 2012, and a total of 144 current or former CBP employees were arrested or indicted for corruption-related activities, such as the smuggling of aliens and drugs, of whom 125 have been convicted as of October 2012. Further, the majority of allegations against CBP employees since fiscal year 2006 occurred at locations along the southwest border. CBP officials have stated that they are concerned about the negative impact that these cases have on agencywide integrity. CBP employs screening tools to mitigate the risk of employee corruption and misconduct for both applicants (e.g., background investigations and polygraph examinations) and incumbent CBP officers and Border Patrol agents (e.g., random drug tests and periodic reinvestigations). However, CBP’s Office of Internal Affairs (IA) does not have a mechanism to maintain and track data on which of its screening tools (e.g., background investigation or polygraph examination) provided the information used to determine which applicants were not suitable for hire. Maintaining and tracking such data is consistent with internal control standards and could better position CBP IA to gauge the relative effectiveness of its screening tools. CBP IA is also considering requiring periodic polygraphs for incumbent officers and agents; however, it has not yet fully assessed the feasibility of expanding the program. For example, CBP has not yet fully assessed the costs of implementing polygraph examinations on incumbent officers and agents, including costs for additional supervisors and adjudicators, or factors such as the trade-offs associated with testing incumbent officers and agents at various frequencies. A feasibility assessment of program expansion could better position CBP to determine whether and how to best achieve its goal of strengthening integrity-related controls for officers and agents. Further, CBP IA has not consistently conducted monthly quality assurance reviews of its adjudications since 2008, as required by internal policies, to help ensure that adjudicators are following procedures in evaluating the results of the preemployment and periodic background investigations. CBP IA officials stated that they have performed some of the required checks since 2008, but they could not provide data on how many checks were conducted. Without these quality assurance checks, it is difficult for CBP IA to determine the extent to which deficiencies, if any, exist in the adjudication process. CBP does not have an integrity strategy, as called for in its Fiscal Year 2009-2014 Strategic Plan. During the course of our review, CBP IA began drafting a strategy, but CBP IA’s Assistant Commissioner stated the agency has not set target timelines for completing and implementing this strategy. Moreover, he stated that there has been significant cultural resistance among some CBP components in acknowledging CBP IA’s authority for overseeing all integrity-related activities. Setting target timelines is consistent with program management standards and could help CBP monitor progress made toward the development and implementation of an agencywide strategy.

Details: Washington, DC: GAO, 2012. 48p.

Source: Internet Resource: GAO-13-59: Accessed February 21, 2013 at: http://www.gao.gov/assets/660/650505.pdf

Year: 2012

Country: United States

URL: http://www.gao.gov/assets/660/650505.pdf

Shelf Number: 127690

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security (U.S.)
Customs Officials
Drug Smuggling
Employee Corruption
Employee Misconduct
Human Smuggling

Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Title: Transnational Organized Crime in West Africa: A Threat Assessment

Summary: Key Findings • The flow of cocaine through West Africa appears to have declined to about 18 tons, down from a peak of 47 tons in 2007. These 18 tons would be worth US$1.25 billion at wholesale in Europe, providing West African traffickers with substantial income. • Modes of conveyance for cocaine from South America to Europe via West Africa have shifted over time in response to enforcement efforts. Much of the cocaine headed to West Africa today comes from Brazil, where Nigerian crime groups are exporting the drug. Recently, these groups have been moving into containerized consignments and maritime shipping, adopting these methods in addition to their traditional methods of air couriering and postal shipments. From West Africa, an increase in the use of Benin as a departure point for air couriers has been noted. • Methamphetamine production in the region is a growing concern, with two methamphetamine laboratories detected in Nigeria in 2011-2012. The main market for West African-made meth is East Asia, and to a lesser extent, South Africa. The income from trafficking West African-made methamphetamines to East Asia is remarkably high for such a new flow, but the long-term prospects are limited in light of competition from producers located in the destination markets. • Due to the economic downturn, the flow of smuggled migrants from West Africa to Europe has declined in recent years. The prominence of the many routes has shifted significantly, with routes moving eastwards. • Given the number of weapons still circulating from past conflicts in the region, there is very little need to import large numbers of weapons into West Africa. Most of the illicit flow of weapons in the region is diverted or stolen from licit national stocks held by to 20,000 firearms from Libya does represent a serious threat to stability in the region, a threat that appears to have been realized in northern Mali. • The prevalence of fraudulent medicines is highest not in the markets where profits would be the greatest, but in those where chances of detection are lowest. At least 10% of the imported medicines circulating in West Africa are fraudulent, posing a grave threat to public health and safety. • Maritime piracy has generated renewed attention in the Gulf of Guinea, with 22 pirate attacks occurring off the coast of Benin in 2011. In 2012, Togo became the new hotspot for attacks on petroleum tankers. These vessels are attacked because there is a booming black market for fuel in West Africa. • Unless the flows of contraband are addressed, instability and lawlessness will persist, and it will remain difficult to build state capacity and the rule of law in the region. Each of these flows requires a tailored response, because the commodities involved respond to distinct sources of supply and demand.

Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2013. 68p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 27, 2013 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/tocta/West_Africa_TOCTA_2013_EN.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: Africa

URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/tocta/West_Africa_TOCTA_2013_EN.pdf

Shelf Number: 127736

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Trafficking
Firearms Trafficking
Fraudulent Medicines
Human Smuggling
Maritime Crime
Methamphetamines
Organized Crime (West Africa)
Piracy/Pirates

Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Title: Transnational Organized Crime in East Asia and the Pacific A Threat Assessment

Summary: East Asia and the Pacific have experienced rapid economic and social changes during the past few decades and faced the considerable regulation challenges these changes create for public authorities. This report takes a look at the manner in which criminal enterprises have developed alongside legitimate commerce in recent years. Drawing on official statistics, academic studies, and interviews with law enforcement officials, it attempts to outline something about the mechanics of illicit trade: the how, where, when, who, and why of selected contraband markets affecting the region. It also endeavours to give the best reading of the available data on the size of these markets. Though the list of contraband markets discussed is not comprehensive and it is impossible to quantify the value of these markets with any precision, these estimates are offered to prompt public debate on areas of great public policy significance. The mechanics of trafficking are discussed for a nonexhaustive list of 12 illicit flows, which themselves are organized under four headings: 1. Human trafficking and smuggling of migrants 2. Illicit drugs (heroin and methamphetamine) 3. Resources (wildlife, wood products) and pollution crime (e-waste, ozone-depleting substances) 4. Products (counterfeit goods, fraudulent medicines).

Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2013. 192p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 1, 2013 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/Studies/TOCTA_EAP_web.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: Asia

URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/Studies/TOCTA_EAP_web.pdf

Shelf Number: 128580

Keywords:
Counterfeit Goods
Drug Trafficking
Fraudulent Medicines
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Offenses Against the Environment
Organized Crime (East Asia, Pacific)
Wildlife Crime

Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Title: Assessment Guide to the Criminal Justice Response to the Smuggling of Migrants

Summary: The Assessment Guide to the Criminal Justice Response to the Smuggling of Migrants provides an inventory of measures for assessing the legislative, investigative, prosecutorial, judicial and administrative responses to the smuggling of migrants by land, sea and air, for deterring and combating such crime, and for integrating the information and experience gained from such assessment into successful national, regional and international strategies. The Assessment Guide is based on lessons learned from domestic and international efforts to curtail the smuggling of migrants, scholarly analysis and case examinations, and consultation with key stakeholders and relevant experts. The Assessment Guide is a standardized and cross-referenced set of measures designed to enable government officials in immigration, customs and law enforcement agencies and United Nations agencies, as well as other organizations, industry and individuals, to conduct comprehensive assessments of domestic systems, to identify areas of technical assistance, to assist in the design of interventions that incorporate international standards and norms on the prevention and suppression of the smuggling of migrants, and to assist in training on these issues.

Details: New York: UNODC, 2013. 174p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 2, 2013 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/human-trafficking/Migrant-Smuggling/UNODC_2012_Assessment_Guide_to_the_Criminal_Justice_Response_to_the_Smuggling_of_Migrants-EN.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: International

URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/human-trafficking/Migrant-Smuggling/UNODC_2012_Assessment_Guide_to_the_Criminal_Justice_Response_to_the_Smuggling_of_Migrants-EN.pdf

Shelf Number: 128607

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Illegal Immigrants
Migrants

Author: Seelke, Clare Ribando

Title: Trafficking in Persons in Latin America and the Caribbean

Summary: Trafficking in persons (TIP) for the purpose of exploitation is a lucrative criminal activity that is of major concern to the United States and the international community. According to the U.S. State Department, as many as 27 million people may be trafficking victims around the world at any given time. In recent years, the largest numbers of trafficking victims have been identified in Africa and Europe; however human trafficking is also a major problem in Latin America. Countries in Latin America serve as source, transit, and destination countries for trafficking victims. Men, women, and children are victimized within their own countries, as well as trafficked to other countries in the region. Latin America is also a primary source region for people trafficked to the United States. In FY2012, for example, primary countries of origin for foreign trafficking victims certified as eligible to receive U.S. assistance included Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala (along with Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia). Smaller numbers of Latin American TIP victims are trafficking to Europe and Asia. Latin America serves as a transit region for Asian TIP victims. Since enactment of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA, P.L. 106-386), Congress has taken steps to address human trafficking by authorizing new programs and reauthorizing existing ones, appropriating funds, creating new criminal laws, and conducting oversight on the effectiveness and implications of U.S. anti-TIP policy. Most recently, the TVPA was reauthorized through FY2017 in Title XXII of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (P.L. 110-457). According to CRS calculations, obligations for U.S.-funded anti-TIP programs in Latin America totaled roughly $8.4 million in FY2011, with $5.3 million of those funds destined for Haiti. On June 19, 2013, the State Department issued its 13th annual, congressionally mandated report on human trafficking. The report categorizes countries into four “tiers” according to the government’s efforts to combat trafficking. Those countries that do not cooperate in the fight against trafficking (Tier 3) have been made subject to U.S. foreign assistance sanctions. Colombia and, for the first time, Nicaragua received the top Tier 1 ranking in this year’s report. While Cuba is the only Latin American country ranked on Tier 3 in this year’s TIP report, nine other countries in the region—Barbados, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, St. Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela—are on the Tier 2 Watch List. Unless those countries make significant progress, they could receive a Tier 3 ranking in the 2014 report. Activity on combating TIP has continued into the 113th Congress, particularly related to the reauthorization of the TVPA and oversight of TIP programs and operations, including U.S.- funded programs in Latin America. Congress is likely to monitor trends in human trafficking in the region, such as the involvement of organized crime groups in TIP and the problem of child trafficking in Haiti. Congress could consider increasing funding for anti-TIP programs in the region, possibly through the Mérida Initiative for Mexico, the Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI), or through other assistance programs.

Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2013. 20p.

Source: Internet Resource: RL33200: Accessed July 19, 2013 at: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33200.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: Central America

URL: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33200.pdf

Shelf Number: 129468

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking (Latin America, Caribbean)
Sexual Exploitation

Author: Human Rights Watch

Title: Yemen's Torture Camps: Abuse of Migrants by Human Traffickers in a Climate of Impunity

Summary: Tens of thousands of African migrants pass through Yemen each year to seek work in Saudi Arabia. A multi-million-dollar human trafficking industry has developed in Yemen based on their passage. Its locus is the hot and dry northern border town of Haradh. Here Yemeni traffickers have found a particularly horrific way to make money: by taking migrants captive and transporting them to isolated camps, where they inflict severe pain and suffering and extort ransom from the migrants' relatives and friends. Yemen's Torture Camps describes how Yemeni officials have conducted only sporadic raids on the camps, and have frequently warned traffickers of raids, and freed them from jail when they are arrested. In some cases, officials actively helped the traffickers capture and detain migrants. It also documents abuses of migrants by Saudi border officials, who apprehend border crossers and turn them over to Haradh-based traffickers. The report is based on interviews with 67 people, including 18 Ethiopian migrants who survived torture in the camps, and 10 traffickers and smugglers, as well as health professionals, government officials, activists, diplomats, and journalists. Human Rights Watch calls on the Yemeni government to launch a concerted effort to investigate and prosecute traffickers, as well as members of the security forces, regardless of rank, suspected of collusion with traffickers. It also calls on police, military, and intelligence agencies to assist in the investigations and take appropriate disciplinary action against personnel implicated in trafficking.

Details: New York: Human Rights Watch, 2014. 81p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 14, 2014 at: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/yemen0514_ForUpload.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: Yemen

URL: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/yemen0514_ForUpload.pdf

Shelf Number: 132454

Keywords:
Human Rights Abuses (Yemen)
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Immigrants
Migrants
Ransom
Torture

Author: Reitano, Tuesday

Title: Smuggled Futures: The dangerous path of the migrant from Africa to Europe

Summary: In October 2013, Italy captured international headlines when a boat, carrying hundreds of asylum seekers sunk off its coast, killing over 360 people. The incident reflects the tremendous increase in African migration to Europe in recent years, in part due to the Arab Spring. While Africans have been migrating to Europe for decades, the instability across North Africa and the Sahel, coupled with the erosion of Libya's capacity to control its own borders, has resulted in an unprecedented surge of migrants to Italy in recent years. This surge shows no signs of subsiding. The decision to migrate may be fuelled by a multitude of motivations. Africa has the fastest population growth rate in the world, and although the continent is making momentous economic gains, it has broadly failed to translate these gains into sustainable livelihoods for its youth. Social and economic disparities, conflict, and crime in several countries throughout the continent, many Africans seek out new opportunities across the Mediterranean. It is estimated that in 80 percent of these cases, the journey is "facilitated" by migrant smugglers and criminal groups that who provides a range of services such as transportation, fraudulent identification, corruption of border officials and settlement services. Smugglers in transit countries coordinate with smugglers in source countries to act as guides, escorting individuals across the Sahara Desert, heading towards the coast. Although some smuggling networks are organized criminal structures, many are loosely linked chains of individuals, which make it challenging for authorities to dismantle. Three main smuggling routes characterize the irregular migration to Italy and beyond. The first is the Western route, for which the main source countries are Mali, the Gambia and Senegal. The Western route often connects in the Sahel with the Central Route, for which the source countries are Nigeria, Ghana and Niger. Finally, there is the Eastern route, which sources from Somalia, Eritrea and Darfur in South Sudan, and which tends to cut north through Sudan and Egypt and then along the northern coast of Africa. All of these routes converge in the Maghreb, and in recent years mostly in Libya, for the sea crossing to Italy. The cost of a trip to Italy averages several thousands of dollars, depending on the distance and difficulty of the route, the level of institutional control over the route and on the transit and destination countries' response to the migrants' arrival. It may take years to complete, as many remain in transit hubs along their route to work to afford the next leg of their trip. As a result, many migrants are "stuck" in towns along the way to the coast. In addition to exorbitant prices, migrants endure perilous conditions. As they make their way to the Mediterranean coast, migrants are often travel in overcrowded trucks, facing starvation and thirst before even reaching the coast. Once they reach the Mediterranean, people are packed into boats set for Europe, often embarking without enough fuel to make it to Italy. All too often, migrants drown. If migrants do arrive in Italy, their reception is less than favourable. Many are sent back to Africa. Given the exponential rise of irregular migrants and the humanitarian crises that accompany their failed attempts to reach European shores, EU states, including Italy, are under a growing pressure to restructure and align their immigration and asylum policies and practices. Current efforts to limit migration have only succeeded in shifting migration routes, forcing many seeking refuge to take more dangerous, riskier routes to Europe. Finding solutions to the problem of unmanaged migration cannot be limited to Italian border control but require regional cooperation in both Europe and Africa with governments addressing the root causes of mass migration.

Details: Geneva, SWIT: Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime, 2014. 35p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 16, 2014 at: http://www.globalinitiative.net/download/global-initiative/Global%20Initiative%20-%20Migration%20from%20Africa%20to%20Europe%20-%20May%202014.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: Africa

URL: http://www.globalinitiative.net/download/global-initiative/Global%20Initiative%20-%20Migration%20from%20Africa%20to%20Europe%20-%20May%202014.pdf

Shelf Number: 132466

Keywords:
Asylum Seekers
Human Smuggling
Illegal Immigration
Immigrants
Migration
Organized Crime

Author: Spinks, Harriet

Title: Destination Anywhere? Factors affecting asylum seekers' choice of destination country

Summary: - At the end of 2011 there were over 16 million refugees and asylum seekers worldwide. By far the majority of these are hosted in the developing world, close to the refugee-producing hotspots. However significant numbers do make their way to developed countries to apply for asylum. - In the context of increasing numbers of asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat in recent years, there has been much debate about the impact of certain policy measures on numbers of arrivals, and the relative significance of 'pull' versus 'push' factors in influencing the rate of arrivals. - There is a growing body of research (albeit largely from outside Australia) into the issue of asylum destination choice - that is, the extent to which asylum seekers are able to exercise choice when it comes to their destination country, and their reasons for choosing certain countries over others. - This research reveals a number of common themes, chief among them being that asylum seekers generally have limited options available to them, and choices are made within a very narrow field of possibilities. Their choices and their journeys are often strongly influenced by the people smugglers, or agents, they engage to assist them. - Where asylum seekers are able to exercise choice in determining their destination country, factors such as the presence of social networks, historical ties between the countries of origin and destination, and the knowledge or belief that a certain country is democratic, where human rights and the rule of law are likely to be respected, are highly influential. - Policies and processes relating to the asylum procedure in destination countries are generally not well known and therefore not highly significant in influencing choice of destination. This represents a major challenge for governments which are attempting to curb flows of asylum seekers through changes to asylum policy.

Details: Canberra: Parliament of Australia, 2013. 24p.

Source: Internet Resource: Research Paper no. 1, 2012-13: Accessed July 16, 2014 at: http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/library/prspub/2209855/upload_binary/2209855.pdf;fileType=application/pdf

Year: 2013

Country: International

URL: http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/library/prspub/2209855/upload_binary/2209855.pdf;fileType=application/pdf

Shelf Number: 132683

Keywords:
Asylum
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Refugees

Author: Petros, Melanie

Title: The Costs of Human Smuggling and Trafficking

Summary: It has become almost axiomatic to begin papers on human smuggling and trafficking by stating that they remain under-researched phenomena. Increasingly, however, this is not the case, and new empirical research has begun to plug some of the gaps. What is true, nevertheless, is that this research is largely scattered. Still relatively little information is available in academic publications, with the concentration of empirical evidence spread across policy papers, migration bulletins and the media. Probably as a result, it is also true that this information has rarely systematically been analysed. There is, for example, still no reliable global overview of the scale or dynamics of human smuggling and trafficking; certain geographical regions and routes are far better understood than others, and there are very few comparative studies. In contrast, this paper attempts to draw together some of this scattered information - it is based on analysis of over 500 secondary sources. It is concerned specifically with the costs of human smuggling and trafficking, and adopts a longitudinal and global perspective - asking how costs vary across the world, how they have changed over time and what factors other than origin and destination determine their level.

Details: Geneva, SWIT: Global Commission on International Migration, 2005. 21p.

Source: Internet Resource: Global Migration Perspectives, No. 31: Accessed July 18, 2014 at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/42ce53934.html

Year: 2005

Country: International

URL: http://www.refworld.org/docid/42ce53934.html

Shelf Number: 114680

Keywords:
Costs of Criminal Justice
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking

Author: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA)

Title: Criminalisation of Migrants in an Irregular Situation and of Persons Engaging with Them

Summary: This paper examines the sanctions applied to counteract irregular migration, building on previous work by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) on the rights of migrants in an irregular situation. It looks first at the punishments used for irregular entry or stay, when persons enter or stay in a territory although they are not authorised to do so. It examines, in particular, the custodial penalties for irregular entry or stay for persons to whom the safeguards of the EU Return Directive should apply. It then examines the risk that those who help such migrants or rent out accommodation to them are punished for smuggling human beings, or facilitating their entry or stay. The paper compares EU Member States' legislation and case law in this field, analysing the findings in light of relevant EU law. Based on this analysis, the paper proposes changes to policies against the smuggling of human beings, to render them more sensitive to fundamental rights.

Details: Vienna: FRA (European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights), 2014.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 19, 2014 at: http://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2014/criminalisation-migrants-irregular-situation-and-persons-engaging-them

Year: 2014

Country: Europe

URL: http://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2014/criminalisation-migrants-irregular-situation-and-persons-engaging-them

Shelf Number: 132718

Keywords:
Human Rights
Human Smuggling
Illegal Migrants
Immigration
Immigration Enforcement
Migrants

Author: Maduro, Letizia

Title: A Situational Analysis of Aruba's Response to Human Trafficking

Summary: The Aruba Anti-Human Trafficking and Smuggling Taskforce was formed in 2007 as an interdepartmental and interdisciplinary committee to fight human trafficking and migrant smuggling. The following Aruban Government agencies are represented in the Taskforce: the Aruba Police Force (Chair), the National Security Service, the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Social Affairs, the Victim Assistance Bureau, the Department of Labour and Research, the Directorate of Alien Integration, Policy and Admission, the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard, Aruban Border Control and Immigration Services, and the Department of Contagious Diseases. Since the National Plan of Action against Human Trafficking 2008-2010 (hereafter the "Plan of Action") was presented in 2008, the Taskforce has completed several initiatives for the education and training of government officials, guidance and support to possible victims, the establishment of a telephone helpline and availability of emergency shelter. In addition, the Taskforce also advocated for changes to relevant laws and regulations. The awareness campaign entitled "Open Your Eyes" was announced in April 2011. Campaign posters and flyers were put up in October 2011, on the National Day against Human Trafficking. The posters and flyers are available in Dutch, English, Papiamento and Spanish. The campaign is designed to inform the general public about human trafficking, with particular focus on its "invisibility." It also shows the public how to recognize the signs of human trafficking and promotes a telephone number for help on the matter. In June 2012, Aruba's Anti-Human Trafficking and Smuggling National Coordinator received the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Award from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in recognition of an extraordinary commitment to uncovering human trafficking cases, raising public awareness with a limited budget and finding alternative methods to provide protection services to victims of trafficking. This important recognition of the Taskforce's work during the previous five years made it clear that even small island nations like Aruba, with its limited financial and human resources, can make a difference in the fight against human trafficking. While only a few cases of human trafficking are reported annually and no convictions have been made yet, the Taskforce members are committed to working together and with other agencies to raise awareness on human trafficking, prosecute traffickers and bring needed assistance to victims of trafficking.

Details: Geneva, SWIT: International Organization for Migration, 2013. 136p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 23, 2014 at: http://www.ungift.org/doc/knowledgehub/resource-centre/2013/IOM_Situational_Analysis_Aruba_9Aug.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: Central America

URL: http://www.ungift.org/doc/knowledgehub/resource-centre/2013/IOM_Situational_Analysis_Aruba_9Aug.pdf

Shelf Number: 129894

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking (Aruba)
Media Campaigns
Migrant Smuggling
Sexual Exploitation

Author: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

Title: Human Rights of Migrants and Other Persons in the Context of Human Mobility in Mexico

Summary: 1. Pursuant to Article 41 of the American Convention on Human Rights and Article 58 of its Rules of Procedure, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter "the Inter-American Commission" or "the IACHR") is presenting this report to assess the human rights situation of the international and domestic migrants in the context of human mobility in Mexico and to make recommendations to ensure that the migration and immigration policies, laws and practices in the United Mexican States (hereinafter "the Mexican State," "Mexico" or "the State") comport with the international human rights obligations it has undertaken to protect migrants, asylum seekers, refugees, victims of human trafficking and the internally displaced persons. 2. Throughout this report, various situations are described that affect the human rights of migrants, asylum seekers, refugees, victims of human trafficking and the internally displaced in Mexico. This report's particular focus is on the serious violence, insecurity and discrimination that migrants in an irregular situation encounter when traveling through Mexico, which includes, inter alia, kidnapping, murder, disappearance, sexual violence, human trafficking and the smuggling of migrants. The report also looks at the issue of immigration detention and due process guarantees for migrants, asylum seekers and refugees held in immigration holding or detention centers. The report will also examine situations that affect the human rights of migrants who live in Mexico, such as their right to nondiscrimination in access to public services and their labor rights. The last part of the report examines the difficult circumstances under which those who defend the rights of migrants perform their mission. 3. Mexico is today a country of origin, transit and destination for migrants, and increasingly a country to which they return. Mexico is the necessary gateway of mixed migration flows, which include thousands of migrants, asylum seekers, refugees and victims of human trafficking which have the United States as their main destination and, to a lesser extent, Canada. Of all the countries in the Americas, Mexico is doubtless the one that most clearly reflects the various faces of international migration in a country. Because of the enormous impact that international migration has had on Mexico, particularly as a country of origin for migrants, globally Mexico has been a principal driving force and advocate for the recognition and protection of the human rights of all migrants. 4. Furthermore, in recent years, public security in Mexico has been severely eroded by the intense violence generated by organized crime and the battle being waged against it. The spike in criminal violence in recent years in Mexico poses very complex challenges for the State, which is called upon to take every measure necessary to safeguard the security of persons within its jurisdiction, which obviously includes migrants. Security and protective measures have to be premised on respect for human rights to ensure that the actions taken by the State to fight crime do not end up becoming a source of still greater insecurity or even State abuse. Mexico does not have a citizen security and safety policy specifically geared to preventing, protecting and prosecuting crimes committed against migrants. Furthermore, the State's response to the surge in violence has be to shore up the military and police forces to help them fight crime, mainly drug trafficking. In many instances, the effect of these two factors has been to increase the violence and human rights violations committed by State agents, rather than to safeguard the security of those in Mexico. 5. While the severe insecurity that Mexico is now experiencing has had profound effects on the Mexican population, it has also revealed just how vulnerable migrants in Mexico are, particularly migrants in an irregular situation in transit through Mexico. In recent years, the Commission has been receiving news and reports of multiple cases in which migrants are abducted, driven into forced labor, murdered, disappeared and, in the case of women, frequently the victims of rape and sexual exploitation by organized crime. The Commission has also received information to the effect that in a considerable number of cases, State agents - members of the various police forces or personnel of the National Institute of Migration - have been directly involved in the commission of the crimes and human rights violations listed above. At the present time, the extreme vulnerability of migrants and other persons to the heightened risks of human mobility in Mexico is one of worse human tragedies in the region, involving large-scale and systematic human rights violations. 6. The insecurity of migrants in Mexico was why, during the hearing on the "Situation of the Human Rights of Migrants in Transit through Mexico" held on March 22, 2010, civil society organizations asked the IACHR to have its Rapporteurship on the Rights of Migrant Workers and Their Families conduct an on-site visit to Mexico to examine the situation of migrants' human rights. For its part, the Mexican State's response was that the oversight mechanisms of the Inter-American and universal systems have an open, standing invitation to visit Mexico, so that the Rapporteurship's visit would be welcome. The onsite visit was hastened by a series of communications that civil society organizations sent to the IACHR Rapporteur on the Rights of Migrant Workers, and by thematic hearings held at Commission headquarters which revealed large-scale violations of migrants' human rights in recent years, the inefficacy of the public safety and security services, and the fact that no one was made to answer for the crimes committed against migrants. The Mexican State formally invited the Rapporteur to conduct an in loco visit, which he did from July 25 to August 2, 2011.

Details: Washington, DC: Organization of American States, 2013. 272p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 12, 2014 at: http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/migrants/docs/pdf/Report-Migrants-Mexico-2013.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: Mexico

URL: http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/migrants/docs/pdf/Report-Migrants-Mexico-2013.pdf

Shelf Number: 133293

Keywords:
Asylum Seekers
Human Rights Abuses(Mexico)
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Immigrant Detention
Immigrants
Immigration
Organized Crime

Author: Coalition for Organ Failure Solutions (COFS)

Title: Sudanese Victims of Organ Trafficking in Egypt

Summary: COFS-Egypt has accumulated compelling evidence that organ traffickers have exploited and are continuing to exploit Sudanese refugees and asylum-seekers in Egypt. These abuses include removing kidneys either by inducing consent, coercion, or outright theft. In some cases, sex trafficking was associated with incidents of organ removal. The victims include men, women, and children. Many of the victims came to Egypt seeking refuge from the genocide and armed conflict in their homeland. Based on its ongoing fieldwork, COFS-Egypt identified 57 Sudanese refugees and asylum seekers in Egypt who said they were victims of organ trafficking. Each case involved the removal of a kidney. COFS-Egypt has conducted in-depth interviews with 12 of these individuals who described their experiences in compelling detail. COFS-Egypt arranged ultrasounds and physical exams for five of the victims as part of its follow-up care outreach services. These medical exams confirmed that kidneys had been removed in all five cases. Arrangements to interview and provide this care for the other victims are ongoing. Four victims also showed COFS' field researchers documents from the hospitals where their nephrectomies and the transplants occurred; the documents included their respective identifiers. Of the 57 victims identified, 39 (68%) are from Darfur, 26 (46%) are female and 5(9%) are children. The twelve victims COFS interviewed ranged in age from 11-36 years with an average of 23.5 years; four (33%) of the victims were 18 years old or younger; and five (42%) were female. Three of the interviewed victims said people smugglers/traffickers helped them to enter Egypt and worked directly with the organ traffickers who arranged their kidney removal. Statements by some of the victims interviewed indicated that some women and girls are simultaneously being trafficked for sex and organs (9 possible cases in the sample of 57), and that the actual number of females in general may far exceed that of males. Thus, women and children are of special concern. Three of the victims interviewed held official "refugee" status from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). One victim's application for refugee status was under review; another had filed an application; and seven others were illegal and had not yet applied to UNHCR at the time that they said organ traffickers victimized them. One victim told COFS' researchers that they were imprisoned in an effort to prevent them from reporting their claims of organ theft; this victim escaped during the January 25, 2011 revolution. Four of the victims said they had met the patients who had received their kidneys. Seven of the victims said they knew the nationality of the recipient. These victims reported that three recipients were from Sudan, one was from Jordan, one was from Libya, and two were from countries of the Persian Gulf. Interviewed victims also reported theft of money by the broker. All of the victims interviewed said they had experienced a deterioration of their health in addition to negative social, economic and psychological consequences as a result of the experience. COFS estimates that there are at least hundreds of Sudanese victims of organ trafficking in Egypt as well as numerous others from Jordan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Iraq and Syria. The total number of victims of organ trafficking in Egypt is estimated to be in the thousands. The findings presented in this report include only living victim-survivors of the organ trade that COFS was able to identify. This report does not speak to claims of people death as a result of a commercial organ removal. This has special significance considering recent reports about the kidnapping and abuse of sub-Saharan African migrants smuggled into the Sinai Peninsula en route to Israel. The reports include claims of torture and removal of organs that have resulted in death.

Details: Cairo, DC: COFS, 2011. 30p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 15, 2015 at: http://www.cofs.org/english_report_summary_dec_11_2011.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: Egypt

URL: http://www.cofs.org/english_report_summary_dec_11_2011.pdf

Shelf Number: 134407

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Organ Trafficking
Organized Crime
Refugees
Trafficking in Organs (Africa)

Author: Coombs, Kyle

Title: Do U.S. Border Enforcement Operations Increase Human Smuggling Fees Along the U.S.-Mexico Border?

Summary: Undocumented migrants frequently hire border crossing experts, called "coyotes" to facilitate a successful, safer crossing. U.S. border enforcement actively counters these migrants. U.S. measures of enforcement and coyote fees grew together during the 20th century, suggesting a connection between enforcement and the coyote market. This paper tests the effect of border patrol agents and operations on coyote fees using a dataset compiled from the Mexican Migration Project, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, the Department of Homeland Security, and the United States Sentencing Commission. I do not find a significant connection between coyote fees and border enforcement, but do show that average prison time along the border acted as a shifter of supply prior to 2005.

Details: St. Paul, MN: Macalester College, 2014. 65p.

Source: Internet Resource: Economics Honors Projects, Paper 57: Accessed February 7, 2015 at: http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1058&context=economics_honors_projects

Year: 2014

Country: United States

URL: http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1058&context=economics_honors_projects

Shelf Number: 134556

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Coyotes
Human Smuggling
Migration
Undocumented Migrants (U.S.)

Author: Seelke, Clare Ribando

Title: Trafficking in Persons in Latin America and the Caribbean

Summary: Trafficking in persons (TIP) for the purpose of exploitation is a lucrative criminal activity that is of major concern to the United States and the international community. According to the U.S. State Department, there may be as many as 20 million trafficking victims around the world at any given time. In recent years, the largest numbers of trafficking victims have been identified in Africa and Europe; however, human trafficking is also a major problem in Latin America. Countries in Latin America serve as source, transit, and destination countries for trafficking victims. Men, women, and children are victimized within their own countries, as well as trafficked to other countries in the region. Latin America is also a primary source region for people trafficked to the United States, increasingly by transnational criminal organizations. In FY2013, primary countries of origin for foreign trafficking victims certified as eligible to receive U.S. assistance included Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador (along with Thailand, the Philippines, and India). Smaller numbers of Latin American TIP victims are trafficked to Europe and Asia. Latin America serves as a transit region for Asian TIP victims. Since enactment of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA, P.L. 106-386), Congress has taken steps to address human trafficking by authorizing new programs, reauthorizing existing ones, appropriating funds, creating new criminal laws, and conducting oversight on the effectiveness and implications of U.S. anti-TIP policy. Most recently, the TVPA was reauthorized through FY2017 in Title XXII of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (P.L. 110-457). According to CRS calculations, obligations for U.S.-funded anti-TIP programs in Latin America totaled roughly $10.9 million in FY2012. On June 20, 2014, the State Department issued its 14th annual, congressionally mandated report on human trafficking. The report categorizes countries into four "tiers" according to the government's efforts to combat trafficking. Those countries that do not cooperate in the fight against trafficking (Tier 3) have been made subject to U.S. foreign assistance sanctions. Nicaragua and, for the first time, Chile received the top Tier 1 ranking in this year's report. While Cuba and Venezuela are the only Latin American countries ranked on Tier 3 in this year�s TIP report, 10 other countries in the region - Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Bolivia, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Panama, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Uruguay - are on the Tier 2 Watch List. Unless those countries make progress, they could receive a Tier 3 ranking in 2015. The 114th Congress is likely to continue oversight of TIP programs and operations, including U.S.-funded programs in Latin America. Congress is likely to monitor trends in human trafficking in the region, such as the involvement of organized crime groups in TIP, the problem of child trafficking in Haiti, and the vulnerability of unauthorized child migrants from Central America to trafficking. Congress could consider further increasing funding for anti-TIP programs in the region, as was provided for forensic technology to combat TIP in Central America and Mexico in P.L. 113-235, possibly through the Merida Initiative, the Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI), or through other assistance programs. For

Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Services, 2015. 20p.

Source: Internet Resource: CRS Report RL33200: Accessed February 16, 2015 at: https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33200.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: Caribbean

URL: https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33200.pdf

Shelf Number: 134628

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human trafficking
Human Trafficking (Latin America, Caribbean)
Sexual Exploitation

Author: Rosenblum, Marc R.

Title: Unaccompanied Child Migration to the United States: The Tension between Protection and Prevention

Summary: Between 2011 and 2014, the number of Central American children and "family units" - parents traveling with minor children - who arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border increased rapidly, reaching a peak of 137,000 in fiscal year 2014. While many of these migrants have valid claims for asylum or other forms of humanitarian relief, others are chiefly driven by economic concerns and a desire to reconnect with family members. This mixed flow has challenged the capacity of the United States to carry out its core immigration functions of preventing the admission of unauthorized immigrants while also providing protection to those who cannot be safely returned to their home countries. Media coverage of Central American arrivals in 2014 portrayed their entry as a failure of border security, but the actual policy failures were in the processing and adjudication of claims for relief from migrants presenting in a mixed migration flow of humanitarian and irregular migrants. Inadequate judicial and legal resources left some migrants waiting two years or more for a hearing before an immigration judge. Such delays amounted to a de facto policy of open admission for children and families. Furthermore, the Obama administration's responses to the rising Central American flows, including greater law enforcement resources at the border, expanded detention facilities, and the establishment of dedication child and family immigration court dockets, focused exclusively on immediate needs rather than longer-term solutions and they failed either to adequately protect vulnerable immigrants or to prevent future unauthorized flows. This report explains the shifting patterns of Central American migration between 2011 and 2014, analyzes the root of the policy challenges posed by these flows, and outlines U.S. and regional policy responses to address the crisis. It also makes recommendations on policies that advance both critical protection and enforcement goals in situations of complex, mixed flows, and provides additional policies that the United States, Mexico, and the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras might adopt to better manage child and family migration pressures today and in the future.

Details: Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute, 2015. 33p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 8, 2015 at: http://migrationpolicy.org/research/unaccompanied-child-migration-united-states-tension-between-protection-and-prevention

Year: 2015

Country: United States

URL: http://migrationpolicy.org/research/unaccompanied-child-migration-united-states-tension-between-protection-and-prevention

Shelf Number: 135193

Keywords:
Asylum Seekers
Border Security
Child Protection
Human Smuggling
Illegal Immigration
Immigration
Unaccompanied Children (U.S.)

Author: Hansen, Randall

Title: Securing Borders: The Intended, Unintended, and Perverse Consequences

Summary: All countries have the same basic goals in regard to national borders: to ensure that the beneficial movement - of legal goods, tourists, students, business people, and some migrants - is allowed, while keeping unwanted goods and people out of the country. All countries also face a similar set of border enforcement goals and challenges. They must prevent cross-border terrorism, illegal migration, human smuggling and trafficking, and other criminal activity such as drug trafficking. In adopting policies and practices to combat these activities, countries also face a common and basic dilemma: policies in any one area have perverse, regrettable, and often unintended, consequences and feedbacks. As states implement extensive border controls and apply a wide variety of deterrence measures such as visas and carrier sanctions to prevent illegal migration, they indirectly push unauthorized migrants into the hands of smugglers and traffickers who promise to evade these controls. This report is first in a series that focuses on ways to curb the influence of these"bad actors" who pose challenges to countries' immigration control efforts. The report outlines the security-related challenges that borders are intended to address and, in turn, the perverse consequences that tighter border enforcement generates. The report analyzes challenges in five key categories: terrorism, asylum, human smuggling and trafficking, illegal migration, and drug trafficking. Turning to policy implications of the analysis, the authors argue that in order to operate successfully in the changing landscape of border management, and prevent the perverse consequences of border control efforts, policymakers must focus on principles of good governance. Weak states cannot have strong borders, and states will not get border policy right unless they get their institutions right. Accordingly, proper border policy depends on a commitment to the rule of law, low levels of corruption, effective police and border control forces, and successful coordination both among responsible agencies and with like-minded states. To this end, this report offers several policy recommendations for more effective border security.

Details: Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute, 2014.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 20, 2015 at: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/securing-borders-perverse-consequences

Year: 2014

Country: International

URL: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/securing-borders-perverse-consequences

Shelf Number: 135282

Keywords:
Border Security
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Illegal Immigration

Author: Donnelly, Robert

Title: Transit Migration in Mexico: Domestis and International Policy Implications

Summary: The recent surge in Central American migration has challenged Mexico to implement policies that uphold human rights for migrants (especially unaccompanied children) who are passing through the country while also deterring unauthorized crossings at the southern border and cracking down on human smuggling and trafficking. However, finding the appropriate balance for these policies - with a humanitarian focus on the one hand and meeting larger "security concerns" on the other hand - has been elusive for the Mexican government. This essay discusses the historical and political context of Mexico's various policy responses to the spike in Central American migration through Mexico toward the United States and analyzes related implications for the country's relationships with the United States and its Central American neighbors.

Details: Houston, TX: James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, Rice University, 2014. 20p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 21, 2015 at: http://bakerinstitute.org/media/files/files/4a32803e/MC-pub-TransitMigration-120214.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: Mexico

URL: http://bakerinstitute.org/media/files/files/4a32803e/MC-pub-TransitMigration-120214.pdf

Shelf Number: 135741

Keywords:
Border Security
Human Rights
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Immigrants
Immigration
Immigration Policy

Author: Baird, Theodore

Title: Understanding human smuggling as a human rights issue

Summary: Governments typically view human smuggling as an issue of law enforcement and border control. Instead, human smuggling should be viewed as a human rights issue. Policy recommendations State responses to human smuggling: 1. Improve identification of who has been victimised by violence or fraud. This should be a key priority of law enforcement when apprehending 'survival migrants' using smuggling services. 2. Improve awareness of human smuggling through training of police, lawyers, members of civil society and the public. 3. Implement and enforce legislation that can provide protection to smuggled migrants. 4. Potential migrants should be educated in countries of origin, transit, and destination to raise their awareness of the risks involved as well as in how to contact police in case they find themselves subject to violence, fraud or kidnapping. 5. Improve the number of reception areas for minors without documents.

Details: Copenhagen: Danish Institute for International Studies, 2013. 4p.

Source: Internet Resource: DIIS Policy Brief: Accessed May 26, 2015 at: http://www.diis.dk/files/media/publications/import/extra/pb2013_understanding_human_smuggling_baird_webversion_1.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: International

URL: http://www.diis.dk/files/media/publications/import/extra/pb2013_understanding_human_smuggling_baird_webversion_1.pdf

Shelf Number: 129736

Keywords:
Human Rights
Human Smuggling
Immigrants
Immigration

Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

Title: Transnational Organized Crime in Eastern Africa: A Threat Assessment

Summary: Key Findings: - Transnational organized crime in Eastern Africa is a product of both illicit markets that span continents and an underlying weakness in the rule of law. - Due to conflict and poverty, Eastern Africa produces a large and vulnerable stream of smuggled migrants, who are abused and exploited at multiple stages of their journey. - More than 100,000 people paid smugglers to transport them across the Gulf of Aden or Red Sea to Yemen in 2012, generating an income for the boatmen of over US$15 million. - Around 80,000 of these migrants attempted to cross Yemen to Saudi Arabia, but many of these were waylaid by smugglers and subjected to a range of abuses, including confinement, beatings, extortion and rape. - Despite the large numbers, the flow of migrants is concentrated, with most embarking from two port areas (Obock, Djibouti and Boosaaso, Somalia) where interventions could be addressed. - Heroin has been trafficked to and through Eastern Africa since at least the 1980s, but a series of recent large seizures suggests that this flow has increased. - Some air couriering has been noted, but it appears the great bulk of the heroin is being transported by dhow from the Makran Coast, an area that spans Iran and Pakistan. - The local market is estimated to consume at least 2.5 tons of pure heroin per year, worth some US$160 million in local markets. The volumes trafficked to the region appear to be much larger, as much as 22 tons, suggesting substantial tran-shipment. Eastern Africa is a known transit area for heroin destined for South Africa and West Africa. - Given the prevalence of blood borne disease and known injection drug use, the spread of heroin throughout the region must be carefully monitored and addressed. - Recent research indicates that the rate of poaching in Eastern Africa has increased, rising to levels that could threaten the local elephant population. - The bulk of the large ivory shipments from Africa to Asia appears to pass through the container ports of Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania, where interventions could be addressed. - It is estimated that between 5,600 and 15,400 elephants are poached in Eastern Africa annually, producing between 56 and 154 metric tons of illicit ivory, of which two-thirds (37 tons) is destined for Asia, worth around US$30 million in 2011. - Somali pirates brought in an estimated US$150 million in 2011, which is equivalent to almost 15% of Somalia's GDP. - Effective intervention has forced pirates to range ever further from the coast to attain their targets: in 2005, the average successful pirate attack was 109 km from the Somali coast; in 2012, it was 746 km. Ships have also become more effective at defending themselves. - The increase in risk associated with protracted expeditions and international countermeasures have contributed to a decline in piracy: in April of 2009 alone, pirates hijacked 16 ships, but after April 2011, they averaged less than one per month. There were no successful hijackings for ransom in the Somali area of operations in the first half of 2013.

Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2013. 54p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 28, 2015 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/Studies/TOC_East_Africa_2013.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: Africa

URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/Studies/TOC_East_Africa_2013.pdf

Shelf Number: 129829

Keywords:
Animal Poaching
Drug Trafficking
Elephants
Heroin
Human Smuggling
Ivory
Migrants
Organized Crime
Pirates/Piracy
Wildlife Crime

Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

Title: Combating Transnational Organized Crime Committed at Sea

Summary: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is the guardian of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and its supplementary Protocols, and of the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. The United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ), in its twentieth session in 2011 considered the problem of combating transnational organized crime committed at sea. Resolution 20/5 mandates UNODC to convene an expert meeting to "facilitate the investigation and prosecution of such cases by Member States, including by identifying gaps or possible areas for harmonization, and measures to strengthen national capacity, in particular in developing countries, to more effectively combat transnational organized crime". This Issue Paper is the product of discussions held in Vienna on 12-13 November 2012 at the expert group meeting convened pursuant to resolution 20/5 of the CCPCJ. It is also based on a desk review of research carried out on the issue, with particular emphasis on existing UNODC materials concerning transnational organized crime at sea and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Its goal is to serve as a background document to the recommendations of the expert meeting, which will be presented to the CCPCJ at its twenty-second session to be held 22-26 April 2013. The Issue Paper underscores the common and interlinked emerging crimes at sea, including piracy and armed robbery at sea, migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons, drug trafficking, organized crime within the fishing industry and oil bunkering; it identifies the applicable maritime laws and regulations and their potential gaps as well as the relevant good practices and challenges in international cooperation at the legal and operational level with respect to crimes at sea; it discusses the problems concerning the investigation and prosecution of crimes at sea, including questions such as where capacity-building is needed.

Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2013. 63p.

Source: Internet Resource: Issue Paper: Accessed July 22, 2015 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/organized-crime/GPTOC/Issue_Paper_-_TOC_at_Sea.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: International

URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/organized-crime/GPTOC/Issue_Paper_-_TOC_at_Sea.pdf

Shelf Number: 136126

Keywords:
Drug Trafficking
Fishing Industry
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Maritime Crime
Organized Crime
Piracy

Author: Kuschminder, Katie

Title: Irregular Migration Routes to Europe and Factors Influencing Migrants' Destination Choices

Summary: Irregular migration to Europe has become a central issue for the 28 member states of the European Union (EU). The number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean with the intention to irregularly cross a European border reached a record high in 2014, when 267,344 people were detected at the EU borders. This is more than double the number of people who irregularly crossed a European border from the Mediterranean in 2013 (Frontex, 2015). Until the mid-2000s, Morocco was the main source country of irregular migrants entering Europe, but the majority of migrants who have entered Europe irregularly in recent years are from conflict-affected countries such as Syria, Somalia, and Afghanistan (Duvell, 2011; Frontex, 2015). The same shift can be seen in the Dutch context: research from the Netherlands has indicated a decrease in the number of irregular Moroccans in the Netherlands over the past decade (Engbersen, Snel & van Meeteren, 2013). This is an example of the fact that the patterns of migration to Europe are continually changing (Collyer & De Haas, 2012). As will be shown in this comprehensive review of the literature of irregular migration to Europe, the routes of entry to the EU constantly adjust according to circumstances in the countries of origin, transit and destination. The EU has reacted to increased irregular migration flows through increased border securitisation and the building of 'Fortress Europe' (De Haas & Czaika, 2013). As has been continually stated by De Haas (2014), however, "increased border controls do not stop migration". The record number of irregular crossings into Europe in 2014 has illustrated this well. Irregular entry poses many challenges for the nation state by both challenging state sovereignty and requiring resources to address the movements. Border States of the EU, such as Greece and Italy, have in recent years received the largest numbers of irregular migrants. In December 2011, the European Court of Justice ruled that migrants could not be returned to Greece under the Dublin II regulation due to the over burdening of the asylum system and poor conditions for asylum seekers in Greece. Italy has placed 'burden-sharing' and migration in general as a high priority on the EU agenda given the disproportionate number of irregular migrants the country receives and the lack of resources the country possesses to address them.

Details: Maastricht, The Netherlands: Maastricht Graduate School of Governance, 2015. 92p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 24, 2015 at: http://www.emnbelgium.be/sites/default/files/publications/irregular_migration_routes_maastricht_graduate_school_of_governance_june_2015.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: Europe

URL: http://www.emnbelgium.be/sites/default/files/publications/irregular_migration_routes_maastricht_graduate_school_of_governance_june_2015.pdf

Shelf Number: 136147

Keywords:
Asylum Seekers
Human Smuggling
Illegal Immigration
Immigrants
Immigration

Author: Newland, Kathleen

Title: Irregular Maritime Migration in the Bay of Bengal: The Challenges of Protection, Management, and Cooperation

Summary: In recent decades, maritime migration in Asia has become increasingly contentious, as refugees and irregular migrants traversing the region by sea complicate the attempts of governments in the Asia-Pacific region to control their borders, regulate immigration, and fulfill their obligations under international law. In the spring of 2015, irregular maritime migration across the Bay of Bengal to Southeast Asia entered a period of crisis as a wave of migrants and refugees crossed or attempted to cross the Bay of Bengal to reach Southeast Asia. The discovery in April and May 2015 of smuggler camps on both sides of the Thailand-Malaysia border showed the critical dangers that attend the journey. At the center of the migration crisis is the exodus of stateless Muslims from western Myanmar (and in some cases, Bangladesh), mingled with Bangladeshi migrants seeking work opportunities in the wealthier countries of the region. Members of the Muslim minority, known as the Rohingya, have suffered extreme poverty and discrimination since the end of British colonial rule and establishment of the modern state of Myanmar. Communal violence between the Rohingya and Buddhists in Myanmar's Rakhine state flared in 2012, resulting in the flight of Rohingya to neighboring Bangladesh, where at least 200,000 remain. Tens of thousands of others embarked on irregular maritime journeys from Bay of Bengal ports in Myanmar and Bangladesh. This MPI-International Organization for Migration (IOM) Issue in Brief attempts to put the crisis of 2015 into context, providing an overview of the routes and patterns of migration, the development of migration out of Myanmar's Rakhine state over the past few years and how policy responses to it have assigned priority to the protection of migrants and refugees, to the management of the maritime flows and to cooperation on migration with countries in the region and beyond. The brief concludes with several recommendations, and a consideration of what recent history has to teach us about responses to maritime migration crises.

Details: Bangkok and Washington, DC: International Organization for Migration and Migration Policy Institute, 2015. 16p.

