Addressing a parliamentary conference on Envisioning Effective Public Policy to Prevent and Address Cases of Missing Migrants”, which was held on 23–24 April in Strasbourg, Gianluca Esposito, Director General of Human Rights and Rule of Law (DGI) at the Council of Europe, underlined the importance of international cooperation in combating migrant smuggling and emphasised the Council of Europe’s role in tackling the crime:
“We already have many tools in our toolbox at the intergovernmental level: our Network of Prosecutors on Migrant Smuggling, our Network of National Focal Points, our platform for information-sharing through country profiles on migrant smuggling prepared by member States, our ongoing work on defining safe third countries, our Guide for Practitioners on Administrative Detention of Migrants, and, last but not least, the substantial funds provided by the Council of Europe Development Bank for actions in participating States – for example, housing, healthcare, and school projects for migrants and displaced persons.”
Esposito also announced that, under the mandate of the Committee of Ministers, the European Committee on Crime Problems (CDPC) will soon begin drafting a new legal instrument aimed at reinforcing the fight against migrant smuggling.
Following the adoption of Resolution 2569, “Missing migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers – a call to clarify their fate,” by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the two-day conference brought together members of PACE, forensic practitioners, prosecutors, law enforcement officials, representatives of international organisations, key civil society organisations, and families of missing persons.
As the first PACE resolution to directly address disappearances in the context of migration, it acknowledges the scale of the issue and calls for concrete policy measures to prevent disappearances, respond effectively to such cases, and clarify the fate of missing migrants.
On the margins of the conference, DGI Director General Esposito met with Gehad Madi, United Nations Special Representative on the Human Rights of Migrants. The meeting provided an opportunity to exchange on shared priorities and explore ways to enhance cooperation between the Council of Europe and the United Nations in the field of migration.