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Back European Committee on Crime Problems (CDPC) adopts Action Plan on Smuggling of Migrants

The CDPC finalised and approved the text of the Council of Europe Action Plan on Fostering International Co-operation and Investigative Strategies in Fighting the Smuggling of Migrants.

Since 2015, the European Committee on Crime Problems (CDPC) has included in its activities the question of the criminal law aspects related to the smuggling of migrants. On 2016, two experts’ studies were prepared on “National Laws Relating to Smuggling of Migrants in Council of Europe Member States” and on “Preventing and suppressing the smuggling of migrants in Council of Europe member States – ‘a way forward’”.

On 23 June 2017, the Council of Europe held the Conference on the Smuggling of Migrants in Strasbourg. The Conference’s final observations included suggestions for Council of Europe’s further action in this field. To ensure follow-up to the outcome of the Conference, the CDPC decided to set up a Working Group dealing with practical measures to improve international co-operation.

The first meeting of the Working Group took place on 20 - 21 June 2018 in Paris, France. The Working Group’s membership comprises highly qualified experts, including national practitioners working in the field, representatives of international organisations as well as specialists from academia and the research community.

The second meeting was held on 10 April 2019 in Venice, Italy. Its main purpose was to translate the conclusive observations to the first meeting in concrete Council of Europe actions. To this scope, participants agreed on a draft Council of Europe Action Plan aimed at identifying opportunities where the Council of Europe can play a crucial role in fostering international co-operation and investigative strategies in fighting the smuggling of migrants.

The draft Action Plan was presented to the CDPC, and subsequently adopted in August 2020.

The Action Plan establishes five objectives to be covered in the period 2020-22. Its fundamental goal is to help member States foster and improve international co-operation and investigative strategies in fighting the criminal phenomena connected to the smuggling of migrants. This will be crucial to overcome the investigative, prosecutorial and judicial challenges in migrant smuggling-related cases, facilitate the information knowledge and exchange amongst relevant stakeholders and boost co-operation amongst source, transit and destination countries. The promotion, implementation and follow-up of the Action Plan is overseen by the CDPC.

Conclusive observations:

Concept papers:

Agendas:

Conference on the Smuggling of Migrants: