Malta hosts UN conference against smuggling of migrants

Over the next three days, the Ministry for Justice and Home Affairs will be hosting the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Conference on Promoting Law Enforcement and Judicial Cooperation among Source, Transit and Destination Countries in Response to the Smuggling of Migrants, which involves the participation of EU Member States, Middle Eastern and North African countries, the United States as well as relevant international and European organisations.

The aim of the Conference, in line with previous activities undertaken by UNODC, is to enhance international cooperation in combating smuggling of migrants, in particular by exchanging best practices in investigating and prosecuting migrant smuggling.

“The fight against the smuggling of migrants - a cross border crime by nature- requires the fostering of international cooperation between law enforcement authorities, and this is precisely what the Conference seeks to achieve,” a ministry spokesperson said.

“Such enhanced cooperation would substantially contribute to bring about closer compliance with the UN Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air.”