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Looking at the past to understand the future. Part two

The first Constructive Dialogue on the Smuggling of Migrants with relevant stakeholders, including non-governmental organizations, took place on Friday 1 July 2022, following the conclusion of the ninth session of the Working Group on the Smuggling of Migrants, in accordance with paragraph 53 of the Procedures and rules for the functioning of the UNTOC review mechanism and with article 32, paragraph 3 (c), of the Organized Crime Convention. 

Thirty-seven non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and seven other relevant stakeholders (five from the academia and two from the private sector) took part in it. 

 

Based on the summary of the Chair, Mr. Francesco Testa (Italy), during the 2022 Constructive Dialogue panelists and speakers focused particularly on the following issues:  

 

  • The need for the effective INCLUSION of non-governmental stakeholders both in the process of the review mechanism, as well as in the active fight against trafficking and smuggling and in the protection of migrants and victims. Collaboration and building of trust between governments and other various interested parties were called upon. 
  • The need for DATA and EVIDENCE COLLECTION to further understand and tackle various aspects of the phenomenon, such as push factors, and to allow evaluation of anti-trafficking and anti-smuggling programs already in place. 
  • The need to adopt HUMAN-RIGHT based and VICTIM-CENTRED approaches to countering the smuggling of migrants. Particular attention must be put also on the imperative to PROTECT migrants, victims, their families and witnesses, as well as to safeguard NGO’s staff from retaliation. 
  • The rising role of TECHNOLOGY in smuggling of migrants and, on the other hand, the lack of national laws addressing the misuse of cyber space. Inputs coming from Civil Society were indicated as potentially crucial in this regard. 
  • The need for States parties to allow access to INFORMATION and the need to share BEST PRACTICES across multiple stakeholders, in order to tackle knowledge gaps and, consequently, fight organized crime more effectively. 

The work done so far will be furtherly advanced during the second Constructive Dialogue on the Smuggling of Migrants (9 October 2023), following the conclusion of the tenth session of the Working Group on the Smuggling of Migrants.  

02 Oct, 2023