Punish people smugglers, not migrants

Migrants board a smuggler's dinghy on a beach in northern France in an attempt to cross the English Channel on October 30. This week the UK is hosting an Interpol conference that will outline ways to counter people-smuggling operations. AFPShow less

Almost a decade ago, the world was shocked by images of Kurdish toddler Alan Kurdi lying dead on a Turkish beach. The child drowned while he and his parents – all Syrians fleeing the country’s civil war – were trying to reach Europe by sea. A Turkish court later sentenced two Syrian smugglers to more than four years in prison over Alan’s death and that of four other people.

Crossing rough seas, scrambling across borders at night or stowing away in lorries are all dangerous ways to reach a safe country, but the role of people smugglers who often endanger, threaten or extort desperate people fleeing war and poverty should concern everyone. Women and children are often the most at risk from these criminal gangs; Latina migrants trying to reach the US have told George Madison University’s Institute for Immigration Research how, knowing rape was a possibility, they would receive a contraceptive injection prior to leaving.

Given the appalling threats that migrants and refugees face, one would think that their plight would be viewed humanely. Instead, vulnerable and indebted people are too often castigated as an economic and security threat; some of the campaigning during the recent US election targeted such migrants in ugly outbursts. On the other side of the Atlantic, too, migrants and refugees have become something of a political football; in the UK, incessant demands that the government “stop the boats” show scant concern for their occupants’ welfare.

Revealed: Analysis of migrant crossings in English Channel show more people being packed on to fewer boats

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It is fitting, therefore, that the UK is hosting an Interpol conference this week that is trying to rewrite these toxic narratives. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the assembled policing experts would outline ways to counter people-smuggling operations that run “from the money markets in Kabul through to the Kurdish region of Iraq”, across Europe and into Britain. He also announced that UK’s new Border Security Command will have 300 staff to tackle boat crossings in the English Channel and other smuggling plus 100 specialist investigators from the National Crime Agency dedicated to tackling criminals involved people smuggling.

By refocusing on the criminals who illegally make money from and risk the lives of refugees, it is possible to not only reduce dangerous and illegal migration, but draw a clear distinction between those pushed to leave their home countries and those willing to risk their “customers’” lives for the sake of profit. By treating people smuggling as a policing and intelligence issue – not a political or security one – it may be possible to counter the cruel and inflammatory rhetoric that is often directed at migrants.

Given the appalling threats that migrants and refugees face, one would think that their plight would be viewed more humanely

Different police forces and law-enforcement agencies working together can make a real difference. In June, Operation Global Chain, a six-day effort led by Austria and co-ordinated by Romania, Europol, Frontex and Interpol, led to the arrest of 219 suspected traffickers and the identification of more than 1,370 victims. In January last year, the UAE joined forces with Interpol and local police in Sudan to break up an Eritrean human trafficking ring.

Such successes are important and must be built on. People smuggling is a changing problem given how conflicts ebb and flow, creating new routes for irregular migration. The demand for smugglers’ “services” must also be tackled by embracing the longer-term aim of reducing the push factors that fuel illegal migration, such as war and poverty. Failure to do so will mean criminals will continue to make money as refugees and migrants perish in the shadows.