Source: Internet Resource: Issue in Brief, Issue No. 13: Accessed August 14, 2015 at: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/irregular-maritime-migration-bay-bengal-challenges-protection-management-and-cooperation

Year: 2015

Country: Asia

URL: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/irregular-maritime-migration-bay-bengal-challenges-protection-management-and-cooperation

Shelf Number: 136406

Keywords:
Border Security
Human Smuggling
Immigrants
Immigration
Migrants
Migration Enforcement
Refugees

Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

Title: Support to strengthening of immigration control capacity at the international border gates and international cooperation to prevent and control migrant smuggling and human trafficking

Summary: This report is the independent final evaluation (FE) of the project "Support to Strengthening of Immigration Control Capacity at the International Border Gates and International Cooperation to Prevent and Control Migrant Smuggling and Human Trafficking", implemented by the UNODC Office in Ha Noi, Viet Nam (refer nr VNMS79). Implementation commenced in February 2010 with a duration of 3 years and 6 months, with a budget of USD 1,078,540 (both after project revision). In supporting the Government of Viet Nam to combat the smuggling of migrants and trafficking of people, VNMS79 was designed with a focus on building capacities at land-, air- and seaports through the strengthening of law enforcement and immigration methods (e.g. detection of document and passport fraud, information and trend analysis) in order to better identify and investigate cases of trafficking and smuggling. The objective of VNMS79 is defined as 'To strengthen the capacity of immigration control at the border gates and improved skills of investigation, detection and information processing on migrant smuggling and human trafficking in line with the requirements of the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and its Protocols Against Trafficking of Persons and Smuggling of Migrants'. It is supported by two outcomes: (1) 'Improved capacities at selected border gates to prevent, detect and investigate human trafficking and migrant smuggling', further aided through six outputs, and (2) 'Enhance international cooperation to prevent and control migrant smuggling and trafficking', supported by two outputs. The outputs include delivery of training, supporting equipment and the provision of legal assistance in setting up legal frameworks and cooperation mechanisms.

Details: New York: UNODC, 2013. 61p.

Source: Internet Resource: VNMS79: Accessed August 28, 2015 at: https://www.unodc.org/documents/evaluation/Independent_Project_Evaluations/2014/VNMS79_Final_Evaluation_Report_2014.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: Vietnam

URL: https://www.unodc.org/documents/evaluation/Independent_Project_Evaluations/2014/VNMS79_Final_Evaluation_Report_2014.pdf

Shelf Number: 136613

Keywords:
Border Security
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Immigration Enforcement
Migrants
Organized Crime

Author: National Crime Research Centre (Kenya)

Title: Human trafficking in Kenya

Summary: Background This study sought to examine human trafficking in Kenya. Human trafficking is a serious crime and a grave violation of human rights. The general objective of study was to examine human trafficking in Kenya with a view to informing prevention, control and mitigation measures by agencies in the criminal justice system. The study examined the prevalence of human trafficking in Kenya, main types/forms, factors contributing to human trafficking; victims and their socio-economic profiles, survival mechanisms of victims and survivors; the recruiters and their socio-economic profiles; facilitators and networks, sources, transit routes, modes of transportation and destinations of trafficked human beings. The payment cost involved, socio-economic effects of human trafficking, intervention strategies and their effectiveness; and finally best practices in preventing and combating trafficking in human beings; challenges faced in preventing and combating and possible solutions. This research was initiated to provide detailed understanding of human trafficking in Kenya. Study Methods The study employed a survey design. This design of the methodology implied spending a lot of time in the communities where victims of human trafficking could be found. The techniques applied were the following: analysis of secondary reference materials, observation, unstructured and semi-structured interviews with key informant. Data was collected using questionnaire for Key Informants and Interview schedules for sample respondents. Data was analyzed using statistical packages for social sciences (SPSS) version 21.0. Findings are then presented in distribution frequency and percentage tables and figures. The use of descriptions and quotations was instrumental in the analysis and presentation of qualitative data. All the data was presented in themes guided by the research questions. Review of literature identified gaps in policy and related studies is also covered. The field work was carried out in the across the Country in 20 counties that were sampled, with 735 sample respondents with 25 key informants drawn from institutions addressing human trafficking in Kenya and elsewhere. Key Findings Results of the study indicate that: i. Trafficking of people from Kenya to other nations was the most prevalent (external trafficking) in Kenya at 60.2%. 84% of the respondents indicated awareness of human trafficking and out of these, 55% indicated that prevalence of human trafficking was quite high, 36% indicated that it was medium and 9% said that it was low. On the most prevalent type/ form of trafficking, trafficking for labour scored highest followed by child trafficking and trafficking for prostitution at 58.7%, 24.1% and 17.1% respectively. ii. Forms of trafficking prevalent in Kenya were labour and sex related at 44% and 53% respectively. Trafficking involves children, men and women at 33%, 26% and 41% respectively. iii. Poverty and unemployment are the main factors contributing to human trafficking. In domestic poverty was highest at 47.1% and external at 37.6%. Unemployment scored second highest at 34.1% in external and 23.7% in domestic. iv. Victims of human trafficking are children, men and women and their socio-economic profiles are low income, poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, desire for well paying jobs, domestic violence and social exclusion. v. Most survivors of human trafficking engage in self employment as a survival strategy at 28.5% and doing odd jobs at 20.8%. Other activities that they are involved in includes; support from relatives and well wishers; Enganging in prostitution; Involved in crime,; Get counselling services; Get government/ NGO'S assistance; Live in isolation and Joining religious groups. For the victims they comply with traffickers as their only survival strategy vi. Recruiters of human trafficking victims are relatives at 40.%, businessmen at 23%,, friends at 20.9% , government officers, wealth people in the village, middle and high level professional, teachers, social workers and religious leaders. Socio-economic profiles of recruiters are middle and high income earners, individuals who command a following and respect from people. They are generally influential persons in society. vii. High levels of Poverty and unemployment in the country are the main facilitators in external trafficking at 25.7% and 26% respectively. Ready markets for casual labour and corruption also scored high at 12% and 11.6%. Others were ; Ideology of better life styles, Illiteracy, its a lucrative business, porous border points and lack of awareness (civic education). viii. 70.5% of the respondents indicated that most of the victims in domestic trafficking are sourced from rural areas and 21.6% from urban areas. In external, 42.2% are sourced from urban areas and 29.7 from other African countries. Other sources include institutions like schools, churches, children homes and refugee camps. Road transport is the commonly used in domestic trafficking at 81.7% while air is mostly used in external human trafficking The results indicate that victims of human trafficking in external are mostly destined in Middle East countries at 44.5% and 32.9% are trafficked in other African countries. In domestic human trafficking, most of the victims are destined in urban areas at 67.2%. ix. Agent commission's cost emerged as the major payment cost with 46.7% . However, 28.6% of the respondents indicated unawareness of these costs. Others which were listed includes; Transport costs, registration fee, reward for brokers and agents, Medical cost, document processing costs and money for food and accommodation. x. Awareness of socio-economic effects was at 80.1% with Brain drain/labour drain emerging as the highest socio economic effect of human trafficking with 21.6% followed by psychological trauma at 19.9% and social breakdown at 10.6% and increased insecurity at 10.5% .Others were; death; improves family income; loss of revenue; Violation of human rights and freedom; increased school dropouts and poverty respectively. xi. Of those who indicated awareness of intervention strategies, the following were listed as the strategies used to address human trafficking in Kenya: Strategic checkpoints for verification of documents, civic education by government and media, Arrest and prosecution of culprits, ban on night travelling and to certain destinations, enforcement of existing Acts, embracing the Nyumba Kumi Initiative, and youth empowerment through Uwezo fund. xii. Three interventions were used to rate the effectiveness of intervention strategies used to address human trafficking. Based on three, the study showed that these intervention strategies are not working. This is after scoring the following percentages on non-effectiveness: prosecution 58.5%, prevention 58.7% and capacity building 47.8%. On effectiveness, they scored 26.7%, 31.9% and 36.3% respectively. Comparing the three capacity building was the most effective at 36.3%. xiii. Poverty, unemployment and corruption are the major reasons as to why the business of human trafficking continues to persist in the country despite various interventions in place. Other reasons which emerged from the results of the survey are; Ignorance among the Kenyan people, Corruption in government officials, Advanced technology which helps in recruitment, existing laws being lenient on perpetrators, Kenyans being greedy for money, poor implementation of existing laws, trafficking being a lucrative business, porous border points, high demand for labour in developed countries and high Illiteracy level among Kenyans. xiv. Improving renumeration for the officials handling the issue of human emerged the best at 24% followed by civic education at 22% and Increasing surveillance and beefing up security at 13.4%. Others were; job creation , Effective legislations, Taming corruption, improving the economy, collaboration among stake holders and community policing. xv. Corruption emerged as the major challenges faced in preventing and combating human trafficking in Kenya at 41.2% followed by unemployment at 13.5%. Other challenges identified were ; Lack of effective laws to address the issue, lack of collaboration between the stake holders, lack of political will/ hostile border relations, Ignorance, collusion between locals and perpetrators, poverty, and lack of resources xvi. Taming corruption and creating jobs/ offering loans to the youths emerged as the best solutions to the challenges faced in preventing and combating human trafficking in the country at 23.7% and 19.2% respectively. Other solutions listed were; providing civic education, Reducing the gap between the rich and the poor, Increasing surveillance, Enforcement of existing laws, providing resources, vetting of officers handling the issue of human trafficking, Initiating community policing ,Enacting new punitive legislations, collaboration among stake holders and Creating a special police unit to handle the issue. Recommendations i. Strengthen detection and investigation as corruption is rampant and could hinder the same through Networking and Collaboration among stakeholders ii. Stakeholders in fight against human trafficking should embrace new technology in tracking and detecting the culprit, establish inter-link between local and international investigating agencies and training of investigators to be enhanced iii. There is need to apply the anti-trafficking law to investigate and prosecute trafficking offenses, and convict and punish trafficking offenders, including government officials suspected of complicity in human trafficking; iv. Enhance the use the anti-trafficking law or Section 14 of the Sexual Offenses Act to prosecute and punish child sex tourists; provide additional training to all levels of the government, particularly law enforcement officials, on identifying and responding to trafficking crimes; establish an official process for law enforcement officials to refer trafficking victims for assistance; v. The government should continue to increase oversight of and accountability for overseas recruitment agencies; increase protective services available to adult trafficking victims, particularly those identified in and returned from the Middle East; vi. Establish and convene the Counter-Trafficking in Persons Advisory Committee to coordinate the government's anti-trafficking efforts and oversee full implementation of the Counter-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2010; vii. Establish the board of trustees to oversee the National Assistance Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking and allocate money to endow this fund; and launch and implement the national plan of action. viii. Prosecutors to widely use the Counter-Trafficking in Persons Act. As guidelines for implementing the victim protection provisions of the anti-trafficking statute have yet to be developed, the government continued to lack a formal mechanism for identifying victims of trafficking among vulnerable populations. ix. There is need efforts to identify and protect all victims; male, female and child trafficking victims. Protection for adults was unavailable, including for the increasing number of victims in the overseas migrant worker population. Neither the Ministry of Gender nor any other ministry received a specific budget allocation for anti-trafficking activities. x. Efforts to reduce poverty and unemployment should be quickened to curb human trafficking especially of children and women. xi. Efforts should be geared towards protection, prevention and capacity development for the public particularly those in low income areas, with illiteracy and unemployed. xii. Recommendations strategies used to address human trafficking in Kenya: Strategic checkpoints for verification of documents, civic education by government and media, Arrest and prosecution of culprits, ban on night travelling and to certain destinations, enforcement of existing Acts, embracing the Nyumba Kumi Initiative, and youth empowerment through Uwezo Fund.

Details: Nairobi, Kenya: National Crime Research Centre, 2014. 132p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 1, 2015 at: http://crimeresearch.go.ke/index.php?option=com_phocadownload&view=category&id=4:preliminary-reports&Itemid=496

Year: 2014

Country: Kenya

URL:

Shelf Number: 136936

Keywords:
Child Trafficking
Forced Labor
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Modern Slavery
Prostitution
Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime
Unemployment

Author: Bin Han, Chelsea

Title: Smuggled migrant or migrant smuggler: erosion of sea-borne asylum seekers' access to refugee protection in Canada

Summary: This paper argues that the criminalisation of smuggling has undermined refugee protection for sea-borne asylum seekers. It is pivotal to consider the categorical differentiation of sea-borne asylum seekers in the Canadian refugee system because, although there have been only seven notable cases of boat arrivals in Canada from 1986 to the present, they have triggered significant reforms in Canadian refugee law. At the intersection of international criminal law, Canadian criminal law and Canadian refugee law, the criminalisation of smuggling has resulted in an inability of sea-borne asylum seekers to access refugee status because they have assisted other presumptive refugees during a voyage. This paper argues that the broad grounds of 'ineligibility' for refugee status in Canadian refugee law and the broad concept of smuggling in Canadian criminal law erode access to refugee protection for sea-borne asylum seekers allegedly implicated in the smuggling of refugees. Moreover, interpretive contestation of sea-borne asylum seekers' complicity in smuggling in Canadian refugee law and the flawed assumption of the static identity of smugglers in international criminal law further undermine sea-borne asylum seekers' access to refugee protection in Canada. Sea-borne asylum seekers who do not align with the assumption of passivity of smuggled migrants are discursively framed as smugglers. International refugee law may fail to provide protection for bona fide refugees because of the artificial distinction between the smuggler and the migrant in international and national criminal frameworks on smuggling.

Details: Oxford, UK: Refugee Studies Centre, Oxford Department of International Development, University of Oxford, 2015. 38p.

Source: Internet Resource: RSC Working Paper Series, 106: Accessed October 2, 2015 at: http://www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/files/publications/working-paper-series/wp106-smuggled-migrant-or-migrant-smuggler.pdf/

Year: 2015

Country: Canada

URL: http://www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/files/publications/working-paper-series/wp106-smuggled-migrant-or-migrant-smuggler.pdf/

Shelf Number: 136940

Keywords:
Asylum Seekers
Human Smuggling
Migrants
Refugees

Author: Pierce, Sarah

Title: Unaccompanied Child Migrants in U.S. Communities, Immigration Court, and Schools

Summary: More than 102,000 unaccompanied children (UACs) from Central America and Mexico were apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the U.S.-Mexico border between October 1, 2013 and August 31, 2015. The rapid influx of child arrivals in the spring and summer of 2014, which caught the attention of a concerned public and policymakers, briefly overwhelmed the systems in place for processing and caring for these children. While most of the Mexican children are quickly returned to Mexico, under U.S. law children from noncontiguous countries are transferred to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to be processed and simultaneously placed in removal proceedings. The vast majority of these are released by ORR into the custody of a parent, relative, or friend in the United States while they wait for their cases to progress through the immigration court system. This issue brief summarizes the available data and qualitative research on where unaccompanied child migrants are being placed, how they are faring in immigration court, what types of services are available to them, and how communities, in particular schools, are adapting to their arrival. Even though a priority docket was created in the immigration courts system for unaccompanied minors, their cases continue to lag. Even when their cases are finally heard, the immigration court system has resolved the status for relatively few of them: a review of the data shows that while 70 percent of those who show up for their hearings receive some form of immigration relief, 97 percent do not receive a simultaneous grant of immigration status - meaning they remain unauthorized. Meanwhile, most removal orders go to children who fail to attend their hearings, and as a result many orders of removal go unexecuted. As these cases make their way through the courts, the children become further engrained in communities and school districts across the country. The brief finds that communities and school districts largely continue to face challenges meeting the needs of these children and have responded in disparate ways to their arrival, some creating additional programs to address children's particular needs, while others have made school enrollment more difficult for this population.

Details: Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute, 2015. 23p.

Source: Internet Resource: MPI Issue Brief: Accessed October 19, 2015 at: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/unaccompanied-child-migrants-us-communities-immigration-court-and-schools

Year: 2015

Country: United States

URL: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/unaccompanied-child-migrants-us-communities-immigration-court-and-schools

Shelf Number: 136993

Keywords:
Border Security
Human Smuggling
Immigrant Children
Immigration Enforcement
Immigration Policy
Unaccompanied Children
Undocumented Children

Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Country Office Pakistan

Title: The Socio-Economic Impact of Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling in Pakistan

Summary: Pakistan's population as of July 2011 is estimated at 187.3 million, with an annual estimated growth rate of 1.5 per cent, comprising 52 per cent male and 48 per cent female with more than 50 per cent being youth between 15 and 29 years of age. Pakistan is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast, with sea borders to the south. It is a federation of four provinces (Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa), a capital territory (Islamabad), and two semi-autonomous regions (FATA and Gilgit-Baltistan), and the Pakistan administered portion of Kashmir. Pakistan has faced numerous economic, social and security challenges since 2007, commencement point of this research. These combined factors are matter of an acute concern for the law enforcement agencies provide the ideal environment for transnational organised crime networks to flourish and exploit weaknesses in the system. The impact is not limited solely to the human costs relating to the extreme suffering and dehumanization of the individuals who are trafficked but also poses serious governance risk within the wider region. This has a direct detrimental effect on the state structures arrayed against corruption and organized crime. It also poses a threat to the economic development of the country. Pakistan is a source, transit and a destination country for human trafficking and migrant smuggling. The problem manifests itself within the country and across borders. In Pakistan, Sindh and Punjab remain a source of concern with high instances of bonded labour in agriculture, brick making and other industries. In response to migrant smuggling and human trafficking issues, the Government of Pakistan has taken important steps in developing strategies to combat these crimes and protect the rights of victims. In 2002, the Prevention and Control of Human Trafficking Ordinance (PACHTO) was enacted. This was followed by the development of a National Action Plan for Combating Human Trafficking, as well as establishment of Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) and Circles under the jurisdiction of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

Details: Islamabad: UNODC - Pakistan, 2014. 50p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 17, 2015 at: https://www.unodc.org/documents/pakistan/The_Socio-economic_impact_of_human_trafficking_and_migrant_smuggling_in_Pakistan_19_Feb_2015.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: Pakistan

URL: https://www.unodc.org/documents/pakistan/The_Socio-economic_impact_of_human_trafficking_and_migrant_smuggling_in_Pakistan_19_Feb_2015.pdf

Shelf Number: 137312

Keywords:
Border Security
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Illegal Migrants
Migrants
Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime

Author: European Commission

Title: Study on smuggling of migrants: characteristics, responses and cooperation with third countries

Summary: A consortium comprising Optimity Advisors, the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) and the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) was commissioned by the European Commission's DG Migration and Home Affairs to undertake a "Study on smuggling of migrants: Characteristics, responses and cooperation with third countries." (HOME/2011/EVAL/01). This document contains the Final Report for this study. Despite it being a pressing political issue, migrant smuggling remains an rather under-reported area of research, with scattered and incomplete information available. For example, no systematic review and evaluation of existing policies against smuggling facilitation has been carried out to date, and the understanding of the role of third countries in the smuggling process remains limited. Investigation and research undertaken on the issue of migrant smuggling by European and national authorities and agencies, in particular by Frontex and Europol as well as national police research units, is often restricted; given the sensitive nature of the topic, the information is not always publicly available. Published research arises mainly from PhD studies based on individual aspects of migrant smuggling, routes, population etc. In addition, numerous case studies exist, for example, on individual geographical areas or destination countries/regions, which are relevant in time and context. There are few larger and more comprehensive studies covering these themes. For example, in 2011, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime published a review of research on migrant smuggling in order to fill this gap by surveying sources and research studies. Its review also covers concepts, methodologies, the scope of the problem, profiles of those smuggled and those who smuggle, networks and the human and social costs. Even though more empirical information has been added since then, this review remains extremely comprehensive and one of the few larger studies on the phenomenon. The research undertaken for this study is intended to contribute to the research evidence and close some of the existing gaps, particularly in relation to the business of migrant smuggling. Nevertheless, the study has identified priorities for further research; these are described in the concluding section. The Final Report consists of the following main sections: !! Chapter 2 provides the objectives and scope of this study; !! Chapter 3 presents the methodology; !! Chapter 4 presents findings on the phenomenon and dynamics of migrant smuggling; !! Chapter 5 provides the legal and policy frameworks, programmes and operational responses, including the relevant institutions addressing migrant smuggling; !! Chapter 6 discusses the main conclusions based on data collection and case study findings.

Details: Luxembourg: European Commission, DG Migration and Home Affairs, 2015. 179p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 17, 2015 at: http://www.statewatch.org/news/2015/nov/eu-com-study-smuggling-of-migrants.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: Europe

URL: http://www.statewatch.org/news/2015/nov/eu-com-study-smuggling-of-migrants.pdf

Shelf Number: 137314

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Illegal Immigrants
Migrant Smuggling
Migration

Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Country Office Pakistan

Title: Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Air and Sea in Pakistan: A Review of National Laws and Treaty Compliance

Summary: Irregular migration, especially in the form of migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons, and associated criminal activities such as money laundering, document fraud, and corruption, are of imminent concern to Pakistan. Recent reports confirm that Pakistan is simultaneously a sending, transit, and destination point for smuggled migrants. Smuggling of migrants involves the procurement for financial or other material benefit of illegal entry of a person into a State of which that person is not a national or resident. Virtually every country in the world is affected by these crimes. The challenge for all countries, rich and poor, is to target the criminals who take advantage of desperate people and to protect and assist smuggled migrants, many of whom endure unimaginable hardships in their bid for a better life. In response to the emergence of migrant smuggling, the Government of Pakistan has taken some action to develop national strategies to prevent and suppress this crime. Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), as the country's chief national law enforcement agency, has the mandate to prevent and suppress migrant smuggling and is in a unique position to comprehensively combat this phenomenon, along with associated crime such as money laundering, document fraud, and corruption. UNODC, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, is the guardian of the United Nations (UN) Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrant by Land, Air, and Sea (the Migrant Smuggling Protocol)1 and the Convention against Transnational Organised Crime. UNODC leads international efforts to comprehensively prevent and suppress migrant smuggling and protect smuggled migrants. UNODC's Country Office in Islamabad stands ready to assist Pakistan's authorities in their efforts. To this end, in August 2010, UNODC requested the services of independent experts to assess the compliance of national laws and regulations in Pakistan against the requirements of international law and international best practice relating to the smuggling of migrants. The purpose of this report is to identify domestic laws, regulations, and policies in Pakistan relating to migrant smuggling and assess them against the requirements articulated in international law and the standards set by international best practice guidelines. Based on this assessment, recommendations for law reform, policy change, and for further analysis are made.

Details: Islamabad : United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Country Office Pakistan, 2011. 78p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 25, 2015 at: https://www.unodc.org/documents/pakistan//2011.10.00_Laws_relating_to_Migrant_Smuggling_in_Pakistan_final.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: Pakistan

URL: https://www.unodc.org/documents/pakistan//2011.10.00_Laws_relating_to_Migrant_Smuggling_in_Pakistan_final.pdf

Shelf Number: 137339

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Illegal Immigration
Immigration
Migrant Smuggling
Migrants
Organized Crime

Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Country Office Pakistan

Title: Pakistan's law enforcement response to the smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons.

Summary: This report assesses the legal frameworks, law enforcement strategies, capacities, and methodologies pertaining to migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons in Pakistan, focusing specifically on the mandate, organisation, and operations of Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency. The report identifies, maps, outlines, and explores existing law enforcement responses and assess these against international law requirements and against the standards set by international best practice guidelines. This report reveals strengths of existing arrangements and identifies areas where further development or reform may be needed. This report shows that Pakistan has solid policy, legislative, and organisational frameworks to combat trafficking in persons and, to a lesser degree, the smuggling of migrants. The Government of Pakistan has to be commended for setting up a National Action Plan for Combating Human Trafficking in 2004 and enacting the Prevention and Control of Human Trafficking Ordinance two years earlier. This report shows enforcement mandates pertaining to trafficking in persons, especially those of the FIA, are sufficiently clear and are supported by relevant enforcement powers. Legislative and law enforcement frameworks for migrant smuggling are not well developed or, as confirmed by other reports, non-existent and concerns remain over ongoing confusion between migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons in Pakistani law and by Pakistani authorities. Pakistan is also not a Signatory to the United Nations Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Air, and Sea and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children. Pakistan has, however, signed the Convention against Transnational Organised Crime. Pakistan's relatively sound policy, legal, and organisational frameworks are, however, not matched by consistent implementation and execution; words are often not followed by actions. This assessment has found major deficiencies in the training of FIA personnel and in the facilities and equipment used by and available to FIA investigators and front-line officers. Most FIA officers working in units charged with investigating migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons obtain no training at all and frequently lack the most basic equipment to carry out their duties. FIA facilities in local areas are often in poor condition and lack reliable electricity supplies. Practical mechanisms for the protection of smuggled and migrants and, in particular, victims of trafficking in persons are, for the most part, non-existent, under-developed, or are only addressed in very rudimentary and ad-hoc ways. Also of concern are deficiencies in inter-departmental cooperation, national coordination, human resources, case management and data storage, information and evidence gathering.

Details: Islamabad : United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Country Office Pakistan, 2011. 147p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 25, 2015 at: https://www.unodc.org/documents/pakistan//2011.10.00_Pakistans_Law_Enforcement_Response_final.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: Pakistan

URL: https://www.unodc.org/documents/pakistan//2011.10.00_Pakistans_Law_Enforcement_Response_final.pdf

Shelf Number: 137340

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Illegal Immigrants
Illegal Immigration
Immigration Enforcement
Migrant Smuggling
Migrants
Organized Crime

Author:

Title: ICE and USCIS Could Improve Data Quality and Exchange to Help Identify Potential Human Trafficking Cases

Summary: Although January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, the month kicked off with a startling report revealing that human traffickers are exploiting the US visa process to smuggle victims into the country. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) data from 2005 to 2014 indicates that work and fiance visas were the predominant means by which more than half of the human traffickers known to federal law enforcement legally smuggled victims into the United States, according to an audit by the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Office of the Inspector General (IG). The IG also determined that 274 subjects of ICE human trafficking investigations successfully petitioned USCIS to bring 425 family members and fiances into the United States. ICE could not say exactly how many visa petitioners were human traffickers; however, 18 of the 274 had been arrested for trafficking-related crimes, including sex trafficking, labor trafficking, peonage, and involuntary servitude. The IG's report explained that fiance visas are used to lure human trafficking victims to the US as part of marriage fraud schemes. The traffickers confiscate the victims' passports and often subject them to psychological and physical abuse, such as forced sex and/or forced labor. The auditors determined that ICE and USCIS could improve data quality to better identify instances of human trafficking. Lack of communication between ICE and USCIS also created vulnerabilities in the visa process. "ICE had to extensively manipulate its system to provide us with reasonably reliable data for our data matching and analysis," the report stated. "USCIS did not always collect names and other identifiers of human traffickers that victims had provided in their T visa applications. Due to incomplete data, we were limited in our ability to match, analyze, and draw conclusions from the components' databases." The IG made three recommendations: Recommendation 1: Develop and implement procedures to capture the names and other identifying information on human traffickers found in victims' statements, which are submitted with T and U petitions, in USCIS information systems. Recommendation 2: Collaborate with ICE to institute a mutually acceptable procedure for transferring USCIS data on alleged human traffickers to ICE. Recommendation 3: Collaborate with USCIS to identify a mutually acceptable procedure for obtaining names and other identifying information on alleged human traffickers that is available in USCIS systems. ICE and USCIS concurred, saying they would address the IG's recommendations.

Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2016. 27p.

Source: Internet Resource: OIG-16-17: Accessed January 25, 2016 at: https://www.oig.dhs.gov/assets/Mgmt/2016/OIG-16-17-Jan16.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: United States

URL: https://www.oig.dhs.gov/assets/Mgmt/2016/OIG-16-17-Jan16.pdf

Shelf Number: 137658

Keywords:
Customs Enforcement
Forced Labor
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Immigration Enforcement
Labor Trafficking
Sex Trafficking

Author: European Parliament. Directorate-General for Internal Policies. Policy Department C Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs

Title: Fit for Purpose? The Facilitation Directive and the Criminalisation of Humanitarian Assistance to Irregular Migrants

Summary: This study assesses the implementation of the humanitarian exception provisions of the Facilitation Directive and their impact on irregular migrants, along with the organisations and individuals providing assistance to them within EU member states. It maps the existing international and EU legal frameworks on people smuggling and their implementation in the national law of selected member states, assessing them against international, supranational and regional human rights instruments as well as the EU Charter. It subsequently gathers and presents data on the prosecution and conviction rates of those who have provided humanitarian assistance to irregular migrants and identifies important knowledge gaps and methodological caveats. Drawing on primary survey data, this study also explores the material, direct and perceived effects of the Facilitation Directive from the perspective of civil society and local authorities. It identifies the practical challenges and experiences of cities and civil society arising from implementation of the Facilitation Directive and puts forward a series of policy recommendations to the European Parliament for improving and amending the Directive. The study aims at enhancing the European Parliament's ability to make sound, evidence-based policy directed towards key stakeholders in this area and at strengthening its important role in ensuring democratic accountability at a time when the 'Facilitators' Package' is under revision

Details: Luxembourg: European Parliament, 2016. 132p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 1, 2016 at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/536490/IPOL_STU(2016)536490_EN.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: Europe

URL: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/536490/IPOL_STU(2016)536490_EN.pdf

Shelf Number: 137719

Keywords:
Human Rights Abuses
Human Smuggling
Illegal Immigrants
Immigration

Author: Rosenblum, Marc R.

Title: Trends in Unaccompanied Child and Family Migration from Central America

Summary: After reaching record high levels during the spring and summer of 2014, the flow of Central American unaccompanied children (UACs) and families arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border declined sharply. Data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) show a resurgence in the numbers of child migrants and families from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras arriving in the United States in the summer and fall of 2015. What caused the sharp drop in Central American child and family migration flows in summer 2014, and why have the numbers begun to climb once again? Undoubtedly, numerous factors contributed to the downturn. The United States intensified its enforcement efforts at the U.S.-Mexico border, detained large numbers of Central American women and children, targeted more resources to investigate and prosecute migrant smugglers, and worked with the Northern Triangle countries on a public information campaign to discourage outflows. Perhaps most importantly, Mexico significantly stepped up its enforcement, with the advent of the Southern Border Program. Guatemala and Honduras also took additional steps to secure their common borders and Guatemala's border with Mexico; and the three Northern Triangle countries announced a large-scale development strategy known as the Plan for the Alliance for Prosperity. While the drop in child migration and family arrivals in 2014 led some to believe the regional migration crisis had been resolved, rising flows in 2015 offer a reminder that humanitarian and migration pressures in the Northern Triangle remain a major concern, and that smuggling networks play a significant role. This fact sheet examines influencing factors on the recent trends in unaccompanied child and family arrivals from Central America to the U.S.-Mexico border, as well as Mexico's role in enforcement.

Details: Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute, 2016. 11p.

Source: Internet Resource: Fact Sheet: Accessed February 8, 2016 at: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/trends-unaccompanied-child-and-family-migration-central-america

Year: 2016

Country: Central America

URL: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/trends-unaccompanied-child-and-family-migration-central-america

Shelf Number: 137790

Keywords:
Border Law Enforcement
Border Security
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Illegal Immigration
Unaccompanied Children

Author: Zervos, Eleni

Title: The Invisible Crime: Sex Trafficking in Greece. An Analysis of the Structural Barriers and Vulnerability Victims Face in Seeking Protection

Summary: Human trafficking remains one of the most pervasive and profitable organized criminal activities in the world. Generating $150 billion globally, it ranks as the third largest and fastest growing international crime, exploiting millions of people in the process. A criminal industry driven by market demands, its vast spread can be credited to its economic model as a low risk enterprise with immense financial gains. It ranges from both sexual and labor exploitation, to organ harvesting and, in some cases, forced begging and theft5. Of the 21 million people human trafficking victimizes, 11.4 million are women and girls while 9.5 million are men and boys. 33% are children7. The most common form of trafficking, accounting for 53% of all individuals trafficked, is sexual exploitation8 victimizing 4.1 million people9 with females making up an overwhelming majority of 97%. Unfortunately, given the illicit nature of these human rights violations, it is difficult to accurately assess the full scope of this crime and any data collected represents either only one portion of this large-scale issue or is based on estimates. When reviewing these statistics, it is also important to take into consideration that higher numbers of reported trafficking victims in one country do not necessarily signify higher actual numbers of victims, but might simply represent a more sophisticated means of data acquisition in that particular country. There are, however, global trends that can be identified when studying how human trafficking spreads throughout the world. While it is a crime with international reach, victims are often from impoverished countries with limited resources. Wealthier countries are generally where demand and exploitation is highest. In particular, human trafficking tends to thrive in countries where women's rights are devalued, and where women typically hold economically disadvantaged positions in comparison to their male counterparts. Trafficking is prevalent in conflict zones, both because they are intrinsically a context where the risk of exploitation is elevated, and because some members of local peacekeeping missions have been known to solicit sexual activity with trafficking victims themselves.

Details: Athens: Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign policy, 2015. 48p.

Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper No. 69/2015: Accessed March 4, 2016 at: http://www.eliamep.gr/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/69_2015_-WORKING-PAPER-_Eleni-Zervos.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: Greece

URL: http://www.eliamep.gr/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/69_2015_-WORKING-PAPER-_Eleni-Zervos.pdf

Shelf Number: 138036

Keywords:
Forced Labor
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Organized Crime
Sex Trafficking
Sexual Exploitation

Author: Financial Action Task Force

Title: Money Laundering Risks Arising from Trafficking in Human beings and Smuggling of Migrants

Summary: Criminals are increasingly turning to the trafficking of human beings and the smuggling of migrants given the high profitability of these illegal activities. The money generated by such activities finds its way into the financial system. The FATF has carried out a study which describes the money flows related to these two distinct problems and attempts to assess their scale. The key objectives of the report are the following: - To assess the scale of the problem; - To identify different trends in trafficking in human beings/ migrant smuggling; - To identify from case studies where money laundering is occurring and what form it is taking; - To inform law enforcement agencies on the laundering of funds coming from human trafficking/ migrant smuggling; - To identify red flag indicators to assist financial institutions in their identification of money laundering from human trafficking/ migrant smuggling, and in the reporting of suspicious transaction reports; - To increase the possibility of the proceeds of human trafficking/migrant smuggling being identified and confiscated, and thereby discouraging the activity of human trafficking or migrant smuggling.

Details: Paris: FATF, 2011. 86p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 15, 2016 at: http://www.fatf-gafi.org/media/fatf/documents/reports/Trafficking%20in%20Human%20Beings%20and%20Smuggling%20of%20Migrants.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: International

URL: http://www.fatf-gafi.org/media/fatf/documents/reports/Trafficking%20in%20Human%20Beings%20and%20Smuggling%20of%20Migrants.pdf

Shelf Number: 138243

Keywords:
Financial Crimes
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Migrant Smuggling
Migrants
Money Laundering

Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

Title: Recent trends of human trafficking and migrant smuggling to and from Pakistan

Summary: Pakistan is a destination, transit, and source country for smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons. It has taken some important steps in combating these transnational crimes, including the promulgation of domestic legislation such as the Prevention and Control of Human Trafficking Ordinance also known as (PAC HTO) in 2002 as well as establishing Anti-Human Trafficking Units and Circles under the jurisdiction of the Federal Investigation Agency. However, migrant smuggling and human trafficking remain issues of concern. 1.1 Smuggling of migrants to Pakistan The best estimate of irregular migrants to Pakistan puts the population at more than four million. Afghans are the largest group at approximately 2.7 million, followed by the combined population of Bengali, Bangladeshi, and Burmese nationals at more than one million. However, Pakistan as a destination country for irregular migration is not a new phenomenon. Irregular migration to Pakistan has two key features: historic and protracted. Approximately 74 per cent of all Afghan nationals in the country were born in Pakistan, and 80 per cent of Afghan households arrived in Pakistan before 1985. Similarly, a majority of the Bengali, Bangladeshi, and Burmese nationals arrived prior to 1997. The number of new arrivals of irregular migrants is very small when compared to the existing population in Pakistan. The attractiveness of Pakistan as a destination country has declined due to its political and economic circumstances. Border management and interdiction of new arrivals will only have limited impact on the regulation of the existing population of irregular migrants. As such, Pakistan must explore ways to regularise and regulate the status of the existing irregular migrant population. UNODC recommends to the Government, in cooperation with UNHCR to find long-term solutions for the Afghan population in Pakistan, particularly as the Proof of Registration Cards for 1.6 million Afghans expired on 30 June 2013. In addition, with UN assistance, the Government should also find solutions for the combined Bengali, Bangladeshi, and Burmese population, including stateless people. 1.2 Smuggling of migrants from Pakistan Pakistani nationals are among the ten most-detected nationalities that attempt irregular migration to the European Union (EU) and Australia. At the same time, Afghans are also one of the most detected nationalities for irregular migration. The number of Afghan nationals using smuggling networks to enter the EU and Australia far exceeds the number of Pakistanis. However, the migration patterns of the two populations are entangled, and both populations use the same routes and smuggling networks. Moreover, Pakistan is a key transit country for Afghans. To enter the EU, Pakistani and Afghan nationals predominantly use the Eastern Mediterranean Route, by both land and sea. Pakistani, Afghan, and Bangladeshi nationals have reported they rendezvous in Iran and travel in a mixed group to the EU through Turkey and then Greece. Pakistani and Afghan nationals both feature prominently on the Western Balkans Route for secondary movement within the EU and the Schengen Zone. Both have also been detected in significant numbers along the sea route from Greece to the southern Italian regions of Apulia and Calabria. The vast majority of Pakistani and Afghan nationals attempt to enter the EU through blue and green borders. The number that attempts clandestine entry at border check posts is low. Irregular migrants appear to use a combination of tactics; clandestine crossing of blue and green borders and legal entry or exits at border check posts using legitimate but fraudulently obtained documentation. The volume of migration appears to be sensitive to push factors in the countries of origin. For example, the 2010 floods in Pakistan appear to have led to an exceptional spike in the volume of EU migration in 2011 by Pakistani nationals. Moreover, the routes used for smuggling of migrants appear to be responsive to changing interdiction and border control tactics. For example, improved land interdiction led to an increase in the use of sea routes. Changing status of a country - such as accession to EU membership - also has an impact on the routes used. With the recent economic downturn in the EU, particularly in Greece, Spain, and Italy, it is anticipated that some secondary movement by Pakistani and Afghan nationals will be detected as they seek better economic opportunities. Although the number of Afghan irregular migrants far exceeds the number of Pakistanis, more Pakistanis are found to use fraudulent documentation. Further, more Pakistanis are detected as facilitators of smuggling. This suggests that the smuggling networks are more organised and sophisticated in Pakistan, and that both Pakistani and Afghan nationals use Pakistani networks. In addition, the European Union raised concerns about the increased use of legitimate but fraudulently obtained documentation. As an island country, almost all irregular migrants to Australia arrive by sea from Indonesia. The number of irregular maritime arrivals from Afghanistan also far exceeds the number from Pakistan, but both populations are of concern to Australia. Again, smugglers use a combination of tactics; irregular migrants often exit Pakistan on valid passports and visas, and then travel by air to Malaysia or Thailand. From there, they travel clandestinely over land and sea to Indonesia, from where they attempt the final segment of the journey to Australia by sea. The majority of Pakistani and Afghan nationals that attempt irregular migration to Australia by sea are religious or ethnic minorities. They lodge protection applications on arrival and their claims have had an extremely high rate of acceptance, demonstrating that they have legitimate and compelling flight reasons. Members of the community tend to view smugglers as providing a necessary service to help them escape the persecution they suffer in their countries of origin. Smugglers that operate on this route appear to be well established and known to the community. They do not appear to recruit, but find business through word of mouth recommendations from successful migrants. Intending migrants approach the smugglers proactively. Businesses that claim to be visa consultants are often involved in smuggling rings. Facilitators and agents generally have ties to the migrant community and have often attempted or succeeded on the same route. Visa consultants often operate as fronts for smuggling networks. Therefore, UNODC recommends that the Government of Pakistan considers implementing regulation of visa consultancies

Details: Islamabad: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), July 2013. 88p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 11, 2016 at: https://www.unodc.org/documents/pakistan//2013.12.26_Research_Report_HTMS_COPAK_HTMSS_Designed_for_printing.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: Pakistan

URL: https://www.unodc.org/documents/pakistan//2013.12.26_Research_Report_HTMS_COPAK_HTMSS_Designed_for_printing.pdf

Shelf Number: 137571

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Illegal Immigrants
Migrants

Author: Europol

Title: Migrant Smuggling in the EU

Summary: Europe has seen an unprecedented increase in the number of irregular migrants arriving in the European Union since 2014. The scale of these migratory flows reached previously unseen heights in 2015. This trend of exponentially increasing numbers of migrants arriving in the EU is set to continue in 2016. In 2015, more than one million migrants reached the EU. This development has had a profound impact on Europe's criminal landscape. Criminal networks have quickly adapted to this development and substantially increased their involvement in migrant smuggling. More than 90% of the migrants travelling to the EU used facilitation services. In most cases, these services were offered and provided by criminal groups. A large number of criminal networks as well as individual criminal entrepreneurs now generate substantial profits from migrant smuggling. Criminal networks exploit the desperation and vulnerability of migrants. They offer a broad range of facilitation services such as the provision of transportation, accommodation and fraudulent documents at excessively high prices. In many cases, irregular migrants are forced to pay for these services by means of illegal labour. The scale of this exploitation is set to further increase in 2016. In 2015 alone, criminal networks involved in migrant smuggling are estimated to have had a turnover of between EUR 3 -6 billion. This turnover is set to double or triple if the scale of the current migration crisis persists in the upcoming year. Migrant smuggling to and within the EU is a highly attractive business for criminal networks and has grown significantly in 2015. As the fastest growing criminal market in Europe and other regions, this trend is set to continue in 2016. In tackling the sophisticated international and European migrant smuggling networks generating enormous profits, law enforcement authorities face a significant challenge over the coming years.

Details: The Hague: EUROPOL, 2016. 15p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 11, 2016 at: https://www.europol.europa.eu/content/migrant-smuggling-eu

Year: 2016

Country: Europe

URL: https://www.europol.europa.eu/content/migrant-smuggling-eu

Shelf Number: 138619

Keywords:
Criminal Networks
Forced Labor
Human Smuggling
Illegal Migrants
Migrants
Organized Crime

Author: Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Fusion Center, Intelligence & Counterterrorism Division

Title: Texas Gang Threat Assessment

Summary: The key analytic judgments of this assessment are: - Gangs continue to represent a significant public safety threat to Texas due to their propensity for violence and heightened level of criminal activity. Of the incarcerated gang members within Texas Department of Criminal Justice prisons, over 60 percent are serving a sentence for violent crimes, including robbery (24 percent), homicide (16 percent), and assault/terroristic threat (15 percent). We assess there are likely more than 100,000 gang members in Texas. - The Tier 1 gangs in Texas for 2015 are Tango Blast and Tango cliques (estimated 15,000 members), Texas Syndicate (estimated 3,400 members), Texas Mexican Mafia (estimated 4,700 members), Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) (estimated 800 members), and Latin Kings (estimated 2,100 members). These groups pose the greatest gang threat to Texas due to their relationships with Mexican cartels, high levels of transnational criminal activity, level of violence, and overall statewide presence. - Gangs in Texas remain active in both human smuggling and human trafficking operations. Gang members associated with human smuggling have direct relationships with alien smuggling organizations (ASOs) and Mexican cartels. These organizations were involved in and profited from the recent influx of illegal aliens crossing the border in the Rio Grande Valley in 2014. Gang members involved in human trafficking, including commercial sex trafficking and compelling prostitution of adults and minors, exploit their victims through force, fraud or coercion, including recruiting and grooming them with false promises of affection, employment, or a better life. Gangs identified as being involved in human trafficking in Texas in 2014 include Tango Blast, Texas Syndicate, Bloods, Crips, Gangster Disciples, and MS-13. - Mexican cartels regularly use Texas gangs for the purposes of illicit cross-border smuggling. Members of Tier 1, Tier 2, and other gangs are sometimes recruited and tasked by cartels to carry out acts of violence in both Texas and Mexico. The relationships between certain gangs and cartels fluctuate based on cartel structures and cell alignments, gang alignment with specific cartels, threats or coercion, and familial ties. - Traditional rivalries between gangs continue to diminish as members take advantage of opportunities to collaborate and achieve common criminal objectives, typically for financial gain. Members of gangs such as the Bloods, Texas Syndicate, and Texas Mexican Mafia are working together to smuggle and sell drugs and weapons, among other crimes. In addition, law enforcement continues to observe gang members with hybrid memberships, where gang members claim multiple affiliations, which presents challenges in identifying and investigating gang activity.

Details: Austin, TX: Texas Department of Public Safety, 2015. 58p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 13, 2016 at: https://www.txdps.state.tx.us/director_staff/media_and_communications/2015/txGangThreatAssessment.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: United States

URL: https://www.txdps.state.tx.us/director_staff/media_and_communications/2015/txGangThreatAssessment.pdf

Shelf Number: 138647

Keywords:
Drug Trafficking
Gang Violence
Gangs
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Prostitution
Sex Trafficking

Author: Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Title: Understanding Illicit Trade: Impact of Human Trafficking and Smuggling on the Private Sector

Summary: Around the globe, an estimated 20.9 million people are in situations of so-called modern day slavery, or forced labour, at any point of time. Many of these victims are trafficked within their country or across borders. Considering this number, there is an urgent need to improve our understanding of criminal activities in the area of human trafficking and exploitation, the difficulties to track perpetrators and protect victims. The individual criminals and complex networks behind different forms of trafficking and exploitation as well as the high level of profits connected to their illicit activities stress the need to consider human trafficking and exploitation in terms of transnational organised crime. Drawn from a series of webinars hosted by the Global Initiative and Babson College in 2014-15, this report highlights emerging human trafficking challenges and identifies promising anti-trafficking initiatives from the private sector. Each chapter of the report covers one of five key areas of human trafficking: - Migrant workers in the USA and their vulnerability to labour exploitation - Online sexual exploitation of children and recent technological developments in detecting this form of crime - Human trafficking in football, particularly in the area of recruitment of young athletes - Labour exploitation and the construction industry, using the example of the kafala system in the Gulf countries to highlight flawed national regulation putting migrant works at risk of being trafficked and exploited - Responding to the global black market in illicit organs and the intrinsic role the private sector has played in enabling this illicit business Whilst each chapter clearly shows the organised criminal networks behind the different forms of trafficking and exploitation, there are significant differences in the types of crimes and their individual complexities. It is, therefore, crucial to deepen the research into each of the areas and to develop individual responses and strategies private sectors can apply to counter criminal networks across the globe. The report finds that the private sector needs to play a stronger role in ensuring ethical and fair practices, and to contribute its unique knowledge and expertise to help in the fight against human trafficking. Overall, he private sector is an increasingly important actor in enabling as well as in combating the different aspects of human trafficking.

Details: Geneva, SWIT: The Initiative, 2016. 52p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 18, 2016 at: http://www.globalinitiative.net/download/global-initiative/Understanding%20Illicit%20Trade_06.05.16(1).pdf

Year: 2016

Country: International

URL: http://www.globalinitiative.net/download/global-initiative/Understanding%20Illicit%20Trade_06.05.16(1).pdf

Shelf Number: 139069

Keywords:
Forced labor
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Illicit Trade
Organized Crime
Trafficking in Organs

Author: Meyer, Peter J.

Title: Unaccompanied Children from Central America: Foreign Policy Considerations

Summary: Since FY2011, the number of unaccompanied alien children (UAC) traveling to the United States from the "northern triangle" nations of Central America - El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras - has increased sharply. U.S. authorities encountered more than 52,000 unaccompanied minors from the region at the U.S. border in FY2014, a more than 1,200% increase compared to FY2011. This unexpected surge of children strained U.S. government resources and created a complex crisis with humanitarian implications. U.S. apprehensions of unaccompanied minors from the northern triangle declined by 45% in FY2015. They increased in the first five months of FY2016, however, and experts warn that significant migration flows will continue until policymakers in the countries of origin and the international community address the poor socioeconomic and security conditions driving Central Americans to leave their homes. The 2014 migration crisis led to renewed focus on Central America, a region with which the United States historically has shared close political, economic, and cultural ties. The United States engages with Central American countries through a variety of mechanisms, including a security assistance package known as the Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) and the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). Over the past two years, the Obama Administration has sought closer cooperation with Central American governments to dissuade children from making the journey to the United States, target smuggling networks, and repatriate unauthorized migrants. The Administration also has introduced a whole-of-government "U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America" designed to increase economic opportunity, reduce extreme violence, and strengthen the effectiveness of state institutions in the region. The Administration requested $1 billion through the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development to implement the strategy in FY2016, and it has requested more than $770 million through those two agencies to continue implementation in FY2017. The governments of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras are undertaking complementary efforts under their "Plan of the Alliance for Prosperity in the Northern Triangle." Congress has expressed considerable concern about increased migration from Central America, with Members holding numerous hearings, traveling to the region, and introducing legislation designed to address the situation. Although Congress opted not to appropriate supplemental funding for programs in Central America in FY2014, it appropriated more than $570 million for the region in FY2015, which was $241 million more than the Administration originally requested. The Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (P.L. 113-235), also directed the Administration to develop a comprehensive strategy to address the key factors contributing to the migration of unaccompanied children to the United States. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (P.L. 114-113), appropriated $750 million in support of the Administration's Central America strategy in FY2016. The act also placed a number of conditions on the assistance, requiring governments in the region to take steps to improve border security, combat corruption, increase revenues, and address human rights concerns, among other actions. As Congress debates the Administration's FY2017 budget request and other legislative options to address increased migration from Central America, it might take into consideration a variety of interrelated issues. These issues might include the humanitarian implications of the current situation, the international humanitarian response, Central American governments' limited capacities to receive and reintegrate repatriated children, Central American governments' abilities and willingness to address poor security and socioeconomic conditions in their countries, and the extent to which the Mexican government is capable of limiting the transmigration of Central Americans through its territory.

Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Services, 2016. 32p.

Source: Internet Resource: R43702: Accessed May 25, 2016 at: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R43702.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: Central America

URL: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R43702.pdf

Shelf Number: 138656

Keywords:
Child Protection
Homeland Security
Human Smuggling
Immigration Enforcement
Unaccompanied Children

Author: Neville, Darren

Title: Internal border controls in the Schengen area: is Schengen crisis-proof ?

Summary: This study, commissioned by the European Parliament's Policy Department for Citizen's Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the LIBE Committee, analyses the Schengen area in the wake of the European 'refugee crisis' and other recent developments. With several Member States reintroducing temporary internal border controls over recent months, the study assesses compliance with the Schengen governance framework in this context . Despite suggestions that the end of Schengen is nigh or arguments that there is a need to get 'back to Schengen', the research demonstrates that Schengen is alive and well and that border controls have, at least formally, complied with the legal framework. Nonetheless, better monitoring and democratic accountability are necessary.

