EU Statement at 13th session of the UNTOC Working Group on the Smuggling of Migrants, 29 June 2026

Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States. Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, Serbia, and Ukraine align themselves with this statement.

The European Union and its Member States are strongly committed to preventing and countering the smuggling of migrants.  

We also continue to be fully engaged in working with partner countries and international organisations to tackle this global challenge. 

With EU financial support, actions continue to be implemented with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to support capacities and increased international cooperation, both at global level – focusing on the digital and financial dimensions of migrant smuggling and increasing the investigation and prosecution of migrant smuggling – and at national and regional level, i.e. in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean.

In particular, strengthening the legal basis and the capacity of partner countries to combat migrant smuggling in line with the UN Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air is a key element. The EU has supported UNODC to develop a new Model Legislative Provisions and Legislative Guide on Migrant Smuggling. 

Chair,

Since its launch in November 2023, the Global Alliance to Counter Migrant Smuggling is the framework through which the European Union and its Member States collectively engage with partner countries and international organisations to counter migrant smuggling across the Alliance’s three pillars: prevention, response and the development of alternatives. 

At the Alliance’s second international conference, in December 2025, a Joint Declaration was presented by the Commission and endorsed by 61 partners. This declaration reinforced political commitment to tackle migrant smuggling and irregular migration on the basis of the whole of route approach that unites countries of origin, transit and destination. The Joint Declaration remains open for endorsement, and we would like to extend the invitation to all our partners present in Vienna today to join us in supporting its principles. 

We are actively working to translate these political commitments into action and will present Global Alliance’s first Work Plan 2026-2028 at the Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) on 1 July, here in Vienna.The meeting will provide a platform to discuss, refine, and advance the Work Plan, focusing on key priorities that support the implementation of the whole-of-route approach.

Chair,

Digital technologies, but also partnerships with the private sector, are key to prevent, detect, intervene, and ultimately curb migrant smuggling. The follow-the-money strategy is a critical pre-requisite when dealing with serious and organised crime. The EU is developing a new regime to sanction migrant smugglers to freeze their assets, restrict their ability to move around and cut off their profits. Moreover, the EU is engaging with ICAO to limit the ability of smugglers to exploit air routes.

Finally, the EU continues to implement awareness-raising campaigns highlighting the risks of irregular migration and migrant smuggling. All these efforts contribute to implementing the whole of route approach.

We look forward to our continued cooperation based on the United Nations Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, including in the framework of this Working Group. 

Thank you, Chair.