Understanding Contemporary Human Smuggling as a Vector in Migration: A Field guide for Migration Management and Humanitarian Practitioners

Human smuggling, while playing a major role in irregular migration, is a phenomenon that is poorly understood, and the distinction between human smuggling and trafficking often blurred. The policy approach to migration and human smuggling has been predominantly confined to law enforcement and securitization – an ineffectual response that results in migrants being criminalized by the state and perceived as ‘others’ by citizens. This guide analyses in depth the dynamics and trends of the human-smuggling industry, focusing on migration from and through the Middle East, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa to Europe .

Its goal is to provide practitioners, policymakers and law-enforcement officials with detailed information to enable them to understand how human smuggling works as a vector in migration, and to formulate a more effective, holistic policy response than has been achieved to date.