The presentation concerns the current migration and refugee flows and human trafficking

1. The current migration and refugee flows and
human trafficking
TRACE Final Conference 2016, Brussels
International Organization for Migration

2. 2
WHO WE ARE
• THE LEADING INTER-GOVERNMENTAL
ORGANIZATION
• IN THE FIELD OF MIGRATION SINCE 1951
• MORE THAN 157 MEMBER STATES
• MORE THAN 400 FIELD LOCATIONS
• MORE THAN 9.000 STAFF WORKING
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3. Outline
• Migration Trends and Flows 2015-2016
• Types of irregular migration and its roots
• HT in Crisis: IOM research findings on HT
• Trends of human trafficking
• Case studies
• Proposed Responses
3

4. Global and EU Migration Trends
Turkey and Pakistan are the main refugee-hosting countries globally
with
1.84 and 1.51million refugees registered by June 2015; they are
followed by Lebanon (1.2 million), the Islamic Republic of Iran
(982,000) and Ethiopia (702,500).
the Syrian Arab Republic is the largest refugee-producing country,
with a
refugee population of 4.2 million by mid-2015.
The EU-28 as a whole received over 1.2 million new asylum claims
in 2015, more than double the number of asylum claims in 2014
(most of these claims were made in Germany, Hungary , Sweden,
Austria, Italy and France).
Children represented nearly 33% of first-time asylum applicants in
the EU-28 in 2015
At least 5,417 migrants died or went missing during migration in
2015 (714 dead/missing in the 1st quarter of 2016)

5. Migration Flows 2015-2016
2015 – drastic increase of arrivals to Europe
1,046,599 total arrivals to Europe (IOM data):
•34,887 total arrivals to Europe by land
•1,011,712 total arrivals to Europe by sea
•Countries of first arrival: Greece, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria, Malta, Cyprus
•Other countries: FYROM, Serbia, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia

6. 2016
Total number of arrivals in first quarter of the year - 174,395
(compared to 21,018 in the same period of 2015 )
Due to policy changes, 56,814 migrants and refugees were
stranded in Greece, FYROM, Serbia, Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria and
Slovenia as of 31 March 2016
Migration Flows 2015-2016

7. Who are the irregular migrants?
Mixed Migration Flows
•Key feature of migratory movements today
•Complex population movements: refugees,
economic migrants, victims of trafficking, smuggled
migrants, unaccompanied migrant children,
stranded migrants, migrants moving for
environmental reasons
Key issue:
•Different migrants, different needs (pre-departure,
upon arrival, long term)
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8. ADDRESSING HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND
EXPLOITATION IN TIMES OF CRISIS
IOM research findings

9. Why consider human trafficking during crisis response?
“Human trafficking [may] flourish in emergencies
because of the:
- Increased vulnerability of affected populations
- The breakdown of traditional support structures, and
- Weakened state infrastructures and social service
support systems.
- But, sadly, efforts to combat the problem are rarely
given priority in emergency relief operations”.
IOM Director General, Global Summit ‘End Sexual Violence in Conflict’
London 2014 summit.

10. Research Focus:
• External Response:
International community
response to crisis
• Internal Response: IOM
considerations and
protection and assistance
strategy
(Publication (2015): This document is part
of a more comprehensive research
study)

11. Key Research Findings
Armed Conflict
Natural Disasters
Protracted Crisis
Different scenarios
Similar features
Similar Features
Existing
trafficking types
increase
New, exploitation
types arise
Protection GAP UN
Cluster System
CT needs to be
included
Donors’ different
priorities
CT not yet seen as a
priority in
Emergency;
Understanding of
THB in crisis?