Details: Brussels: Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs, European Parliament, 2016. 124p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 11, 2016 at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/571356/IPOL_STU(2016)571356_EN.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: Europe

URL: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/571356/IPOL_STU(2016)571356_EN.pdf

Shelf Number: 139587

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Illegal Migration
Migration (Europe)
Refugees

Author: Great Britain. House of Lords. European Union Committee

Title: Operation Sophia: the EU's naval mission in the Mediterranean: an impossible challenge

Summary: Since 2014, Europe has been struggling to respond to an exceptional number of irregular but voluntary migrants 2 seeking to cross European borders. On 19 April 2015, off-the-coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa, a boat carrying nearly 700 migrants capsized and almost all its passengers drowned. The Lampedusa tragedy changed EU policy. Four days later, the European Council pledged to take steps to prevent further loss of life at sea, fight the people smugglers and prevent illegal migration flows. In May, a new naval mission-Operation Sophia-was deployed in the central Mediterranean. It currently patrols a vast area of the high seas off the coast of Libya to Italy, gathering information, rescuing migrants, and destroying boats used by smugglers. Critics suggested that search and rescue activity by Operation Sophia would act as a magnet to migrants and ease the task of smugglers, who would only need their vessels to reach the high seas; these propositions have some validity. On the other hand, search and rescue are, in our view, vital humanitarian obligations. We commend Operation Sophia for its success in this task. The mission does not, however, in any meaningful way deter the flow of migrants, disrupt the smugglers' networks, or impede the business of people smuggling on the central Mediterranean route. The arrests that Operation Sophia has made to date have been of low-level targets, while the destruction of vessels has simply caused the smugglers to shift from using wooden boats to rubber dinghies, which are even more unsafe. There are also significant limits to the intelligence that can be collected about onshore smuggling networks from the high seas. There is therefore little prospect of Operation Sophia overturning the business model of people smuggling. The weakness of the Libyan state has been a key factor underlying the exceptional rate of irregular migration on the central Mediterranean route in recent years. While plans for two further phases would see Operation Sophia acting in Libyan territorial waters and onshore, we are not confident that the new Libyan Government of National Accord will be in a position to work closely with the EU and its Member States any time soon. In other words, however valuable as a search and rescue mission, Operation Sophia does not, and we argue, cannot, deliver its mandate. It responds to symptoms, not causes.

Details: London: House of Lords, 2016. 43p.

Source: Internet Resource: HP Paper 144: Accessed July 13, 2016 at: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201516/ldselect/ldeucom/144/144.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: United Kingdom

URL: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201516/ldselect/ldeucom/144/144.pdf

Shelf Number: 139636

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Illegal Immigrants
Immigration
Migrants

Author: Schloenhardt, Andreas

Title: Irregular migration and associated crime in Pakistan: a review of the Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) training programmes

Summary: This report reviews existing training programmes on irregular migration and associated crime offered by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and develops recommendations to enhance the training of FIA officers and other law enforcement personnel in this field. Irregular migration, especially in the form of migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons, and associated criminal activities such as money laundering, document fraud, and corruption, are of imminent concern to Pakistan. Trafficking in persons is the acquisition of people by improper means such as force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them. Smuggling of migrants involves the procurement for financial or other material benefit of illegal entry of a person into a State of which that person is not a national or resident. Virtually every country in the world is affected by these crimes. Recent reports confirm that Pakistan is simultaneously a sending, transit, and destination point for smuggled migrants and trafficked persons. Domestic trafficking, especially of women and children, is also of ongoing concern. The challenge for all countries, rich and poor, is to target the criminals who exploit desperate people and to protect and assist victims of trafficking and smuggled migrants, many of whom endure unimaginable hardships in their bid for a better life. Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), as the country's chief national law enforcement agency, has a mandate to prevent and suppress trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling and is in a unique position to comprehensively combat these phenomena, along with associated crime such as money laundering, document fraud, and corruption. In response to the emergence of migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons, the Government of Pakistan has taken decisive action to develop national strategies to prevent and suppress these crime types and protect the rights of victims. In 2002, a Prevention and Control of Human Trafficking Ordinance was enacted. This was followed by the development of a National Action Plan for Combating Human Trafficking and the creation of an Anti-Trafficking Unit within the FIA. UNODC, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, is the guardian of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children and the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Air, and Sea. UNODC leads international efforts to comprehensively prevent and suppress migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons and protect the victims of these heinous crimes. UNODC's Country Office in Islamabad stands ready to assist Pakistan's authorities in their efforts.

Details: Pakistan: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2011. 42p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 25, 2016 at: https://www.unodc.org/documents/pakistan/2011.10.00_Irregular_Migration_Associated_Crime_in_PakTNA_of_FIA_Academy_fin.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: Pakistan

URL: https://www.unodc.org/documents/pakistan/2011.10.00_Irregular_Migration_Associated_Crime_in_PakTNA_of_FIA_Academy_fin.pdf

Shelf Number: 139856

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Illegal Migration
Migrants
Organized Crime

Author: Achilli, Luigi

Title: The Smuggler: Hero or Felon?

Summary: The general public and the media have had fun fantasising about the motives and interests that push migrants to embark on dangerous journeys across the sea. Smuggling is often understood through a simplification of both the clandestine traveller and the smuggler: a process of abstraction that overlooks any ambiguities and nuances. While researchers have abundantly studied the profile of the migrant, they had been less interested in the other key actor of the clandestine migration: the smuggler. Who is the smuggler? How does s/he operate? Why do migrants place their lives in the smuggler�s hands? The goal of this paper is to attend to the complexity of the phenomenon by looking at human smuggling across the Adriatic Sea. In light of the need to elaborate an adequate policy response to this phenomenon, a better understanding of smuggling is pivotal in ensuring the security of the receiving state and that of the migrant. With this task in mind, this paper problematizes the figure of the smugglers beyond overly simplistic generalizations and representations. In so doing, this paper argues that a truly effective answer to human smuggling would require the EU and its state members to concentrate on reducing �demand� rather than curbing �supply.�

Details: Florence, Italy: Migration Policy Centre, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies - European University Institute, 2015. 12p.

Source: Internet Resource: Policy Brief: Accessed September 7, 2016 at: http://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/36296/MPC_2015_10_PB.pdf?sequence=1

Year: 2015

Country: International

URL: http://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/36296/MPC_2015_10_PB.pdf?sequence=1

Shelf Number: 140222

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Illegal Migrants
Illegal Migration
Migrants

Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

Title: Transnational Organized Crime in the Pacific: A Threat Assessment

Summary: This report presents major threats posed by transnational organized crime in the Pacific region, mainly focusing on the Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs). Based on consultations with the Pacific Island Forum Secretariat (PIFS) and information obtained from desk reviews conducted by UNODC, this report focuses on four major types of transnational organized crime affecting the Pacific region: - Drug and precursor trafficking; - Trafficking in persons & smuggling of migrants; - Environmental crimes (fishery crime and other wildlife trafficking & illegal logging and timber trafficking); and - Small arms trafficking. In addition to the major four types of transnational crime, the report also includes some information on the trafficking of counterfeit goods, including fraudulent medicines, and cybercrime to shed light on emerging threats in the region. The four major illicit flows discussed in the report are different sorts of illicit activities, yet they all pose immense challenges to the region. There are strong indications that the PICTs are increasingly targeted by transnational organized crime groups due to their susceptibility to illicit flows driven by several factors. These include (a) the geographical location of the PICTs situated between major sources and destinations of illicit commodities; (b) extensive and porous jurisdictional boundaries; and (c) differences in governance and heterogeneity in general law enforcement capacity across numerous PICTs and the region in general. These complexities also underscore the inherent difficulties in detecting, monitoring, preventing and responding to transnational organized crimes in the region. In this context, transnational criminal activities continue to increase throughout the Pacific and have detrimental impacts on communities, sustainable economic development and regional security. At a regional level and across all transnational organized crime types discussed in this report, a fundamental problem is the significant gaps in data and information related to transnational crime among the PICTs. This is a major hindrance in developing effective and evidence-based responses to transnational organized crime.

Details: Bangkok: UNODC, 2016. 130p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 30, 2016 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/southeastasiaandpacific/Publications/2016/2016.09.16_TOCTA_Pacific_web.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: Asia

URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/southeastasiaandpacific/Publications/2016/2016.09.16_TOCTA_Pacific_web.pdf

Shelf Number: 140518

Keywords:
Counterfeit Goods
Drug Trafficking
Environmental Crimes
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Illegal Fishing
Illegal Logging
Organized Crime
Wildlife Crime
Wildlife Trafficking

Author: Sutton, Mitchell

Title: Transnational crime in Sri Lanka: Future considerations for international cooperation

Summary: This report examines transnational, serious and organised crime in Sri Lanka, its impact on neighbouring states, law enforcement cooperation, and the influence of Sri Lanka's changing geopolitical and economic orientation on criminal activity. Geopolitical change was a major influence on the patterns of transnational crime in Sri Lanka, especially the end of the civil war in 2009 and the destruction of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The LTTE's demise ended some activity while changing the patterns of transnational crimes such as arms smuggling, people smuggling and human trafficking. Still, the threat of transnational crime hasn't disappeared from Sri Lanka since the end of the civil war. Local law enforcement agencies and the military are struggling to develop strategies to combat a multifaceted threat exacerbated by the country's porous border with India, international drug rings and cartels, government corruption, and proximity to swathes of under- or ungoverned territory in Myanmar, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Historical and new international relationships-especially with Russia, China and the Middle East - have also influenced crime patterns in Sri Lanka. Regional states have felt strong impacts from criminal activities involving Sri Lanka. Those impacts have differed markedly, as each affected state has been incorporated into a different place along the contraband supply chain. People smuggling and associated crimes are likely to remain the main concerns for Australia. Drug, arms and human trafficking are likely to pose problems for India and Southeast Asia. Because this criminal activity is diffuse, solutions must necessarily come from both domestic and regional sources, and involve neighbouring states working with the Sri Lankan Government to develop strategies to jointly reduce the threat. Already, a proliferation of different multilateral and bilateral law enforcement cooperation agreements has emerged in response to these challenges. Future engagement should focus on enhancing the intelligence capabilities of Sri Lanka's military and law enforcement agencies, encouraging reforms to eliminate corruption and inefficiency and realigning government agencies to fit the new threat.

Details: Barton,. ACT: Australian Strategic Policy Institute, 2016. 32p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 13, 2016 at: https://www.aspi.org.au/publications/transnational-crime-in-sri-lanka-future-considerations-for-international-cooperation/SR94_Sri-Lanka.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: Sri Lanka

URL: https://www.aspi.org.au/publications/transnational-crime-in-sri-lanka-future-considerations-for-international-cooperation/SR94_Sri-Lanka.pdf

Shelf Number: 145538

Keywords:
Arms Smuggling
Drug Trafficking
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Organized Crime
Trafficking in Firearms

Author: Olson, Eric L.

Title: Migrant Smuggling and Trafficking at the Rio Grande Valley: Ten Observations and Questions

Summary: In the scorching heat of a late summer day on the U.S. - Mexico border along the lower Rio Grande Valley (RGV) I had a revelation. Migrant smuggling and trafficking along this difficult part of the border lands is a constantly changing business. Despite involving human lives, smuggling and trafficking are fundamentally a business, albeit a deplorable one, that responds to a complex series of factors - some legitimate, others less so. As a result, the dynamics around these factors are constantly in flux and what we think we know today, maybe different a month, or a year from now.

Details: Washington, DC: Latin American Program, The Wilson Center, 2016. 8p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 12, 2017 at: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/olson_border_2016_0.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: United States

URL:

Shelf Number: 140861

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Migrant Smuggling

Author: McAuliffe, M.L., ed.

Title: Migrant Smuggling Data and Research: A Global Review of the Emerging Evidence Base

Summary: Migrant Smuggling Data and Research: A global review of the emerging evidence base presents a unique review of what is being collected and what can be done to further build the evidence base on migrant smuggling globally. The report is the result of a collaboration between the International Organization for Migration and researchers from a range of backgrounds and academic disciplines, and supported by the Government of Turkey. The report shows that important research has been undertaken on the transnational crime aspects of migrant smuggling, including on routes, smuggling organization (such as criminal networking and facilitation), smuggler profiles and fees/payment. Likewise, there is an emerging academic literature on migrant smuggling, particularly the economic and social processes involved in smuggling, which has largely been based on small-scale qualitative research, mostly undertaken by early career researchers. Contributions from private research companies, as well as investigative journalists, have provided useful insights in some regions, helping to shed light on smuggling practices. There remains, however, sizeable gaps in migration policy research and data, particularly in relation to migration patterns and processes linked to migrant smuggling, including its impact on migrants (particularly vulnerability, abuse and exploitation), as well as its impact on irregular migration flows (such as increasing scale, diversity and changes in geography). Addressing these systemic and regional gaps in data and research would help deepen understanding of the smuggling phenomenon, and provide further insights into how responses can be formulated that better protect migrants while enhancing States’ abilities to manage orderly migration.

Details: Geneva, SWIT: International Organization for Migration, 2016. 340p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 3, 2016 at: https://publications.iom.int/books/migrant-smuggling-data-and-research-global-review-emerging-evidence-base

Year: 2016

Country: International

URL: https://publications.iom.int/books/migrant-smuggling-data-and-research-global-review-emerging-evidence-base

Shelf Number: 145000

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Illegal Immigrants
Immigrants
Migrant Smuggling
Migrants

Author: McAuliffe, Marie

Title: Global Irregular Maritime Migration: Current and Future Challenges

Summary: The estimated number of international migrants has increased dramatically over the past fifty years, from estimates of around 77 million in 1960 to around 232 million in 2013. During that time the pace of movement has increased as more and more international travel links have emerged. There has been an expansion in migration pathways as access to air travel has increased resulting in much greater diversity among international travellers. The volume of cross-border movements that many countries around the world are facing is increasing and shows no signs of abating. In the US, it is estimated that up to 360 million cross-border movements occurred in 2013. In Australia, 14.5 million cross-border movements were recorded in program year 1996-97 compared to 31.6 million in 2011-12. The current estimate is that by 2020 Australia will experience 50 million movements per year across its border. Countries in Asia are also experiencing increases in movement, including labour migration to the 'tiger' economies of Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand. As access to international movement has increased, states have sought to implement a range of strategies to manage this increase in scale, pace and diversity. Immigration and border management policies and practices have rapidly evolved to meet changes in global circumstances and perceptions of risk associated with the movement of large numbers of people. Against this backdrop of increasing movement, irregular migration poses enduring challenges. Alongside increased global mobility more generally there has been, over recent years, an increase in refugees and asylum seekers globally. For example, UNHCR data indicate that in 2000 there were around 19 million displaced persons worldwide, compared to 35.8 million in 2012. There has also been a substantial trend increase in the number of displaced persons since the recent global low of 2003. The overall global population of displaced persons more than doubled between 2003 and 2012, from 14.8 to 35.8 million people. With changes in global migration occurring at a more rapid pace than perhaps ever before, it is essential to view global irregular maritime migration as part of bigger dynamic forces rather than a narrow, discrete phenomenon. Of particular relevance are the ever-increasing global migration flows, as well as the movement of asylum seekers and refugees. There are several other frames of reference that can usefully be applied when considering irregular maritime migration including the increasing securitisation of migration, the role of unregulated actors (e.g. people smugglers), human development, and the tension between state sovereignty and international obligations. These issues are discussed in this paper, and add weight to the notion that irregular maritime migration can be thought of as a 'wicked problem'—one that is complex, multi-faceted as well as dynamic and difficult to adequately conceptualise and respond to. The view that this phenomenon is a problem requiring ongoing effort to address is perhaps best underscored by the many thousands of lives lost at sea across the world as a direct result of irregular maritime migration. While it is acknowledged that there are limitations in seeking to distinguish global irregular maritime migration from other forms of irregular migration as well as from broader asylum-related migration flows, it is also important to note that it is a phenomenon with attributes that are distinguishable from irregular migration by land and air. This paper attempts to articulate the key aspects of this phenomenon.

Details: Belconnen ACT : Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection, 2014. 63p.

Source: Internet Resource: Occasional Paper Series, 07, 2014: Accessed November 10, 2016 at: https://www.border.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/research/global-irregular-maritime-migration.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: Australia

URL: https://www.border.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/research/global-irregular-maritime-migration.pdf

Shelf Number: 141049

Keywords:
Border Security
Human Smuggling
Illegal Immigrants
Migrants
Migration

Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

Title: Smuggling of Migrants: A risk assessment of border communities: Cambodia, Lao PDR and Thailand

Summary: Southeast Asia continues to experience rapid economic and social development. In the Greater Mekong Sub-Region (GMS), economic development in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Thailand is progressing at different paces. The resulting economic disparity between these countries is a driving force for both regular and irregular labor migration to Thailand. Since regular labor migration channels and opportunities are not sufficient to match the demand for unskilled or low-skilled migrant workers in Thailand, irregular migration continues to flourish. In this context, migrant smuggling - the procurement of illegal entry of a person into a State of which the person is not a national for a financial or other material benefit - accounts for much of the irregular migration in the GMS. Driven by supply and demand, illegal flows of goods and people tend to be more prevalent in specific border areas, which become core hubs for organizing illegal border transportation and crossing. This makes the underdeveloped border communities of these GMS countries susceptible targets for organized criminal groups that seek to generate profits from transporting and facilitating illegal entry for migrants. The objectives of this study are to determine key motivators and facilitators of irregular migration, explore the concept of Border Community Committees and their potential effectiveness in reducing the smuggling of migrants, evaluate existing mechanisms for combating irregular migration, and assess the role of law enforcement officials in preventing and prosecuting migrant smuggling and irregular migration practices.

Details: Bangkok: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, 2014. 28p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 12, 2016 at: https://www.unodc.org/documents/southeastasiaandpacific/2014/08/patrol/Final_Report_SOM_in_Border_Communities_11_25_Aug_2014.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: Asia

URL: https://www.unodc.org/documents/southeastasiaandpacific/2014/08/patrol/Final_Report_SOM_in_Border_Communities_11_25_Aug_2014.pdf

Shelf Number: 146667

Keywords:
Border Security
Human Smuggling
Illegal Immigrants
Migrant Smuggling
Migrants
Organized Crime

Author: Herbert, Matthew

Title: At the edge: Trends and routes of North African clandestine migrants

Summary: In 2015, over 16,000 Algerians, Tunisians and Moroccans were caught while attempting to migrate to Europe covertly. Though North Africans are a relatively small portion of the masses of clandestine migrants, they are a critical group to understand. They are the innovators and early adaptors of new methods and routes for migrant smuggling, such as their pioneering in the 1990s and 2000s of the routes across the Mediterranean that now fuel Europe's migration crisis. Understanding how and why North Africans migrate, the routes they use, and how these are changing, offers insights into how clandestine migration methods and routes in general may shift in the coming years. In shaping better responses to actual dynamics, it is important for countries to proactively address the chronic conditions that drive forced migration before they generate social instability.

Details: Pretoria: Institute for Security Studies, 2016. 28p.

Source: Internet Resource: ISS Paper 298: Accessed December 5, 2016 at: http://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/at-the-edge-paper-final-.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: Africa

URL: http://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/at-the-edge-paper-final-.pdf

Shelf Number: 140301

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Illegal Immigrants
Immigrants
Immigration Enforcement
Migration

Author: Reitano, Tuesday

Title: The Khartoum Process: A sustainable response to human smuggling and trafficking?

Summary: In the 2012-16 'migration crisis', citizens from the Horn of Africa have been arriving irregularly in Europe in unprecedented numbers, whilst featuring disproportionately amongst the fatalities. This has prompted the launch of the Khartoum Process, a partnership between the 28 member states of the European Union (EU) and East and North African states, to respond to human smuggling and trafﬁcking. This brief critically and unfavourably evaluates this framework. The Khartoum Process is not only unlikely to achieve the desired outcomes, but, more importantly, it is likely to pose a risk to the better governance and development of the Horn of Africa.

Details: Pretoria: Institute for Security Studies, 2016. 12p.

Source: Internet Resource: Policy Brief 93: Accessed December 5, 2016 at: http://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/gi-iss-the-khartoum-process-nov-2016.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: Africa

URL: http://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/gi-iss-the-khartoum-process-nov-2016.pdf

Shelf Number: 147921

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Immigration
Immigration Enforcement
Migrants

Author: Carrera, Sergio

Title: Irregular Migration, Trafficking and Smuggling of Human Beings: Policy Dilemmas in the EU

Summary: While the current migration and refugee crisis is the most severe that the world has known since the end of the Second World War (with over 60 million refugees worldwide, according to the UNHCR), it may turn into the norm, because the reasons to migrate keep on multiplying. These reasons range from long-lasting political crises, endemic civil wars, atrocities committed against ethnic or religious groups by extremist organisations to the lack of economic development prospects and climate change. The European Union has a duty to welcome some of these people – namely those who need international protection. With over a million irregular migrants crossing its external borders in 2015, the European Union has to engage in a deep reflection on the rationale underpinning its policies on irregular migration and migrant smuggling – and their effects. At such a strenuous time, the challenge before us is “to work closely together in a spirit of solidarity” while the “need to secure Europe’s borders” remains an imperative, to recall President Juncker’s words. Of particular relevance in this framework is the issue of migrant smuggling, or facilitation of irregular entry, stay or transit. Addressing migrant smuggling – located at the intersection of criminal law, which sanctions organised crime, the management of migration and the protection of the fundamental rights of irregular migrants – has become a pressing priority. But the prevention of and fight against migrant smuggling is a complex process, affected by contextual factors, including a high level of economic and social disparity between the EU and several third countries, difficult cooperation with source and transit countries and limited legal migration channels to the EU. In this framework, the European Commission tabled two agendas prioritising the fight against migrant smuggling. The European Agenda on Security, adopted in April 2015, and the European Agenda on Migration, presented in May 2015, both attach major importance to cooperation against the smuggling of migrants inside the EU and from third countries. Shortly afterwards, to operationalise these frameworks, the European Commission presented the EU Action Plan against Migrant Smuggling, in May 2015. It foresees a comprehensive, multidisciplinary response against migrant smuggling involving relevant stakeholders and institutions at all levels. The Action Plan covers all phases and types of migrant smuggling and all migratory routes, including the facilitation of secondary movement, unauthorised residence within the EU and the necessity to enforce return and readmission procedures. It endorses a comprehensive approach ranging from preventive action targeting potential migrants in countries of origin and transit to measures against smuggling rings operating along the migratory routes, while ensuring the full respect of the human rights of migrants. The implementation, involving different actors and organisations at local, regional, national and international levels, as well as EU agencies, is coordinated by the Commission. The Action Plan sets out both short-term and long-term objectives around four main priorities: reinforcing investigation and prosecution of smugglers; improved information gathering, sharing and analysis; better prevention of smuggling and assisting vulnerable migrants and enhancing cooperation with third countries. The Action Plan underlines the critical need to collect and share information on the modus operandi, routes and economic models of smuggling networks in order to understand the business model of criminal networks and design adequate responses. In this framework, full use should be made of the available risk analyses and monitoring of pre-frontier areas. The dissemination of information related to the external borders will be increased with the support of Eurosur, while further research on the phenomena and on the links with other crimes needs to be initiated. The relevant EU agencies must scale up their work on migrant smuggling. Their resources devoted to migrant smuggling have been increased substantially. Europol’s new European Migrant Smuggling Centre should become the EU information hub in the fight against migrant smuggling. The presence of both Europol and Frontex in the hotspots of frontline member states is crucial for gathering and processing information – and for launching investigations leading to prosecutions. Funded by the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme for Research, the FIDUCIA project has promoted research on the role of trust-based policies in legal compliance in the field of migration, through the work done by the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) and a group of academics. The initiative aims to stimulate evidence-based policy-making and to bring fresh thinking to develop more effective policies. The European Commission welcomes the valuable contribution of this initiative to help close the wide gap in our knowledge about the smuggling of migrants, and especially the functioning of smuggling networks.

Details: Brussels: Centre for European Policy Studies, 2016. 112p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 19, 2016 at: https://www.ceps.eu/system/files/Irregular%20Migration,%20Trafficking%20and%20SmugglingwithCovers.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: Europe

URL: https://www.ceps.eu/system/files/Irregular%20Migration,%20Trafficking%20and%20SmugglingwithCovers.pdf

Shelf Number: 147762

Keywords:
Border Security
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Illegal Migration
Migrants
Migrations

Author: Sahan Foundation

Title: Human Trafficking and Smuggling on the Horn of Africa-Central Mediterranean Route

Summary: As Europe struggles to manage its largest migrant crisis in more than half a century, attention has focused largely upon the refugee flows from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, where years of war and instability are driving the exodus. But in 2015, an estimated 154,000 migrants entered Europe via the Central Mediterranean Route – an increase of nearly 400% over the previous year, and more than 1,000% over 2012 – most of them from the Horn of Africa. By far the largest contingent of migrants – nearly 39,000 in 2015 – is from the sub-region's second smallest country: Eritrea. In contrast with the mass, largely uncontrolled movements of refugees from the Middle East, irregular migration from the Horn of Africa is dominated by highly integrated networks of transnational organised criminal groups. Coordinated by kingpins based chiefly in Libya and the Horn of Africa, these networks "recruit" their clients via schools, the Internet and word of mouth; they corrupt government officials to ensure seamless travel across borders; they collude with Libyan militias to secure safe passage across the desert to launching points on the southern shores of the Mediterranean; and they cast their human cargoes adrift at the limit of Libyan territorial waters in order to avoid interdiction and arrest by European security forces. Inception and Purpose of the Report Security has long been a shared preoccupation of countries of the region. The "revitalisation" of IGAD in 1996 expanded the organisation’s mandate to more directly address challenges of peace and stability in the sub-region, including, under Article 18(a), "effective collective measures to eliminate threats to regional cooperation, peace, and stability." In 2002, the states of the region signed the African Union Peace and Security Council (PSC) Protocol, which outlined the various components of a new African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) built around structures, objectives, principles, and values, as well as decision-making processes relating to the prevention, management, and resolution of crises and conflicts, post-conflict reconstruction and development in the continent. In this context, in 2003, the IGAD Summit of Heads of State and Government endorsed a new strategy for Conflict Prevention, Management, and Resolution (CPMR), which was enlarged upon in October 2005 to develop an IGAD “Peace and Security Strategy” in line with APSA. Although the new strategy remained heavily focused on inter-state and intra-state conflict, it called for the enhancement of IGAD activities on countering emerging transnational security threats. IGAD, coming to terms with the expanding scope of regional security challenges, adopted a new Security Strategy in December 2010 and, in October 2011, launched the IGAD Security Sector Programme (ISSP), whose expanded mandate included counter-terrorism, transnational organised crime (TOC), maritime security, and security institutions' capacity-building.

