“We must unite to close the loopholes in national legislation and international systems and prevent this criminal trade in human lives. The Council of Europe has been working in this direction for several years”, emphasised Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić while addressing the International Conference on a Global Alliance to counter migrant smuggling at the European Commission in Brussels.
“Key actions include our 2020 Action Plan on strengthening international co-operation and investigative strategies in the fight against migrant smuggling. This plan guides member States in adopting specific measures, such as eliminating obstacles to the investigation and prosecution of migrant smugglers while improving information sharing and co-operation at national and international level”, continued the Secretary General at the event convened by the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson.
“At our Summit of Heads of State and Government last May European leaders agreed their Reykjavík Declaration. That text is clear about the “…necessity to fight against the trafficking and smuggling of migrants…to foster and improve international co-operation…”. And to protect those who risk being smuggled with “full respect for their human rights”.
With this in mind, I proposed, and our member states just agreed last week, to take this forward by assessing, in the course of next year, the feasibility of a new legal instrument in this field,”, highlighted Marija Pejčinović Burić.
The Secretary General met with European Commission Vice-President for Democracy and Demography Dubravka Šuica. The meeting focused on the relevance of the Reykjavik Principles of Democracy and on the Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, the first and necessary step towards an international compensation mechanism. Council of Europe – European Union partnership and co-operation in areas of common interest was also discussed.
