CIAO DATE: 11/2013
August 2013
Danish Institute for International Studies
Human smuggling plays a central role in international migration. International migration is often constrained because of border controls and stringent visa policies. Migrants use human smugglers to help them to cross borders to avoid controls. States typically view human smuggling as an issue of security and law enforcement, emphasizing control and management over rights and protection. The policy brief ‘Understanding human smuggling as a human rights issue’ focuses on how states can respond to human smuggling by taking into account the human rights of migrants. The brief is based on Theodore Baird’s extended fieldwork among migrants and smugglers in Turkey and Greece and represents conclusions derived from his PhD thesis. This brief falls under the aegis of MIMM (the Migration Industry and Markets for Migration Management), an international research network founded to explore the roles various migration industry actors play in contemporary migration flows.
Resource link: Understanding human smuggling as a human rights issue [PDF] - 75K