Details: Sahan Foundation, 2016. 39p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 20, 2016 at: http://eritreanrefugees.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/IGAD-Sahan-2015-Trafficking-Report.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: Africa

URL: http://eritreanrefugees.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/IGAD-Sahan-2015-Trafficking-Report.pdf

Shelf Number: 147783

Keywords:
Border Security
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Maritime Crime
Maritime Security
Organized Crime

Author: Jacobsen, Karen

Title: Ransom, Collaborators, Corruption: Sinai Trafficking and Transnational Networks from Eritrea to Israel. A Case Study of the Eritrean Migration System

Summary: Each month thousands of men, women, and children flee Eritrea as a result of grave violations of human rights committed by the Eritrean government. Political oppression and religious persecution have led to the imprisonment or disappearance of thousands of citizens, as well as mass flight. Travelling via Sudan and Egypt, 36,000 Eritreans have made their way to Israel over the past six years. Most have gone through a well-organized network of people smugglers and human traffickers. Many initially contacted smugglers but were later deceived, held hostage for large ransoms, and physically abused. Others had no intention to come to Israel and were kidnapped in East Sudan to then be sold to Sinai traffickers who also abused them while they were held hostage for ransom. For the last two years, Israeli, Egyptian, and international human rights organizations have reported that increasing numbers of Eritreans have undergone severe torture and abuse while being held hostage for months at a time in the Sinai. Human rights organizations have documented the brutality of traffickers in the Sinai. Eritrean asylum seekers have testified to gang rape of men and women, whipping, and various methods of torture, including burial in the sand, electric shocks, hanging by one’s hands and legs, burning with hot-iron bars, and prolonged exposure to the sun. This paper seeks to expand our empirical knowledge by describing and analysing the processes and actors, including Eritrean families both in the diaspora and in Eritrea, involved in the transnational networks supporting and enabling the smuggling and trafficking of Eritreans through the Sinai to Israel. We focus only on the Sinai route, although migration from Eritrea also occurs south to other parts of Africa, west through Sudan to Libya, and east across the Red Sea. The Sinai route actors include smugglers from the Rishaida tribe in East Sudan, Sudanese and Egyptian authorities, Bedouin smugglers in Egypt, and Eritrean collaborators who work with the traffickers as intermediaries. It is likely that similar smuggling – and probably trafficking – networks also exist for these other migration routes.

Details: Somerville, MA: Feinstein International Center, Tufts University, 2013.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 20, 2016 at: http://fic.tufts.edu/assets/Ransom-Collaborate-Corrupt-8-12.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: Africa

URL: http://fic.tufts.edu/assets/Ransom-Collaborate-Corrupt-8-12.pdf

Shelf Number: 147780

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Kidnapping

Author: Carling, Jorgen

Title: Beyond Definitions: Global migration and the smuggling–trafficking nexus

Summary: This discussion paper explores the rise of mixed, irregular migration with particular focus on the role of smuggling and trafficking in both facilitating that movement and influencing its impact. It explains the current migration context followed by a discussion and analysis of the smuggling-trafficking nexus. Emerging characteristics of irregular migration suggest that changing realities are challenging the limits of existing terminology and understanding around these activities. Current legal concepts and structures are struggling - and sometimes completely unable - to capture the complexity of what is happening. Migrants are facing increased risks in terms of greater vulnerability and less protection, not least through a shrinking of the asylum space. Understanding migrant smuggling and human trafficking as part of a wider phenomenon within classic economic dynamics of supply and demand is critical to developing migration policy that is not diverted by misuse of terminology and that maintains an appropriate focus on the rights of migrants and corresponding obligations of States. An understanding of how and why smuggling and trafficking occur also lays bare the costs to the modern liberal State of waging 'war' against an enemy that can only ever be defeated through the continuous deployment of massive force and denial of basic rights. The paper brings together the insights of three experts who have worked as practitioners and researchers on mixed migration, smuggling and trafficking within diverse geographical and disciplinary perspectives.

Details: Nairobi: Regional Mixed Migration Secretariat, 2015. 12p.

Source: Internet Resource: RMMS Discussion Paper, 2: Accessed December 21, 2016 at: http://file.prio.no/Publication_files/Prio/Carling%20et%20al%202015%20-%20Beyond%20definitions.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: International

URL: http://file.prio.no/Publication_files/Prio/Carling%20et%20al%202015%20-%20Beyond%20definitions.pdf

Shelf Number: 146007

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Immigrants
Immigration

Author: United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime

Title: Global Report on Trafficking in Persons: 2016

Summary: The 2016 UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons is the third of its kind mandated by the General Assembly through the 2010 United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons. It covers 136 countries and provides an overview of patterns and flows of trafficking in persons at global, regional and national levels, based primarily on trafficking cases detected between 2012 and 2014. As UNODC has been systematically collecting data on trafficking in persons for more than a decade, trend information is presented for a broad range of indicators. The thematic chapter of the 2016 edition of the Global Report looks at how migrants and refugees can be vulnerable to trafficking in persons, en route or at destination. It also analyses the particular condition of people escaping war, conflict and persecution. Most countries have passed legislation that criminalizes trafficking in persons as a specific offence; many have done so recently. The Global Report shows that there is a relation between how long a country has had proper trafficking legislation on its books, and how many convictions it reports. Countries with longer-standing legislation record, on average, more convictions. That said, the overall criminal justice response to trafficking in persons, which has historically been very weak, has not improved significantly.

Details: New York: UNODC, 2016. 126p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 23, 2016 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/glotip/2016_Global_Report_on_Trafficking_in_Persons.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: International

URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/glotip/2016_Global_Report_on_Trafficking_in_Persons.pdf

Shelf Number: 144837

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Illegal Immigration
Migrants
Refugees

Author: El Kamouni-Janssen, Floor

Title: 'Only God Can Stop the Smugglers': Understanding smuggling networks in Libya

Summary: This report examines human smuggling networks in Libya. The smuggling of human beings is an established fact of today’s political economy in Libya and it is firmly embedded in local subsistence economies. As such there is a dizzying array of actors involved in the business of which some claim to act on behalf of the state. The human smuggling business not only brings them money, it also offers the opportunity to acquire legitimacy and political and territorial power. An understanding of the incentives and objectives of these actors to enage in the human smuggling business not only shows why it is so difficult to root out human smuggling in Libya, but it is also essential in formulating realistic and humane policies to address human smuggling in and through Libya

Details: The Hague: Netherlands Institute of International Relations 'Clingendael', 2017. 47p.

Source: Internet Resource: CRU Report: Accessed March 3, 2017 at: https://www.clingendael.nl/sites/default/files/only_god_can_stop_the_smugglers.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: Libya

URL: https://www.clingendael.nl/sites/default/files/only_god_can_stop_the_smugglers.pdf

Shelf Number: 141308

Keywords:
Criminal Networks
Economics of Crime
Human Smuggling
Migrants

Author: Molenaar, Fransje

Title: Turning the Tide: The politics of irregular migration in the Sahel and Libya

Summary: This online report analyses the relationship between irregular migration and conflict and stability in Mali, Niger and Libya. Studying the human smuggling networks that operate within and across these three countries provides insights into the transnational dynamics of irregular migration as well as these networks' interaction with local, national and regional political and economic dynamics. The report's main finding is that current EU policies are misaligned with the reality of trans-Saharan migration as they do not take into account the diversity of intra-African migration. In addition, human smuggling networks form part of larger political economies and cannot be addressed effectively without taking into account the extent to which state authorities are involved in and/or capable of controlling irregular migration. Failure to take these local realities into account results in ineffcient and ineffective policies at best, and counter-productively strengthens one of the root causes of migration at worst, because it overlooks the intricate links that exist between migration and conflict and stability in the region. This report synthesises the findings of the following background studies: - Irregular migration and human smuggling networks in Mali - Irregular migration and human smuggling networks in Niger - Understanding human smuggling networks in Libya

Details: The Hague: The Clingendael Institute, 2017. 80p.

Source: Internet Resource: CRU Report: Accessed March 3, 2017 at: https://www.clingendael.nl/sites/default/files/turning_the_tide.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: Africa

URL: https://www.clingendael.nl/sites/default/files/turning_the_tide.pdf

Shelf Number: 141311

Keywords:
Criminal Networks
Human Smuggling
Illegal Immigration
Immigration
Migrants

Author: Molenaar, Fransje

Title: Irregular migration and human smuggling networks in Mali

Summary: In 2016, an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 migrants transited through Mali on their way to Algeria and Libya. One major dilemma facing policy makers that want to stop irregular migration through Mali is that state authorities are either complicit in migration, such as by providing migrants free passage in exchange for a toll at roadblocks or by issuing false passports, or that they lack the effective presence and/or capacity to counter human smuggling. This problem is particularly salient in the north, where armed groups have taken over territorial control and offer protection to, and feed off, the human smuggling industry. At the time of writing, a solution to the internal conflict appears to lie in the distant future, meaning that addressing the issue of irregular migration remains one of the lowest priorities on the government’s agenda. Regaining political stability is its number one concern.

Details: The Hague: Netherlands Institute of International Relations 'Clingendael', 2017. 36p.

Source: Internet Resource: CRU Report: Accessed March 3, 2017 at: https://www.clingendael.nl/sites/default/files/irregular_migration_and_human_smuggling_networks_in_mali.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: Mali

URL: https://www.clingendael.nl/sites/default/files/irregular_migration_and_human_smuggling_networks_in_mali.pdf

Shelf Number: 141312

Keywords:
Criminal Networks
Human Smuggling
Illegal Immigration
Immigrants
Migration

Author: Molenaar, Fransje

Title: Irregular migration and human smuggling networks in Niger

Summary: This report outlines some of the dilemmas that the human smuggling industry poses for policy makers addressing irregular migration flows in Niger. Through a detailed focus on the manifestation of the relationship between human smugglers and state authorities on the ground, and between state authorities and former rebels more generally, this report shows that the development of human smuggling networks reinforces prevailing patterns of collusion between armed and/or criminal actors, state security forces and political elites. Any attempt to address irregular migration through securitised measures should take into account that security forces, local authorities and even national political elites are tied to the smuggling industry in direct and indirect ways. They are not neutral actors, and any attempt to treat them as such could result in heightened conflict risk and/or the instrumental use of policy instruments to take out competitors. Policy makers should also recognise that the issue of irregular migration is tied to broader issues of good governance and rule of law. Policies targeting migration should therefore form part of a broader package of measures combatting state fragility and insecurity.

Details: The Hague: Netherlands Institute of International Relations 'Clingendael', 2017. 40p.

Source: Internet Resource: CRU Report: Accessed March 3, 2017 at: https://www.clingendael.nl/sites/default/files/irregular_migration_and_human_smuggling_networks_in_niger.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: Niger

URL: https://www.clingendael.nl/sites/default/files/irregular_migration_and_human_smuggling_networks_in_niger.pdf

Shelf Number: 141313

Keywords:
Criminal Networks
Human Smuggling
Illegal Immigration
Immigrants
Immigration

Author: Martinez, Daniel E.

Title: The Crossing Experience: Unauthorized Migration along the Arizona-Sonora Border

Summary: The present study utilizes survey data (n = 415) collected in the Migrant Border Crossing Study from repatriated Mexican migrants to examine three important questions regarding unauthorized migration attempts through southern Arizona. First, what factors explicate migrants' modes of crossing? Second, do coyote fees vary among people who rely on smuggling services to cross the border? If so, what accounts for this variation? Third, what factors shape encounters with bajadores while traversing the desert? The present analyses expand on previous studies examining the unauthorized crossing in multiple ways. For instance, I empirically test the role of a "culture of migration" in explaining modes of crossing, coyote fees, and bajador encounters. I also differentiate between two main types of coyotes: "border business" and "interior." I then examine whether crossing with a coyote mediates the risk of encountering bajadores during the journey. Overall, there are important differences in crossing modes and coyote fees. Women are more likely to travel with both coyote types, while the opposite is true for more experienced migrants. Older migrants and people who cross during summer months are less likely to travel with an "interior" coyote. The strongest predictor of higher smuggling fees is the region of a person's U.S. destination. Higher coyote fees are also associated with immigrants' higher educational attainment, being married, being the sole economic provider for one's household, and higher household income. More experienced migrants, and those crossing in larger groups or during the summer also pay higher fees, however fees do not vary by gender, age, or social capital. These findings are somewhat consistent with the extant literature on human capital and risk tolerance/aversion, but run counter to the vast migration literature emphasizing the importance of social capital in the migration process. Finally, the risk of encountering bajadores is not higher for males, young adults, the less educated, and the more impoverished, which contradicts extant findings in the victimology literature. With the exception of crossing corridor and time spent in the desert, no other factors increase the risk of encountering bandits more than traveling with a coyote. Implications and possible future research are discussed. TYPE:

Details: Tucson: University of Arizona, 2013. 228p.

Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed March 30, 2017 at: http://arizona.openrepository.com/arizona/handle/10150/293415

Year: 2013

Country: United States

URL: http://arizona.openrepository.com/arizona/handle/10150/293415

Shelf Number: 144640

Keywords:
Bandits
Border Security
Coyotes
Human Smuggling
Illegal Immigrants
Illegal Immigration
Immigration Enforcement
Migration

Author: Correa-Cabrera, Guadalupe

Title: Trafficking in Persons Along Mexico's Eastern Migration Routes: The Role of Transnational Criminal Organizations

Summary: The aim of this research is to understand the role of transnational organized crime in human trafficking along Mexico's eastern migration routes, from Central America to Mexico's northeastern border. In this region, drug traffickers are smuggling and trafficking unauthorized migrants in order to diversify their revenue streams. This project analyzes the new role of Central American gangs and Mexican -origin drug trafficking organizations--now known as transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) - in the trafficking of persons from Central America to Mexico's northeastern border.

Details: Washington, DC: Wilson Center, Latin American Program, 2017. 14p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 11, 2017 at: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/final.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: Mexico

URL: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/final.pdf

Shelf Number: 144799

Keywords:
Criminal Networks
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Illegal Immigrants
Organized Crime

Author: UNICEF

Title: A Child is a child: Protecting children on the move from violence, abuse and exploitation

Summary: Millions of children are on the move across international borders - fleeing violence and conflict, disaster or poverty, in pursuit of a better life. Hundreds of thousands move on their own. When they encounter few opportunities to move legally, children resort to dangerous routes and engage smugglers to help them cross borders. Serious gaps in the laws, policies and services meant to protect children on the move further leave them bereft of protection and care. Deprived, unprotected, and often alone, children on the move can become easy prey for traffickers and others who abuse and exploit them. Alarming numbers of children are moving alone Many children move alone and face particularly grave risks. In parts of the world, the number of children moving on their own has skyrocketed. On the dangerous Central Mediterranean Sea passage from North Africa to Europe, 92 per cent of children who arrived in Italy in 2016 and the first two months of 2017 were unaccompanied, up from 75 per cent in 2015. At least 300,000 unaccompanied and separated children moving across borders were registered in 80 countries in 2015-2016 0- a near five-fold increase from 66,000 in 2010-2011. The total number of unaccompanied and separated children on the move worldwide is likely much higher. Specific reasons motivate children to undertake journeys alone. Many seek to reunite with family members already abroad. Others pursue their families' aspirations for this generation to have a better life. Perceptions of the potential benefits of children moving, especially to certain destinations, filter through social networks. Other factors include family breakdown, domestic violence, child marriage and forced conscription. Without safe and legal pathways, children's journeys are rife with risk and exploitation Whatever their motivation, children often find few opportunities to move legally. Family reunification, humanitarian visas, refugee resettlement spots, and work or study visas are out of reach for most. But barriers to legal migration do not stop people from moving, they only push them underground. Wherever families and children desperate to move encounter barriers, smuggling in human beings thrives. Smugglers range from people helping others in need for a fee to organized criminal networks that deliver children into hazardous and exploitative situations. Once children and families place their fates in the hands of smugglers, the transaction can readily take a turn towards abuse or exploitation - especially when children and families incur debts to pay smugglers' fees. Europol estimates that 20 per cent of suspected smugglers on their radar have ties to human trafficking - they help children cross borders, only to sell them into exploitation, sometimes akin to contemporary forms of slavery. Some routes are particularly rife with risks. In a recent International Organization for Migration survey, over three-quarters of 1,600 children aged 14-17 who arrived in Italy via the Central Mediterranean route reported experiences such as being held against their will or being forced to work without pay at some point during their journeys - indications that they may have been trafficked or otherwise exploited. Traffickers and other exploiters thrive especially where state institutions are weak, where organized crime abounds, and also where migrants become stuck and desperate.

Details: New York: United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), 2017. 64p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 7, 2017 at: https://www.unicef.org/publications/files/UNICEF_A_child_is_a_child_May_2017_EN.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: International

URL: https://www.unicef.org/publications/files/UNICEF_A_child_is_a_child_May_2017_EN.pdf

Shelf Number: 145948

Keywords:
Child Abuse and Neglect
Child Maltreatment
Child Protection
Child Sexual Exploitation
Children Exposed to Violence
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Migrant Children
Organized Crime
Unaccompanied Children

Author: United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime

Title: Trafficking in persons from Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar to Thailand

Summary: The present report, "Trafficking in persons from Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar to Thailand" is the result of a partnership between the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Thailand Institute of Justice (TIJ). In 2016, TIJ invited UNODC to collaboratively develop an extensive research report on trafficking in persons from Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar to Thailand with the objectives of increasing evidence-based information relating to trafficking in persons, reviewing the current state of knowledge, identifying existing information gaps and enhancing the capacity of States to generate, access and use information on trafficking in persons. This report is the first of its kind and marks the launch of an ongoing research and strategic policy partnership between UNODC and TIJ. Previous UNODC reports on trafficking in persons have covered the subject of trafficking to Thailand as one important flow in a region rife with trafficking cases. Previous reports have explored trafficking primarily from a law enforcement perspective and highlighted the need for strengthened legal frameworks, law enforcement responses, including the need for proactive investigations, and stronger criminal justice frameworks. This report, while emphasising the way forward in preventing and combating trafficking to Thailand, also explores the many facets of the trafficking phenomenon itself, including the profiles of victims and traffickers, the contemporary push and pull factors for trafficking, the routes taken by regular and irregular migrants to Thailand, the fees paid to smugglers and traffickers and the modi operandi of traffickers and their networks. Drawing on the available literature and qualitative data collected through interviews with experts in the four target countries (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Thailand) the report presents in detail the current picture of trafficking in persons to Thailand and highlights challenges and opportunities for combating trafficking. While gaps in information remain and the overall picture remains incomplete, the findings presented in this report rely on a solid evidence base and may be useful for researchers, policy makers, governments and others interested in improving the response to combating trafficking, as well as approaches to identifying and supporting victims. The report consists of six chapters. The introduction (Chapter I) presents information on the topic covered, the background and context of the study, the study's purpose and goals, and methodology. Chapters II to IV examine the levels and characteristics of trafficking in persons in Cambodia (Chapter II), Lao PDR (III), and Myanmar (IV). Each of these chapters follows an identical structure by (1) summarising the available data, (2) exploring the causes of trafficking in persons, (3) examining the different types of trafficking and the profile of victims, (4) documenting the means and routes used for trafficking to Thailand, (5) analysing the exploitation of victims by their traffickers and (6) exploring the profile of the traffickers and trafficking networks.

Details: Bangkok: UNODC, 2017. 261p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 7, 2017 at: https://www.unodc.org/documents/southeastasiaandpacific/Publications/2017/Trafficking_in_persons_to_Thailand_report.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: Asia

URL: https://www.unodc.org/documents/southeastasiaandpacific/Publications/2017/Trafficking_in_persons_to_Thailand_report.pdf

Shelf Number: 147139

Keywords:
Child Trafficking
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Labor Trafficking
Sexual Exploitation

Author: Isacson, Adam

Title: Mexico's Southern Border: Security, Central American Migration, and U.S. Policy

Summary: It has been nearly three years since the Mexican government announced its Southern Border Program, which dramatically increased security operations and apprehensions of northbound migrants. This report-based on field research in the area surrounding Tenosique, Tabasco along Mexico's border with Guatemala-examines migration flows, enforcement, and insecurity in southern Mexico. - THERE HAS BEEN A SHARP INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF MIGRANTS AND ASYLUM SEEKERS WHO INTEND TO STAY IN MEXICO, RATHER THAN TRAVEL TO THE UNITED STATES. Many are seeking asylum or other forms of immigration status. Between 2014 and 2016, there was a 311 percent increase in asylum requests in Mexico. In the first three months of 2017, Mexico had received more asylum applications than all of 2015. The UN Refugee Agency estimates that Mexico will receive up to 20,000 asylum requests in 2017. - DECREASED MIGRATION FLOWS THROUGH MEXICO AND AT THE U.S. SOUTHWEST BORDER DURING THE MONTHS FOLLOWING PRESIDENT TRUMP'S INAUGURATION ARE NOT SUSTAINABLE. News of the Trump administration's hard line appears to have caused a wave of Central American migration before January 20, and a sharp drop afterward. However, until there are improvements in the violence and adverse conditions from which Central Americans are fleeing, people will continue to migrate en masse. By May 2017, apprehension levels at the U.S-Mexico border had begun to tiptoe back up, with a 31 percent increase in total apprehensions compared to April, and a 50 percent increase in apprehensions of unaccompanied minors. - ALTHOUGH MEXICO REGISTERED LOWER APPREHENSION LEVELS IN THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF 2017 COMPARED TO PREVIOUS YEARS, MIGRATION ENFORCEMENT UNDER MEXICO'S SOUTHERN BORDER PROGRAM REMAINS HIGH. Total migrant apprehensions increased by a staggering 85 percent during the Southern Border Program's first two years of operation (July 2014 to June 2016) compared to pre-Program levels. Limited government resources, migrants' and smugglers' ability to adjust to new security patterns, corruption among authorities, and an overall drop in migration from Central America since President Trump took office have all likely contributed to the leveling off of apprehensions seen in Mexico in recent months. - CRIMES AND ABUSES AGAINST MIGRANTS TRAVELING THROUGH MEXICO CONTINUE TO OCCUR AT ALARMING RATES, AND SHELTERS HAVE NOTED A MORE INTENSE DEGREE OF VIOLENCE IN THE CASES THEY DOCUMENT. While Mexico's major organized criminal groups do not operate heavily in the Tenosique corridor, smaller criminal bands and Central American gang affiliates routinely rob, kidnap, and sexually assault migrants along this portion of the migration route. Migrant rights organizations in southern Mexico documented an increase in cases of migration and police authorities' abuse of migrants as a result of the Southern Border Program, including recent accounts of migration agents, who are supposed to be unarmed, using pellet guns and electrical shock devices. - THERE HAVE BEEN FEWER U.S. ASSISTANCE DELIVERIES TO MEXICO FOR THE SOUTHERN BORDER PROGRAM THAN ORIGINALLY EXPECTED, BUT BIOMETRIC AND COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAMS CONTINUE APACE. The U.S. State and Defense Departments are currently implementing a US$88 million dollar program to increase Mexican immigration authorities' capacity to collect biometric data and share information about who is crossing through Mexico with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The U.S. State and Defense Departments are also funding a US$75 million project to improve secure communications between Mexican agencies in the country's southern border zone. This program has erected 12 communications towers so far, all of them on Mexican naval posts. - THE MIGRATION ROUTE INTO MEXICO THROUGH TENOSIQUE, TABASCO HAS SEEN A SHARP INCREASE IN CHILDREN AND FAMILIES FLEEING VIOLENCE IN THE NORTHERN TRIANGLE REGION. Between 2014 and 2016, the number of children (both accompanied and unaccompanied) apprehended in the state of Tabasco increased by 60 percent. The majority of migrants traveling through this area of the border are from Honduras.