12. DETAILS
Crisis situations can exacerbate existing vulnerabilities to, and
manifestations of, trafficking in persons
Crisis- induced forms of trafficking emerge
Displacement and mobility create additional risk factors to broader
abuse and exploitation
Trafficking in persons is not a side effect of crises but often directly
interrelated
Trafficking in persons and prevention of exploitation are best
addressed at the onset of the humanitarian crisis response
Yet….. counter-trafficking and protection of vulnerable migrants
remain at the margins of humanitarian response efforts

13. Trafficking: Exploitation Types
 Some forms of Gender Based Violence
 Slavery or practices similar to slavery
 Forced/bonded labour
 Sexual exploitation
 Organs removal
 Etc.

14. Evidence gathered from
Past Crisis: Affected Populations
Local
Communities
Host
Communities
Migrant workers
Returnees
Asylum Seekers
Refugees
IDPs
Shifting levels of Vulnerability,
Risk, Exposure…
Within these groups,
some are/become perpetuators
of violence and abuse

15. Cycles of Concern:
1. Before:
• Creation of a national
prevention system
• Definition of a National
Referral Mechanism
• LE officers trained/CT
Unit:
• VoT identification
• Investigation
• Referral
• Judiciary must be
trained
2. Outset /
During
• CT expert from the
outset to include CT in
the Global Appeal
• Assessment of crisis-
affected population:
DTM
• Specialized CT in Crisis
Experts Team to work
hand in hand with
Protection Experts
3. After:
• Build on the action
taken/learn from
mistakes/ and translate
lessons learnt into
policy
• Build the preparedness
capacity of local actors
in case of a new crisis

16. Past 10 years:
Smuggling connected to Trafficking of migrants arriving in Italy –
well known
Recent Crisis:
Egyptian unaccompanied children in Greece: DEBT BONDAGE
Nigeria girls in Italy: SEXUAL SLAVERY (80% of arrivals)
Others?
Smugglers allow migrants to pay their services once at
destination
Current Migration Crisis in Europe:
Trafficking Cases

17. Current Migration Crisis in Europe:
HT and Exploitation practices prevalence
•7.2% of respondents answered ‘yes’ to one of the trafficking and exploitation indicators.
An additional 1.4% of respondents had said a member of their family travelling with them
had experienced situations captured by one of the trafficking and exploitation indicators.
• Rates of positive response to a trafficking or exploitation indicator were higher amongst
primarily Afghans but also Syrians, Iraqis and Pakistanis.
• Rates of positive response to a trafficking or exploitation indicator were higher amongst
men, with exception of offers to arrange marriage.
• Rates of positive response to a trafficking or exploitation indicator were higher amongst
single people and those where the marital status is unknown.
• Rates of positive response to a trafficking or exploitation indicator were higher amongst
younger respondents, with the majority being between 20 and 30.
•Rates of positive response to a trafficking or other exploitative practices indicator were
higher amongst those travelling alone.

18. Current Migration Crisis in Europe:
Preliminary results HT and Exploitation prevalence
• 3.4% of respondents reported having worked or performed other activities during the journey without
getting the payment they thought they would get. An additional 0.5% said that they had not
experienced this but a member of their family had.
• 1.7% of respondents reported that they had been forced to perform work or other activities against
their will during their journey. An additional 0.4% said that they had not experienced this but a
member of their family had.
• 2.2% of respondents reported being approached during their journey by someone offering
employment. An additional 0.4% said that they had not experienced this but a member of their
family had.
• 0.8% of respondents reported being approached by someone offering to arrange a marriage (for the
respondent or close family member – child or sibling). An additional 0.3% said that they had not
experienced this but a member of their family had.
• 0.9% of respondents reported that they knew of instances during their journey where people on the
journey had been approached by someone offering cash in exchange for giving blood, organs or a
body part.
• 2% of respondents reported being held at a location against their will during their journey by parties
other than any relevant governmental authorities. An additional 0.3% said that they had not
experienced this but a member of their family had.

