On 23 June 2017, the Council of Europe organised, in Strasbourg, an International Conference on Smuggling of Migrants. The Secretary General, Thorbjørn Jagland, opened the event, which brought together experts and high-level representatives from member and observer States of the Council of Europe, as well as representatives of international organisations and academic experts. The participants in the conference discussed:  best practices and concrete measures on how to prevent and combat smuggling of migrants; developing strategies for cooperation and information exchange; and protecting the rights of smuggled migrants.

Four Rapporteurs with experience in the relevant fields led the discussions: Mr Andreas Schloenhardt PhD, Professor of Criminal Law at the University of Queensland, and Professorial Research Fellow at the University of Vienna; Mr Sławomir Buczma, Vice-Chair of the Committee on Crime Problems of the Council of Europe; Mr Calogero Ferrara, Magistrate, Coordinator of the Trafficking and Immigration Division, Public Prosecutor's Office, Tribunal of Palermo; and Mr Tomáš Boček, Special Representative of the Council of Europe Secretary General on Migration and Refugees. The debate was also informed by the testimony of a direct witness of smuggling, Mr Raed al-Alzawi, who kindly agreed to share his personal experience with the public.