Details: Washington, DC: Washington Office on Latin America, 2017. 28p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 9, 2017 at: https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/980081/download

Year: 2017

Country: Central America

URL: https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/980081/download

Shelf Number: 147169

Keywords:
Asylum Seekers
Border Security
Human Smuggling
Illegal Immigrants
Immigration Enforcement
Migrants
Unaccompanied Minors

Author: Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action

Title: Toolkit on Unaccompanied and Separated Children

Summary: This toolkit includes the following: Key international instruments and guidelines relating to UASC Child-specific human rights instruments - United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), 1989 - Optional Protocol to the CRC on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, 2000 - Optional Protocol to the CRC on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, 2000 - Optional Protocol to the CRC on a Communications Procedure, 2011 - Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, 1998 - Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 182), 1999 - Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, and the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Anti-Trafficking Protocol), 2000 - The Hague Conference on Private International Law - Convention for the Protection of Minors, 1961 - Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, 1980 - Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption, 1993, and its Recommendation Concerning the Application to Refugee Children and Other Internationally Displaced Children, 1994 - Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Cooperation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children, 1996 - Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty, 1990

Details: s.l.: The Alliance, 2017. 250p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 11, 2017 at: https://childprotectionallianceblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/tools-web-2017-0322.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: International

URL: https://childprotectionallianceblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/tools-web-2017-0322.pdf

Shelf Number: 147220

Keywords:
Child Protection
Child Trafficking
Child Welfare
Human Rights
Human Smuggling
Rights of the Child
Unaccompanied Children

Author: United Nations Children's Fund

Title: Harrowing Journeys: Children and youth on the move across the Mediterranean Sea, at risk of trafficking and exploitation

Summary: Young migrants and refugees set out to escape harm or secure better futures - and face staggering risks in the process. For 17-year-old Mohammad, who travelled through Libya to seek asylum in Italy, violence and persecution back home meant the choice was clear: "We risked our lives to come here," he says, "we crossed a sea. We knew it is not safe, so we sacrificed. We do it, or we die." For children and youth on the move via the Mediterranean Sea routes to Europe, the journey is marked by high levels of abuse, trafficking and exploitation. Some are more vulnerable than others: those travelling alone, those with low levels of education and those undertaking longer journeys. Most vulnerable of all are those who, like Mohammad, come from sub-Saharan Africa. These findings come from a new UNICEF and International Organization for Migration (IOM) analysis of the journeys of some 11,000 migrant and refugee children (adolescents aged 14-17) and youth (18-24), as recorded in their responses to the Displacement Tracking Matrix Flow Monitoring Surveys conducted by IOM along the Central and Eastern Mediterranean routes to Europe in 2016 and 2017. The analysis reveals that while adolescents and youth are at greater risk than adults on both routes, the Central Mediterranean route to Italy is singularly dangerous. It takes most young migrants and refugees through Libya, where they contend with pervasive lawlessness and violence and are often detained, by state authorities and others. On both routes, additional years of education and travelling in a group, whether with family or not, afford young migrants and refugees a measure of protection. But where they come from outweighs either of these factors. An adolescent boy from subSaharan Africa, who has secondary education and travels in a group along the Central Mediterranean route, faces a 73 per cent risk of being exploited. If he came from another region, the risk would drop to 38 per cent. Anecdotal reports and qualitative research from the Mediterranean region and elsewhere suggest that racism underlies this difference. Countless testimonies from young migrants and refugees from sub-Saharan Africa make clear that they are treated more harshly and targeted for exploitation because of the colour of their skin. The story that emerges from the data confirms the tragic reality that adolescents and youth are prepared to pay a high price for a chance at a better life. Those interviewed in the surveys are among millions on the move worldwide, as recent decades have seen high levels of displacement, across borders and within countries. Many flee brutal conflicts or violence, while others move in search of prospects for better education or livelihoods. With regular migration pathways barred for most, those seeking to make their way across borders often place their fates in the hands of smugglers. This alone leaves them dependent and vulnerable. They risk life and limb as they travel through harsh environments - and suffer appalling abuse and exploitation if they fall into the hands of traffickers, armed groups or other predators. As the world continues to grapple with the reality of migration and displacement, the findings from this report underscore the urgent need for action. To protect the most vulnerable among those on the move, UNICEF and IOM call for a multi-pronged strategy that addresses the interplay of factors that expose migrant and refugee children and youth to risk - or help keep them safe. Such a strategy includes expanding safe and regular migration channels to dampen the demand for smugglers, while fighting trafficking and exploitation. To enhance the resilience and protect the rights of children and youth, it entails investing in education and other basic services, coordinating child protection efforts across countries, and fighting racism and xenophobia in the countries migrants and refugees travel through and the ones in which they seek to make their lives.

Details: New York: UNICEF, 2017. 64p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 13, 2017 at: https://www.unicef.org/publications/files/Harrowing_Journeys_Children_and_youth_on_the_move_across_the_Mediterranean.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: International

URL: https://www.unicef.org/publications/files/Harrowing_Journeys_Children_and_youth_on_the_move_across_the_Mediterranean.pdf

Shelf Number: 147236

Keywords:
Asylum Seekers
Child Migrants
Child Trafficking
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Refugees

Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

Title: Good practices for the protection of witnesses in criminal proceedings involving organized crime

Summary: Witness protection programs are considered a key tool in the dismantling of human trafficking networks as well as combating other forms of organized crime. The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its associated Protocols against Human Trafficking and Smuggling of Migrants call upon states to take measures to protect victims and witnesses from threats, intimidation, corruption or bodily injury. The good practices identified in the manual include: early identification of vulnerable and intimidated witnesses; management of witnesses by the police; protection of witness identity during court testimony; and, if necessary, permanent relocation and re-identification. The UNODC Good Practices on Witness Protection is available to policymakers, legislators, legal practitioners, senior law enforcement and justice officials around the world. The aim to help States apply these practical measures into their legal systems and operational procedures.

Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2008. 124p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 27, 2017 at: https://www.unodc.org/documents/organized-crime/Witness-protection-manual-Feb08.pdf

Year: 2008

Country: International

URL: https://www.unodc.org/documents/organized-crime/Witness-protection-manual-Feb08.pdf

Shelf Number: 147480

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Organized Crime
Witness Intimidation
Witness Protection
Witnesses

Author: Davy, Deanna

Title: Unpacking the Myths: Human smuggling from and within the Horn of Africa

Summary: This RMMS briefing paper provides an update on the volume, trends, and modus operandi of migrant smuggling within and from the Horn of Africa. It offers new estimates of the volume of smuggling, the value of the illicit migrant smuggling economy, and the conditions and risks faced by smuggled migrants. This paper finds that migrant smuggling within and from the Horn of Africa continues to occur, with new smuggling routes opening in response to irregular migration related risks and law enforcement responses to migrant smuggling on traditionally popular routes. Smuggling as part of the mixed migration flows are more and more common, particularly as travel across borders becomes more dangerous. The paper also provides information on the operations of migrant smuggling - including smuggling routes, activities, and profiles.

Details: Nairobi, Kenya: Regional Mixed Migration Secretariat East Africa & Yemen, 2017. 24p.

Source: Internet Resource: RAMS Briefing Paper 6: Accessed March 12, 2018 at: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/RMMS%20BriefingPaper6%20-%20Unpacking%20the%20Myths.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: Africa

URL: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/RMMS%20BriefingPaper6%20-%20Unpacking%20the%20Myths.pdf

Shelf Number: 149431

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Migrants

Author: Molenaar, Fransje

Title: Why the EU should help former smugglers get a job: An integrated approach for Agadez (and beyond)

Summary: In mid-2016, EU efforts to disrupt the business model of migrant smugglers - one of the main pillars of its migration policies - resulted in the sponsoring of police actions in Agadez, Niger. The assumption underlying this course of action was that smuggling and trafficking can and should be addressed by the securitised and militarised approaches that the international community generally applies to transnational criminal activities. In the case of Agadez, however, this approach eventually dug its own grave as it did not provide direct economic alternatives to a local community that lost an important source of livelihood. The approach could have benefited from lessons learned from the international community's decade-long experience with disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR), which combines securitisation with programmes for economic integration. Applying best DDR practices to the case of Agadez allows for the formulation of an integrated approach to human smuggling in Agadez and beyond.

Details: The Hague: Clingendael (the Netherlands Institute of International Relations), 2018. 11p.

Source: Internet Resource: CRU Policy Brief: https://www.clingendael.org/sites/default/files/2018-04/PB_Why_the_EU_should_help_former_smugglers_get_a_job.pdf

Year: 2018

Country: Europe

URL: https://www.clingendael.org/sites/default/files/2018-04/PB_Why_the_EU_should_help_former_smugglers_get_a_job.pdf

Shelf Number: 149814

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Migrant Smugglers
Migration Policy
Smugglers

Author: Danelo, David J.

Title: For Protection or Profit? Free trade, human smuggling and international border management

Summary: For the past two decades, policy officials and human-rights groups in both Europe and the US have participated in a vicious cycle of criticizing each other over the impact of border-control policies. Many activists hold enforcement authorities responsible for the human impact of migration enforcement, evident in allegations of increases in human smuggling and the grim realities of migrant deaths. In contrast, policymakers often claim that humanrights advocates encourage migration and risk-taking by proposing consequence-free international transit, which exacerbates the problem. Although the role of free-trade policies and supply chains is critical to understanding the border-management landscape in which these activities play out, customs laws are rarely considered by either side in this debate. This policy paper considers the impact of multinational corporations on border control through so-called trusted trader and traveller programmes, whose aim is to reduce border inspections for individuals and companies by allowing inspectors to pre-screen cargo and passengers who pass background investigations. Although these programmes have become essential to the management of global supply chains, they often create an illusion of increased security while simultaneously intensifying the divide between those who are and those who are not willing to pay the fees to participate in them. The paper also critically examines two pillars of American border policy - beyond-the-border initiatives and joint border management - and compares them with security elements of the European system. These mechanisms, which increased sharply through American-led initiatives following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, often appear effective and harmless, and therefore receive little scrutiny. Both in the US and Europe, multinational border-control agreements have been subjected to little scrutiny because of the failure of stakeholders to hold the global transportation system and state authorities accountable for these agreements. Although scant empirical evidence is available, what little does exist suggests that illicit activities, such as smuggling, are only marginally deterred by these strategies. By taking advantage of the vulnerabilities in such border-control agreements, smugglers of migrants and contraband are able to exploit trusted trader/ traveler programmes and public-private partnerships by using companies or people that are participants to make illicit transits. Although these agreements should not be eliminated, Europe should be cautious about mirroring the American approach to border management. And amid the current political climate of increasingly xenophobic US immigration policies, European policy negotiators should consider stipulating minimum requirements for participation in US programmes, including protections for people seeking humanitarian relief.

Details: Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, 2018. 22p.

Source: Internet Resource: Policy Note: Accessed April 18, 2018 at: http://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/For-Protection-or-Profit-Intl-Border-Management-March-2018-web.pdf

Year: 2018

Country: International

URL: http://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/For-Protection-or-Profit-Intl-Border-Management-March-2018-web.pdf

Shelf Number: 149847

Keywords:
Asylum Seekers
Border Control
Border Security
Human Smuggling
Illegal Immigration
Migration Enforcement
Organized Crime

Author: European Commission

Title: Report on the progress made in the fight against trafficking in human beings (2016) as required under Article 20 of Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims

Summary: This paper complements the first European Commission Report on the progress made in the fight against trafficking in human beings as required under article 20 of Directive 2011/36/EU (hereafter "the Report"). It aims to provide a factual overview of the main current trends, actions, and statistical data on trafficking in human beings in the EU, as reported by Member States, civil society and international organisations. The paper elaborates in detail on the measures reported by the Member States to address trafficking in human beings, and additionally takes into consideration actions implemented by the European Commission and other relevant stakeholders in the context of the EU Strategy towards the eradication of trafficking in human beings 2012-2016 (hereafter "the EU Strategy"). A key focus of the EU Strategy has, in fact, been on developing concrete actions to support the implementation of the Anti-trafficking Directive by complementing the work done by the Member States. The EU Strategy actions are based on five priorities: identifying, protecting and assisting victims of trafficking; stepping up the prevention of trafficking in human beings; increased prosecutions of traffickers; enhanced coordination and cooperation among key actors and policy coherence; and increased knowledge of - and effective response to - emerging concerns related to all forms of trafficking in human beings. The paper elaborates on the topics presented in the Report in selected areas of the 'three Ps', prosecution (with focus on financial investigations), protection (with focus on the setting up of national referral mechanisms) and prevention (with focus on actions taken by Member States to prevent the crime as provided by Article 18 of the Anti-trafficking Directive). Furthermore, the paper takes into account the key EU policy framework in addressing trafficking in human beings, including: the European Agenda on Migration ; the European Agenda on Security ; the EU Action Plan against migrant smuggling 2015-2020 ; the Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2015-2019 ; the new framework for the EU's activities on gender equality and women's empowerment in EU's external relations for 2016-2020 and the Strategic engagement of the EU for gender equality 2016-2019. The first section of this Staff Working Document describes the methodology and information sources used for drafting both the Report and this document. The following sections mirror the structure of the Report by providing detailed and factual elements on: trends in trafficking in human beings; results of specific anti-trafficking actions; and statistical data provided by the Member States.

Details: Brussels: European Commission, 2017. 97p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 20, 2018 at: http://humantraffickingsearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/commission_report_on_the_progress_made_in_the_fight_against_trafficking_in_human_beings_2016_swd_en.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: Europe

URL: http://humantraffickingsearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/commission_report_on_the_progress_made_in_the_fight_against_trafficking_in_human_beings_2016_swd_en.pdf

Shelf Number: 149867

Keywords:
Human Rights Abuses
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Illegal Migration
Migrant Smuggling

Author: Davey, Deanna

Title: Unpacking the Myths: Human smuggling from and within the Horn of Africa

Summary: This RMMS briefing paper provides an update on the volume, trends, and modus operandi of migrant smuggling within and from the Horn of Africa. It offers new estimates of the volume of smuggling, the value of the illicit migrant smuggling economy, and the conditions and risks faced by smuggled migrants. This paper finds that migrant smuggling within and from the Horn of Africa continues to occur, with new smuggling routes opening in response to irregular migration related risks and law enforcement responses to migrant smuggling on traditionally popular routes. Smuggling as part of the mixed migration flows are more and more common, particularly as travel across borders becomes more dangerous. The paper also provides information on the operations of migrant smuggling - including smuggling routes, activities, and profiles. Summary of Key Findings The research draws on various primary and secondary sources, and relies heavily on data from the RMMS Mixed Migration Monitoring Mechanism Initiative (4Mi), a unique longitudinal monitoring approach using informal migrant monitors and remote mobile survey technology. During this research period, September 2014 to March 2017, monitors conducted 3,522 interviews with migrants from the Horn of Africa and 153 structured interviews with smugglers in various countries in Africa and the Middle East. 4Mi data shows that at least 73% of migrants are using smugglers for at least part of their journey. This paper finds that the following trends and characteristics define the migrant smuggling dynamic: - Migrant smuggling within and from the Horn of Africa remains a vibrant business, and new smuggling routes continue to open - largely in response to political and economic factors, migration risks, and law enforcement efforts to curtail certain routes. - Many smugglers are young men who enter the smuggling trade because they have limited employment opportunities in their home countries, and smuggling activities are more lucrative than other job opportunities in their home countries. - Smuggling networks across all three major routes leading out of the region are organized. Some networks resembling loose, horizontal networks in which smugglers work collaboratively across national borders. In these networks, smugglers tend to hand over the migrants at borders to new smugglers operating the subsequent leg/s of the journey. Other networks, particularly Libya-based smuggling networks along the North-western route to Europe are increasingly hierarchical, with smuggling kingpins dominating the smuggling business from Libya, and Horn of Africa smugglers playing important, but usually subordinate, positions to the Libyan kingpins. - For most smugglers operating in the region, migrant smuggling is the primary criminal enterprise. Predominantly on the Eastern, and North-western routes, smugglers may also be involved in other criminal activities, such as trafficking in persons, kidnapping, and extortion. - Government officials are reported to be involved, directly and indirectly, in migrant smuggling operations. Without this collaboration smugglers would likely encounter significant obstacles to conducting successful migrant smuggling ventures. - With a reported pre-departure average expenditure for smuggling services of USD 1,036 per migrant, the smuggling business remains lucrative for those involved. With a reported average expenditure of USD 2,3714 per migrant on bribes and extortion, it is clear that many other individuals, including border guards, militia, kidnappers, and traffickers, are also profiting from the flows of smuggled migrants within and from the Horn of Africa. - The migration flows within and from the Horn of Africa are mixed, with asylum seekers and refugees being smuggled alongside economic migrants. - Various political and socio-economic factors motivate irregular migration from the Horn of Africa region. The level of migration is highly reactive to political and other pressures, as well as national migration policy. Movement from the region is both in response to short-term crises, as well as rooted in long-term factors. - Most smuggled migrants from the Horn of Africa are young, single men; however, the number of female migrants is reportedly increasing. Also reportedly increasing is the number of unaccompanied Horn of Africa minors travelling irregularly to Europe, the Gulf States and Middle East, and Southern Africa. - Some migrants initiate the first leg of travel, and navigate one or more subsequent segments of travel without the aid of smugglers. These migrants tend to pay smugglers, where they are used, for each individual part of the journey, using cash or informal money transfer systems, such as hawala systems (informal financial transfers outside of the traditional banking system). Other migrants use the services of smugglers to take them from their home country all the way to the destination country - some of these migrants pay for the entire journey in advance. - Paying for the entire smuggling journey in advance does not reduce the vulnerability of migrants to exploitation and abuse during the journey. - In terms of volume, the most popular smuggling route is the Eastern route to the Gulf States and the Middle East. Horn of Africa migrants are also still being smuggled in large numbers to Europe, and to Southern Africa, particularly South Africa. This paper provides an up to date analysis, informed by qualitative and quantitative data, of migrant smuggling within and from the Horn of Africa including unique interviews with smugglers themselves. The author drew on 4Mi data, collected through structured interviews with migrants and migrant smugglers. The interviews with migrants and migrant smugglers were conducted between September 2014 and March 2017 by trained field monitors using smartphone technology to transmit completed interviews to RMMS. This paper presents the relevant data on migrants, collected through the structured interviews with migrants, as well as direct quotes taken from smugglers during the interviews. The author also drew on multiple referenced sources, including the accumulated data and analysis of four years of RMMS resources.

Details: Nairobi: Regional Mixed Migration Secretariat, 2018. 24p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 4, 2018 at: http://iffoadatabase.trustafrica.org/iff/RMMS_Briefing_Paper6%20-%20Unpacking_the_Myths.pdf

Year: 2018

Country: Africa

URL: http://iffoadatabase.trustafrica.org/iff/RMMS_Briefing_Paper6%20-%20Unpacking_the_Myths.pdf

Shelf Number: 150053

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Migrant Smuggling
Migrants

Author: Alrabe, Khaled

Title: Lifelines: Supporting Human Trafficking Survivors in the San Francisco Bay Area

Summary: THIS REPORT PROVIDES the findings of a study of human trafficking in the San Francisco Bay Area. The primary objective of the study was to document the challenges law enforcement, service providers, and prosecutors face in (1) identifying, investigating, and prosecuting sex and labor trafficking cases, and (2) providing trafficking survivors with adequate services, protection, and shelter. California is a major locus of human trafficking-defined as recruiting, smuggling, transporting, harboring, buying, or selling of a person for exploitation1 -largely because of its international border, demand for cheap labor, criminal gangs, and a relatively thriving economy. In 2015, the National Human Trafficking Resource Center reported that its hotline had received more reports of sex and labor trafficking from California than from any other state. In addition, the thirteen areas identified by the FBI as having the highest incidence of sex trafficking domestically, three are in California: San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angeles. The Bay Area is home to a number of human trafficking task forces and coalitions that vary in terms of focus, structure, leadership, and geographic interest. Some task forces, such as the San Jose Police Human Trafficking Task Force and the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Task Force, focus on coordination within law enforcement in the pursuit of traffickers. Other coalitions, such as the South Bay Coalition to End Human Trafficking, work to improve services and to strengthen local capacity to identify and assist trafficking survivors. Most counties have a human trafficking task force or other collaborative mechanism that include representatives from law enforcement, service providers, and local government. These organizations include the San Francisco Collaborative Against Human Trafficking, Contra Costa Alliance to End Abuse, Marin County Coalition to End Human Trafficking, and Alameda County HEAT Watch. Many of these organizations are led by local governing bodies, such as the Mayor's office or the Attorney General's office.

Details: Berkeley, CA: Human Rights Center, UC Berkeley School of Law, 2018. 44p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 14, 2018 at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Bay_Area_Trafficking_Report_final.pdf

Year: 2018

Country: United States

URL: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Bay_Area_Trafficking_Report_final.pdf

Shelf Number: 150177

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Labor Trafficking
Sex Trafficking
Victims of Trafficking

Author: Human Rights Center, UC Berkeley School of Law.

Title: Building Trust: Perspectives on a Victim-Centered Approach to Human Trafficking Investigations in Los Angeles County

Summary: THIS REPORT PROVIDES THE FINDINGS of a study of the Human Trafficking Bureau (Bureau) of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, which is a member of the Los Angeles Regional Human Trafficking Task Force (Task Force). The primary objective of the study was to document the strengths and challenges the Bureau and other members of the Task Force encountered as they apply a victim-centered approach to investigations of human trafficking cases in their first year of operations (November 2015 to December 2016). Such an approach prioritizes the needs of victims and works to minimize re-traumatization. Established in September 2015 through a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, the Task Force is a multi-agency partnership between federal, state, and local law enforcement and social service agencies mandated to "prosecute traffickers and buyers who target them, and provide services designed to restore the victims to lives free from the trauma bonds they've been forced to endure." The Bureau, which had been established earlier by Los Angeles Country Sheriff Jim McDonnell, was assigned to lead the Task Force in combatting human trafficking-defined as the recruiting, smuggling, transporting, harboring, buying, or selling a person for exploitation-in the county. From the onset, the Bureau and the Task Force embraced a novel approach to human trafficking investigations by physically co-locating investigators, prosecutors, and representatives of service provider organizations in the Bureau's headquarters in Monterey Park. Using an open-floor plan, the Bureau houses representatives from the Task Force, including the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST); the FBI; District Attorney's Office; Los Angeles County Probation Department; Department of Children and Family Services; and Department of Homeland Security. The Bureau maintains an investigative unit called the Detective Information Research Center (DIRC), which provides backup research for investigators. The Bureau also maintains a separate unit called the Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement Team (SAFE), which conducts cyber investigations of crimes against children (ICAC), including child pornography, sextortion, enticement, and crimes committed by California State sex registrants. The Bureau's human trafficking teams have access to a "soft room" for interviewing and offering services to trafficking victims. While the Task Force is mandated to investigate both labor and sex trafficking cases, the vast majority of cases during the first year of its operations have involved sex trafficking. The Bureau has a three-pronged approach to sex trafficking. The first is to identify and locate victims. Once victims are located, service providers are brought in to provide a range of services from medical care to housing. The second prong is to arrest traffickers and gather evidence for prosecutions. And the third is to staunch demand in the sex trade by targeting buyers, or "johns." Using semi-structured questionnaires, researchers at the Human Rights Center, in partnership with Berkeley Law's International Human Rights Law Clinic, interviewed 45 key informants, including investigators, researchers, service providers, and prosecutors directly located in the Bureau or connected to it. Researchers also reviewed seven case files representative of various sex trafficking cases the Bureau had investigated during the first six months of 2016 and observed two sting operations directed at buyers and traffickers in Los Angeles County. All key informant interviews were transcribed and coded. In all, more than 35 codes were developed and tagged, resulting in 412 pages of coded data. The codes included a range of topics, including reluctance of victims to cooperate with law enforcement, shelter and long-term housing, challenges of investigating labor trafficking, the hidden nature of the crime, relations between investigators and prosecutors, proving the elements of the crime of human trafficking, criminalization vs. decriminalization of prostitution, and inter-agency co-location and cooperation. Since the Bureau has investigated only a few cases of labor trafficking, the report's primary focus is on sex trafficking cases.

Details: Berkeley, CA: The Center, 2017. 78p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 14, 2018 at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/LA_report_2017_Nov20release.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: United States

URL: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/LA_report_2017_Nov20release.pdf

Shelf Number: 150178

Keywords:
Criminal Investigations
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Labor Trafficking
Sex Trafficking
Sexual Exploitation
Victims of Trafficking

Author: Europol

Title: Two Years of EMSC: Activity Report Jan. 2017 - Jan. 2018

Summary: Ruthless and violent criminals are increasingly providing smuggling services to irregular migrants to evade border controls, migration regulations and visa requirements. Most irregular migrants resort to the assistance of profit-seeking smugglers. With improved border controls, migrants are deterred from attempting to illegally cross borders by themselves and are diverted into the hands of smugglers who put migrants' lives at serious risk and therefore pose a security challenge to the internal security of the European Union (EU). A pan-European response to efficiently disrupt migrant smuggling activities is still needed and the European Migrant Smuggling Centre (ESMC) is leading it by strongly supporting EU Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs). Migrant smuggling continues to represent a highly-profitable business in which criminal syndicates enjoy low risk of detection and punishment. The business model of criminals involved in migrant smuggling is continuously evolving and responding to the dynamics and the needs of the migratory flows impacting the EU. Migrant smugglers are becoming more and more organised, establishing sophisticated professional networks, operating transnationally from source towards destination countries. According to the vast amount of data and information reported to the EMSC in recent months, targeting migrant smuggling therefore persists as one of the most relevant priorities. These factors highlight the need to continue developing comprehensive and coordinated responses across and between affected continents to efficiently combat migrant smuggling. Adaptable, innovative and agile support to EU Member States in the fight against this serious crime is required in order to face new challenges and that is where the EMSC is investing its efforts and allocating resources. The results of this report are the outcome of the cooperation between Europol, EU and non-EU law enforcement partners.

Details: The Hague: European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation 2018. 28p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 17, 2018 at: https://www.europol.europa.eu/publications-documents/two-years-of-emsc

Year: 2018

Country: Europe

URL: https://www.europol.europa.eu/publications-documents/two-years-of-emsc

Shelf Number: 150248

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Illegal Immigrants
Illegal Immigration
Migrant Smuggling
Organized Crime

Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

Title: Results of a pilot survey of forty selected organized criminal groups in sixteen countries

Summary: Globalization and growing economic interdependence have encouraged and promoted the transformation of crime beyond borders in all parts of the world. Improved communications and information technologies, increased blurring of national borders, greater mobility of people, goods and services across countries, and the emergence of a globalized economy have moved crime further away from its domestic base. The nature of organized crime in the contemporary world then cannot be understood separately from the concept of globalization. In 1998, in recognition of these factors, the Member States of the United Nations decided to established an ad hoc Committee for the purpose of elaborating a comprehensive international Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (TOC). The ad hoc Committee succeeded in drafting four international legal instruments -- the Convention and three Protocols on Trafficking in Persons, Smuggling of Migrants and Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms -- that will facilitate the prevention and combating of transnational organized crime. Through the ratification of these instruments several new legal concepts and mechanisms will be adopted by the State Parties who ratify the Convention. Of importance in this regard, is the criminalizing of participation in the activities of a criminal group itself. Importantly too, the Convention will provide a basic framework of cooperation across a large number of countries in the fight against organized crime. Critical to the implementation and monitoring of the TOC Convention will be the ability to access reliable information on international organized crime trends. Adequate information on ongoing developments from a global perspective may provide a useful marker against which progress can be measured and changes in the nature of organized crime assessed. At the same time, an international effort to collect data on developments in organized crime around the globe would provide a platform for the work of a wide ranging number of individuals and governments who are increasingly adopting more systematic ways of acquiring information on organized criminal groups. Beyond the establishment of an overall measure to assess trends in organized crime, the development of a more comprehensive system of classification and the ongoing collection of data on criminal groups provides a useful tool for both law enforcement officials and prosecutors. Information on various criminal groups serves not only to inform counterparts in other countries what kind of criminal groups are being investigated in specific states, but allows information on the activities of similar groups to be compared. If combined with data about institutional arrangements and strategies of states in addressing crime, it provides insights into the viability of measures and strategies adopted in tackling various types of criminal groups. Important to note here is that by providing a standard set of agreed upon definitions, for example for the term "organised crime group" and for offences such as "trafficking in human beings", the Convention and its Protocols have in effect established a base-line for future research and analysis. If all the countries which ratify the Convention use the same terminology and definitions, the task of comparative analysis is made much easier. To further the debate on measures and instruments to collect data on organized crime trends at an international level, this report presents the findings of a survey of 40 selected organized criminal groups in 16 countries and one region. The survey was conducted by the Centre for International Crime Prevention (CICP) in an attempt to both build the knowledge base on organized crime groups, and to develop a comparative framework for the study of the phenomenon. The mechanism in which the data was collected and analyzed is explored below and the findings presented. Among other results, the data has allowed the development of a typology of organized criminal groups.

Details: New York: UNODC, 2002. 123p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 28, 2018 at: https://www.unodc.org/pdf/crime/publications/Pilot_survey.pdf

Year: 2002

Country: International

URL: https://www.unodc.org/pdf/crime/publications/Pilot_survey.pdf

Shelf Number: 150727

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Organized Crime
Trafficking in Firearms
Transnational Organized crime

Author: Mann, Lori

Title: Trafficking in Human Beings and Smuggling of Migrants in ACP Countries: Key Challenges and Ways Forward Informing discussions of the ACP-EU Dialogue on Migration and Development

Summary: This report was commissioned by the ACP-EU Migration Action in 2017 as part of the Action's efforts to collect, analyse and disseminate information and knowledge on the results achieved through its activities. Focusing on trafficking in human beings (THB) and the smuggling of migrants (SoM), experts from ACP and EU countries met in Brussels in July 2014 to discuss their respective policies pertaining to these fields, and to identify concrete areas of cooperation in order to tackle both phenomena in a spirit of shared responsibility and cooperation. The meeting demonstrated a shared commitment to address challenges, and recognized the necessity to deepen cooperation among countries of origin, transit and destination, including by fostering a South-South perspective. The recommendations elaborated during the experts' meeting were subsequently validated by the Ambassadors' meeting in January 2015. Soon after, the ACP-EU Migration Action began implementing activities to address the issues of THB and SoM. The ACP-EU Dialogue recommendations on THB and SoM include: - Enact (or amend) comprehensive national legislation on both trafficking in human beings and the smuggling of migrants, in line with the Palermo Protocols and EU legislation; - Effectively implement national legislation on trafficking in human beings and migrant smuggling, ensuring victim identification and protection and the prosecution of perpetrators for the full range of existing forms of exploitation; - Raise awareness regarding THB and SoM among all key stakeholders, including: law enforcement, the judiciary, health care workers and labour inspectors, among others, by providing information and training; - Promote cross-border and international cooperation among countries of origin, transit and destination through bilateral Memorandums of Understandings (MoUs) and a special focus on South-South cooperation; - Improve data collection on THB and SoM as a prerequisite for evidence-based policy action; - Promote a victim-centred, human rights-based, gender-sensitive approach to ensure victim protection and identification in full cooperation with NGOs; - Dismantle criminal networks through financial tracking and tackling corruption among public officials, and prosecute traffickers and smugglers to prevent impunity; mentation of existing laws, the lack of comprehensive legislation on trafficking- and smuggling-related issues and underlying primary governance problems constitute additional significant barriers to addressing THB and SoM. The prevention of, and response to, trafficking in human beings and migrant smuggling requires a comprehensive, "whole of government" approach. It touches upon a myriad of related issues, inter alia: corruption, access to civil registration documents, labour laws and inspections, access to social welfare, gender-based violence, child protection and migration. As many of the recipients of the Action's support are poor and/or Small Island States, they face basic infrastructure and primary governance challenges that necessitate, but at the same time complicate, the provision of specialized technical assistance. Meeting the demand for institutional strengthening and capacity building requires adapting methodologies to the particularities of each country, including geographical and resource constraints, as well as the ways in which social and cultural norms function in relation to forms of exploitation and gender-based violence that lead to, or themselves might constitute of trafficking in human beings. Cooperation is the cornerstone of effective anti-trafficking and anti-migrant smuggling initiatives, and is required between States, institutions and non-State actors at all levels: subnational, national and international. Several ACP State recipients demonstrate increasingly effective cooperation at diverse levels, especially where such efforts benefit from existing structures and/or support at the regional level, such as regional platforms or cooperation agreements. However, for most State recipients, weak inter-agency cooperation at the national level constitutes a huge barrier to the effective implementation of laws and policies. National inter-agency coordination mechanisms to address trafficking in human beings and migrant smuggling (where existent) remain new for many of the examined ACP States, and few work systematically with civil society organizations. Cooperation between States is crucial for disrupting both the smuggling and trafficking business models, given the inherently transnational nature of the former and the often -albeit not always- international character of the latter. Cross-border collaboration must hence also be strengthened, especially with regards to data sharing, investigations, prosecutions and returns. Yet, the best examples of cooperation do not focus on policing alone, but include elements of prevention and development, and the integration of a human rights-based approach. The potential use of regional mechanisms should be highlighted too, given the increased interest by stakeholders in this modality of South-South cooperation, and the large percentage of victims trafficked regionally. The most striking gap among ACP State recipients is the absence of the provision of assistance to, and the protection of, trafficking victims and smuggled migrants, which should be at the heart of any anti-THB and anti-SoM strategy. Upholding human rights remains central for all cases. In addition to the rights accorded to trafficking victims, and those accorded to smuggled migrants, specific needs due to individual trafficking or smuggling experience, as well as characteristics such as gender and age and socio-cultural norms, should be taken into account. To date, little efforts have been made in most of the examined countries to develop referral systems and for ensuring that victims are duly identified and receive the needed assistance. Moreover, cases were noted where victims of trafficking and smuggled migrants were not shielded from prosecution - as is set forth by the Protocols - and in few countries they are subject to immediate deportation and potential refoulement. In some countries, civil society actors play an important role in providing shelter and other basic necessities. Yet sometimes they operate with no clear mandate to assist trafficking victims or vulnerable migrants specifically, indicating a potential lack of experience and expertise in addressing the needs and rights of trafficking victims and smuggled migrants. In addition, many operate with little if any government support or involvement. Prevention efforts should raise awareness on trafficking in human beings and smuggling of migrants among the public, while addressing the root causes of both phenomena, and targeting a wide range of stakeholders. Many of the examined ACP countries have organized, or are in the process of organizing capacity building for government entities at the policy and/or frontline level, including awareness raising on these phenomena. However, prevention and awareness raising should target and actively involve a wider range of stakeholders, for example traditional community leaders and diaspora, given the direct contact they have with (aspiring) migrants in many ACP countries. Communities should also be consulted in the design of awareness campaigns. The private sector is another key partner for prevention efforts in ACP countries, especially when addressing the demand side of the trafficking chain. Any meaningful prevention effort must be associated with realistic alternative options to unsafe migration, such as development and work opportunities that benefit migrants and their societies in the countries of origin and destination. Finally, reliable data is the most basic prerequisite for developing policies that are evidence based and respond appropriately to the local context. However, in many of the examined ACP countries, data tends to range from anecdotical to non-existent. In many instances, capacity building on data management, analysis and sharing is needed, at the inter-agency as well as the international level. Proper case management systems with standardized interfaces are also essential. However, the limitations in both infrastructure and resources should be taken into account and in that sense, international methodologies and systems for data collection and management should be adapted to the local context. Through a series of baseline assessments, the ACP-EU Migration Action has identified the above mentioned gaps among other specific barriers to effective anti-trafficking and anti-smuggling strategies. Such assessments are conducted within each targeted country and form the foundation of the related technical assistance support. In light of its work with States and Regional Organizations throughout the African, Caribbean and Pacific regions, the Action remains poised to provide the needed technical assistance and to contribute new knowledge to the concrete dialogue that is ongoing between States within the ACP-EU Partnership framework. The recommendations presented at the conclusion of the report build upon those issued by the ACP-EU Dialogue on Migration and Development and seek to highlight emerging challenges while bringing the achievement of stakeholders and the related good practices to the fore. This analysis seeks to produce knowledge that can be adapted for use in other context where States struggle with these same phenomena.

Details: Brussels: IOM, 2018. 233p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 1, 2018 at: http://acpeumigrationaction.iom.int/sites/default/files/final_web.pdf

Year: 2018

Country: Africa

URL: http://acpeumigrationaction.iom.int/sites/default/files/final_web.pdf

Shelf Number: 151003

Keywords:
Criminal Networks
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Illegal Immigration
Immigrants
Migration
Organized Crime
Victims of Trafficking

Author: Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Title: Responding to the human trafficking-migrant smuggling nexus with a focus on the situation in Libya

Summary: Probably nowhere more than in Libya have the definitional lines between migrant smuggling and human trafficking become as blurred or contested. Hundreds of thousands of migrants have left Libya's shores in the hope of a new life in Europe; tens of thousands have died in the process. The inhumane conditions migrants face in Libya are well documented. The levels of brutality and exploitation they experience in Libya's turbulent transitional environment have led to smuggling and trafficking groups being bundled under one catch-all heading by authorities and policymakers, and targeted as the root cause of the migration phenomenon. In many respects, this would appear to conveniently serve the interests of EU leaders and governments, who choose to disguise the anti-migration drive they urgently seek support for behind a policy of cracking down on both trafficking and smuggling rings, which they conflate as a common enemy, and one and the same. Given the highly complex context of Libya, this report proposes instead that any intervention to address the so-called migrant crisis should place the human rights of migrants at its centre, as opposed to necessarily demonizing smugglers, who are often the migrants' gatekeepers to a better existence elsewhere.

Details: Geneva, SWIT: The Global Initiative, 2018. 20p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 4, 2018 at: http://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Reitano-McCormack-Trafficking-Smuggling-Nexus-in-Libya-July-2018.pdf

Year: 2018

Country: Libya

URL: http://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Reitano-McCormack-Trafficking-Smuggling-Nexus-in-Libya-July-2018.pdf

Shelf Number: 151508

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Migrants
Organized Crime

Author: United Nations. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

Title: Desperate and Dangerous: Report on the human rights situation of migrants and refugees in Libya

Summary: Migrants and refugees suffer unimaginable horrors during their transit through and stay in Libya. From the moment they step onto Libyan soil, they become vulnerable to unlawful killings, torture and other ill-treatment, arbitrary detention and unlawful deprivation of liberty, rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence, slavery and forced labour, extortion and exploitation by both State and non-State actors. Published jointly by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), this report describes patterns of serious human rights violations and abuses suffered by migrants and refugees in Libya at the hands of State officials and members of armed groups, as well as atrocities committed by smugglers and traffickers, amid the failure of the Libyan authorities to address these violations and abuses and provide redress to victims. The findings in this report are primarily based on around 1,300 first-hand accounts and other information gathered by human rights officers in UNSMIL between January 2017 and August 2018, including during regular monitoring visits to 11 immigration detention centres in Libya. UNSMIL also visited Nigeria in December 2017 and Italy in June 2018 to interview migrants who had been repatriated or had left Libya. This report traces the entire journey of migrants and refugees through Libya, which is marred by considerable risks of serious human rights violations and abuses at every step of the way. The report documents such violations from the moment migrants and refugees cross Libya's southern border throughout their journey to the northern coast. The journey continues with the perilous Mediterranean Sea crossings, increasingly ending in interception or rescue by the Libyan Coast Guard (LCG) and then transfer back to Libya where migrants face indefinite detention and frequent torture and other ill-treatment in centres unfit for human habitation. Despite the overwhelming evidence of human rights violations and abuses, Libyan authorities have thus far appeared largely unable or unwilling to put an end to violations and abuses committed against migrants and refugees. UNSMIL and OHCHR regret that the Libyan authorities have failed to implement the recommendations included in their joint report "Detained and Dehumanized": Report on Human Rights Abuses Against Migrants in Libya. issued on 13 December 2016. Given the lack of progress in addressing the rampant human rights violations and abuses against migrants and refugees in Libya, their situation has not improved in the past two years, despite overwhelming evidence of horrific abuses and increased attention given to the issue at global and regional levels. Years of armed conflict and political divisions have weakened Libyan institutions, including the judiciary, which have been unable, if not unwilling, to address the plethora of abuses and violations committed against migrants and refugees by smugglers, traffickers, members of armed groups and State officials, with near total impunity. The vacuum left by the State following the 2011 uprising and armed conflict has been filled by a multitude of armed groups in control of large swaths of Libya's territory, borders, and key installations. These armed groups were increasingly integrated into State institutions without any vetting processes to remove those with problematic human rights records, although the Government of National Accord, following the outbreak of violence in Tripoli in September 2018, has promised to take steps to diminish the influence of armed groups on state institutions. This climate of lawlessness provides fertile ground for thriving illicit activities, such as trafficking in human beings and criminal smuggling, and leaves migrant and refugee men, women and children at the mercy of countless predators who view them as commodities to be exploited and extorted for maximum financial gain. Abuses against Sub-Saharan migrants and refugees, in particular, are compounded by the failure of the Libyan authorities to address racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia. Libyan law criminalizes irregular entry into, stay in or exit from the country with a penalty of imprisonment pending deportation, without any consideration of individual circumstances or protection needs. Foreign nationals in vulnerable situations, including survivors of trafficking and refugees, are among those subjected to mandatory and indefinite arbitrary detention. Libya has no asylum system, has not ratified the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, and does not formally recognize the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), while de facto allowing the agency to register some asylum seekers and refugees from a limited number of countries. In practice, the overwhelming majority of migrants and refugees are arbitrarily detained as they have never been charged or tried under Libya's migration legislation. They languish indefinitely in detention until they are returned though the International Organization for Migration's (IOM) Voluntary Humanitarian Returns programme, evacuated by UNHCR or forcible deported by the Libyan authorities. While conditions vary across detention centres, they are generally inhuman, fall far short of international standards and, in some cases, may amount to torture. During visits to DCIM detention centres in 2017-2018, UNSMIL staff have consistently observed severe overcrowding, lack of proper ventilation and lighting, inadequate access to washing facilities and latrines, constant confinement, denial of contact with the outside world, and malnutrition. Conditions lead to the spread of skin infections, acute diarrhoea, respiratory tract-infections and other ailments, and medical treatment is inadequate. Children, including those separated or unaccompanied, are held together with adults in similarly squalid conditions. UNSMIL has also documented torture and other ill-treatment, forced labour, rape and other forms of sexual violence perpetrated by DCIM guards with impunity. The fact that women are held in facilities without female guards further facilitates sexual abuse and exploitation. UNSMIL staff found that female detainees are routinely subjected to strip searches by or under the gaze of male guards. Many of those detained at DCIM centres are survivors of horrific abuses by smugglers or traffickers and are in need of tailored medical and psychological support and rehabilitation. They are systematically held captive in abusive conditions, including starvation, severe beatings, burning with hot metals, electrocution, and sexual abuses of women and girls, with the aim of extorting money from their families through a complex system of money transfers, extending to a number of countries. They are frequently sold from one criminal gang to another and required to pay ransoms multiple times before being set free or taken to coastal areas to await the Mediterranean Sea crossing. The overwhelming majority of women and older teenage girls interviewed by UNSMIL reported being gang raped by smugglers or traffickers or witnessing others being taken out of collective accommodations to be abused. Younger women travelling without male relatives are also particularly vulnerable to being forced into prostitution. Countless migrants and refugees lost their lives during captivity by smugglers or traffickers after being shot, tortured to death, or simply left to die from starvation or medical neglect. Across Libya, unidentified bodies of migrants and refugees bearing gunshot wounds, torture marks and burns are frequently uncovered in rubbish bins, dry river beds, farms and the desert. UNSMIL continues to receive credible information on the complicity of some State actors, including local officials, members of armed groups formally integrated into State institutions, and representatives of the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Defence, in the smuggling or trafficking of migrants and refugees. These State actors enrich themselves through exploitation of and extortion from vulnerable migrants and refugees. In addition to detention on the grounds of breaking immigration legislation, migrants and refugees are vulnerable to being arbitrarily arrested and detained, including by armed groups nominally under the control of the Ministry of Interior, in relation to accusations of theft, drug-related offences, sex work, alcohol consumption, and terrorism. Hundreds are thus held, most without charge or trial for prolonged periods or following grossly unfair trials. UNSMIL documented that migrants and refugees held at facilities under the Ministry of Interior, in particular at the Mitiga detention facility controlled by the Special Deterrence Force armed group in Tripoli, are subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, forced labour, prolonged solitary confinement, and inhuman detention conditions....

Details: Geneva, SWIT: OHCHR, 2018. 61p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 15, 2019 at: https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/LY/LibyaMigrationReport.pdf

Year: 0

Country: Libya

URL: https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/LY/LibyaMigrationReport.pdf

Shelf Number: 0

Keywords:
Forced Labor
Human Rights Abuses
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Immigrant Detention
Migrants
Refugees
Sexual Violence

Author: Interpol

Title: Overview of Serious and Organized Crime in North Africa

Summary: Executive Summary Transnational organized crime in Northern Africa poses a substantial threat to the safety and security of all member countries in the region, and poses a significant challenge to law enforcement agencies. As a result, INTERPOL, under the European Union funded ENACT Project, has sought to catalogue and assess organized crime in the region to help drive a more strategic law enforcement response. International criminal organizations target North Africa due to the significant illicit wealth that can be generated from criminal market opportunities throughout the region, notably but not limited to drug trafficking, arms trafficking, human smuggling and trafficking, the counterfeiting of a range of goods, and the illicit traffic of cultural heritage. Crime syndicates exploit various social issues and take advantage of state fragility and limited law enforcement policing capacities to conceal and develop their activities. In addition, there are a number of additional facilitating factors bolstering organized criminality throughout the region such as the length of the region's borders with sub-Saharan Africa, the strategic geographic position of the region between sub-Saharan Africa and Europe, the inclusion of North African countries in global trade flows, fragile economies, war profiteering stemming from many of the recent conflicts in the region or its vicinity, as well as corruption to varying degrees. The threat from organized crime in Northern Africa is therefore substantial, yet often going undetected and underreported, despite various data sources indicating major activities and dynamics of groups and networks active in the region. This mostly stems from limited and unequal capacity amongst law enforcement in the region to manage complex organized crime issues. A greater awareness of the scope and functioning of organized crime in North Africa, nurturing stronger partnerships amongst law enforcement agencies in the region, will contribute to better tackle the threat posed by organised crime.

Details: Lyon, France: Interpol, 2018. 47p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 9, 2019 at: https://enactafrica.org/research/analytical-reports/interpol-overview-of-serious-and-organised-crime-in-north-africa-2018

Year: 2018

Country: Africa

URL: https://enact-africa.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/2018-12-12-interpol-north-africa-report.pdf

Shelf Number: 154820

Keywords:
Arms Trafficking
Crime Syndicates
Criminal Networks
Drug Trafficking
Human Smuggling
North Africa
Organized Crime
Transnational Organized Crime

Author: International Organization for Migration (IOM)

Title: Assessment on Human trafficking situation in the Coastal Region of Kenya

Summary: In the recent years, media attention on human trafficking in persons in the coastal region of Kenya has been increasing, but there is limited up-to-date information on the current situation. To fill this gap, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) conducted an assessment in three target counties in the region, namely, Mombasa, Kilifi and Kwale. The objectives were as follows: - Generate information on the current trafficking situation in the coastal region of Kenya; - Identify the groups most vulnerable to human trafficking, prevalent forms of trafficking and source areas of victims of trafficking (VOTs) along with their destinations; - Inform key stakeholders, thus contributing to strengthened identification and referral mechanisms for VOTs and vulnerable migrants in Kenya. In order to achieve these objectives, the research team, which consisted of IOM Kenya experts, employed mixed methods, as follows: - Literature review, focusing on reports, newsletters and other publications from agencies working on the issue; - Four (4) stakeholder workshops in the three target counties with 98 participants representing national and county government as well as non-governmental and community-based organizations (NGOs and CBOs) engaged in counter trafficking in the region; - Seventy-eight (78) key informant interviews from workshop participants; and - Case studies of VOTs, to gain a more nuanced understanding of the varying circumstances they face. The assessment indicates that prevalent forms of trafficking in the coast region are labour exploitation, sexual exploitation, forced marriage and child trafficking. Employment outside of the coastal region for coastal residents, and employment within the coastal region for residents of other parts of Kenya and other countries, were identified as the most significant push and pull factors for people to enter situations with high risk for trafficking. The assessment found that tourism in the coastal region contributes to human trafficking as well. The stakeholder workshops confirmed that attraction to the tourism sector has grown beyond coastal residents, with women from as far as Meru and Kisii coming to the region to work and subsequently suffering from exploitation. Participants noted that exploitation happens more frequently with less educated women without alternative livelihoods and little understanding of urban lifestyles. Other factors contributing to human trafficking are the lack of livelihood opportunities among different vulnerable groups, in addition to poverty, drug abuse, illiteracy, loss of parent/parents, harmful cultural practices and radicalization. Although radicalization and violent extremism is not a form of exploitation explicitly expressed in Article 3 of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, recruitment of individuals for radicalization and violent extremist activities were often mentioned as contributing factors in all consultative workshop and interviews with stakeholders. With regard to the main groups vulnerable to trafficking in persons, the assessment findings indicate that large numbers of people in the region intend to migrate to another county and/or country. This includes men and women who are most likely neither employed nor students. The majority leave home to find work, which, in most cases, has been promised by agents. Although it cannot be ascertained whether or not these movements constitute human trafficking, it is important to look at the vulnerabilities to trafficking. The consultative workshop revealed that often migrant smuggling from Ethiopia and Somalia to South Africa turns into trafficking along the coastal region as the vulnerability of the migrants increases as they enter more unfamiliar territories. A large percentage of people who left home indicated that they wanted to go back home (82%) and that they were not well (36%). Youth between ages of 12 to 35 years, regardless of gender, are most vulnerable to trafficking, according to the feedback from all of the stakeholder workshops. In terms of source and destination areas and trafficking routes, while the assessment indicates that the coastal region is one of the largest sources of trafficking in the country, international victims of trafficking in the region were also recognized. Aligning with the literature review findings, participants in the validation workshop that followed the consultative workshops agreed that Mombasa is a source, transit and destination region in this respect. VOTs from outside of Kenya are from countries in the East and Horn of Africa such as Ethiopia, Somalia and Tanzania, and globally from countries in Southeast Asia including but not limited to Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan. The popular destinations for trafficking within Kenya are Mombasa, Kisumu and Nairobi, and for outside of Kenya, countries in the Middle East. Travel is mostly arranged by private employment agencies.

Details: Nairobi: IOM, 2018. 52p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 15, 2019 at: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/ASSESSMENT%20REPORT%20ON%20HUMAN%20TRAFFICKING%20SITUATION%20%20-%20COASTAL%20REGION%20KENYA%20REVISED%20LOWRES%2023072018%20F%20LOW%20Resolutions%20%28002%29Edited%202.pdf

Year: 2018

Country: Kenya

URL: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/ASSESSMENT%20REPORT%20ON%20HUMAN%20TRAFFICKING%20SITUATION%20%20-%20COASTAL%20REGION%20KENYA%20REVISED%20LOWRES%2023072018%20F%20LOW%20Resolutions%20%28002%29Edited%20

Shelf Number: 155412

Keywords:
Forced Labor
Human Smuggling
Human Trafficking
Migrants
Radicalization
Sex Tourism
Sexual Exploitation
Violent Extremism

Author: Sanchez, Gabriella

Title: Five Misconceptions About Migrant Smuggling

Summary: Migrant smugglers occupy a special place in the European 'migration crisis' discourse. They are depicted as the facilitators of irregular migrants' journeys, and as criminals who take advantage of people's vulnerability and naivete. Stories of ruthless smugglers who abuse, abandon or even murder those who rely on their services are common in popular media, as well as in mainstream academic, policy and law enforcement narratives of migration.

Details: Florence, Italy: Migration Policy Centre, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies European University Institute, 2018. 5p.

Source: Internet Resource: Policy Brief Issue 2018/07: Accessed May 9, 2019 at: http://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/54964/RSCAS_PB_2018_07.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Year: 2018

Country: Europe

URL: http://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/54964/RSCAS_PB_2018_07.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Shelf Number: 155706

Keywords:
Human Smuggling
Migrant Smuggling

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