Trans-regional workshop on enhancing co-operation in combating irregular migration and smuggling of migrants through South-Easter Europe, Athens, Greece

This workshop is the fourth and final phase of the project “Strengthening understanding of the link between irregular migration and transnational crimes impacting migrants in irregular situation” jointly organized by the OSCE, International Organization for Migration and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. It is aimed at facilitating further networking and information sharing among criminal justice and migration experts.

Migration is a cross-border phenomenon and as such needs to be placed in a broader context of regional cooperation and policy developments. The issue of combatting irregular migration and organized crime while protecting migrants' rights remains a key priority in migration management and criminal justice around the world.

The trans-regional workshop will focus on the South Eastern Europe region (SEE) and the Eastern Mediterranean migration route originating in Afghanistan and Pakistan, transiting through the SEE region and destined for Central and Western Europe. The workshop endeavours to facilitate networking and information sharing among criminal justice and migration actors. Participants will be given the opportunity to share their knowledge of trends on combating irregular migration and smuggling of migrants, developments in the legal and policy framework, and identify ways to improve cooperation between countries of origin, transit and destination.

The workshop will contribute to a better understanding of complex human mobility patterns and trends involved, the challenges states and migrants are facing and measures used to address them. It will seek to propose concrete solutions that would both increase the effectiveness of measures for combatting inegular migration and enhance the protedtion of the human rights of migrants, including the most vulnerable among them.

It will be organized around plenary sessions, which will be followed by a general discussion with a focus on the following subjects: irregular migration and inter-related organized crime trends, current measures used by governments and international community at large to combat transnational organized crime and irregular migration, migrant vulncra ility causes and needs for targeted responses. All of the topics will highlight the need for regional cooperation on irregular migration and combating organized criminal groups among the countries along the Eastern Mediterranean route. Recommendations for potential follow-up action will be formulated at the end of the workshop in close collaboration with relevant authorities, with regard to the technical assistance needs identified during the meeting.

The working language of the workshop will be English.