Opening remarks by Hanne Juncher, Director of Safety, Integrity and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe
Strasbourg, 28-29 April 2026
Welcome on behalf of the Council of Europe to the first meeting of the Committee of Experts on combating the Smuggling of Migrants, the PC-TM.
The Council of Europe continues to be strongly committed to combating transnational organised crime, including the smuggling of migrants, while upholding the human rights and dignity of migrants.
Since 2020, the Council of Europe Committee on Crime Problems, the CDPC, has been overseeing the implementation of the Organisation’s Action Plan on Fostering International Cooperation and Investigative Strategies in Fighting the Smuggling of Migrants. A number of results have been achieved during that time:
- The Network of Prosecutors on Migrant Smuggling was set up and meets annually since 2023. The Network facilitates direct cooperation and exchange of information between practitioners. Some of the PC-TM participants are members of this Network.
- 30 member state migration profiles focused on the smuggling of migrants have been prepared. They can support evidence-based policy and legal reforms, and I encourage remaining MS to prepare theirs. We can help with that if needed.
- We have organised three very productive international conferences on the smuggling of migrants.
The Heads of State and Governments of the 46 Council of Europe member states committed to intensified international collaboration to tackle smuggling of migrants at the 2023 Summit in Reykjavik.
The feasibility study prepared by the CDPC subsequently confirmed the need for a Council of Europe legal instrument on smuggling of migrants in the form of a Recommendation.
In 2025, the Committee of Ministers therefore entrusted the CDPC with the preparation of a Recommendation on deterring and fighting the smuggling of migrants, and it is for that purpose that this committee of experts has been established.
The specific deliverable required of the PC-TM is a draft comprehensive Recommendation on deterring and fighting the smuggling of migrants, through legal means and other actions, and on international cooperation, taking into account the CDPC Report I mentioned earlier, and with full respect for migrants’ human rights. The draft Recommendation is to be finalised by the end of 2027.
The drafting process will be supported by the experts who worked on the feasibility report, and who have prepared a first discussion paper that will be presented later today.
Let me emphasise that, while the United Nations Palermo Protocol continues to serve as the global anchor in this field, there is a recognised need for complementary actions to address legal loopholes and practical challenges posed by the smuggling of migrants. We all know the evolving nature of this phenomenon.
The Council of Europe’s work aims to complement the existing framework, alongside ongoing developments at the European Union level, ensuring coherence and added value across legal systems.
This of course confirms the importance of cooperation with key international actors, including the UNODC, UNHCR and the EU or its agencies, all here with us today. As well as initiatives such as the Global Compact and the Global Alliance to Counter Migrant Smuggling.
I would like to recall that this work forms part of the CoE Secretary General’s priorities and follows the conclusions of the Informal Ministerial Conference on 10 December last year. You will hear more about this process from the Secretary to the Steering Committee on Human Rights.
You will also hear interventions from the Executive Secretary of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings and the Head of the Migration and Refugees Division.
As to the forthcoming Recommendation, its aim is to provide practical guidance to national authorities to reinforce legal and operational responses. Key issues to be addressed are more coherent criminal laws across countries, more effective investigations, and avoiding the criminalisation of humanitarian assistance.
Apart from effective and dissuasive penalties for smugglers, we need stronger international judicial and law enforcement cooperation. The Council of Europe Conventions on extradition, mutual legal assistance, money laundering, and cybercrime are critical for disrupting smugglers’ crimes and businesses. Those treaties are open to third countries, making cross-regional cooperation possible, particularly, but not only, with our South Mediterranean partners.
The Conventions I mentioned are all the more relevant for the work of this Committee, given that it has also been tasked with supporting the implementation of the Council of Europe Action Plan on Fostering International Cooperation and Investigative Strategies in Fighting the smuggling of migrants.
This is why we encourage all participants to engage in the discussions. We are pleased to have with us both PC-TM delegates from the member states, and representatives from international and European agencies, as well as from observers and third countries.
Let me conclude by reaffirming the Council of Europe’s determination to support member States in developing coherent legal frameworks, strengthening cooperation, and ensuring that efforts to combat the smuggling of migrants are both effective and firmly grounded in human rights.