19. Global Outlook (IOM Assistance Data)
• 6 985 victims of trafficking worldwide – of which almost 10 % in Europe
• Top 10 CoO: Myanmar; Uzbekistan; Ukraine; Belarus; Bangladesh; Haiti;
Nigeria (Lagos + Abuja), Ethiopia; Cambodia; Kyrgyzstan and Philippines.
• Top 10 CoD: Russian Federation; Indonesia; Kazakhstan, Haiti; Belarus;
United States of America; Lebanon; Turkey; Thailand & Poland
• Types of exploitation: Forced labour: 59%; Sexual exploitation 17%;
Domestic work 13%; Combined sexual & labour 5%; Forced begging : 2%
• By cross referencing its global data, we can identify prominent “corridors”
for HT (the largest being Myanmar nationals exploited in Indonesia),
interesting to note that the 6th most important corridor worldwide
is between Nigeria – Italy.

20. Regional Outlook (IOM assistance data)
In the EU IOM assisted 662 VoTs in 2015:
• Vast majority females (79%)
• Close to 1 in 10 victim assisted was a child
• The predominant exploitation type - sexual exploitation (48% of
cases)
• Forced labour (34 % of cases)
• Main nationalities were Ukrainians (24% - largely due to a corridor
with Poland), Nigerians (23%), Romanians (20%) and to a lesser
extent Bulgarians (8%) and Hungarians (3%)
• % of Roma among VoTs is extremely high – e.g. Bulgaria Roma
pop. = less than 10%, but more than 50% of all identified victims
are of Roma origin (2010 report)

21. WHAT ABOUT TRAFFICKERS?
Understanding the behaviors, motivations and operations of perpetrators is vital in any
effort to prevent and combat the crime of human trafficking.
The definition of “trafficker” is often imprecise. Sufficient distinction is not always made
in research between the different roles in the process – i.e. recruiter, broker, document
processor, transporter, controller, exploiter, etc. This creates confusion in
understanding and identification of traffickers. Ex. UNOHCHR’s Recommended
Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking:
“…recruiters; transporters; those who exercise control over trafficked persons; those
who transfer and/or maintain trafficked persons in exploitative situations; those
involved in related crimes; and those who profit either directly or indirectly from
trafficking, its component acts and related offences.”
The information on traffickers comes primarily from victims but is limited due to
different factors :
- Specific experience of the particular victim thus of a certain subset/group of traffickers
- No information on the trafficking operations and all actors involved (usually only low
level)
- Due to fear of consequences or trauma – victims doesn’t reveal all the information
- Ethical considerations when interviewing the victim - trauma, fear and stress already
experienced by victim and consequences that may arise from revealing the information
if being asked about traffickers. May break trust with service providers.

22. Relying primarily on trafficked victims to study traffickers involves substantial
biases and selection effects, which influence our knowledge of traffickers.
To understand better traffickers and their operations, new sources of
information and new methods and approaches need to be explored.
It is important to collaborate with law enforcement – investigations documents
, court documents might show additional information on traffickers motivations,
identity, etc.
Little research s done with trafficker but proves to be useful although difficult
and high risk (organized crime groups)
Source: “Traffickers and trafficking. Challenges in researching human traffickers and trafficking
operations” IOM and NEXUS Institute, 2014
WHAT ABOUT TRAFFICKERS?

23. CASE STUDIES

24. Nigerian Women in Italy
• Total of Nigerian migrants arriving in the country - 19.576 Nigerians as of 31 October
2015, of which 4.937 are women and 901 are unaccompanied minors.
• 2778 of Nigerian victims of human trafficking were identified by IOM (Data from April
2014- Oct.2015).
• There is a substantial increase in the number of under-age victims. Due to
young age and inexperience, the girls are more easily manipulated and less likely
to search for help.
• Most of women are trafficked for sexual exploitation.
• Recent arrivals were in increasingly numerous groups confirms the suspicion that the
irregular routes across the Mediterranean (migrant smuggling) are increasingly
intertwined with trafficking in human beings.
• The instability of the origin countries, high “demand” for sexual services in Europe and
the links of foreign criminal organizations (including Nigerian like Eye, Aye
secessionists, or Black Axe) to the local realities in many European countries
significantly favor the HT and smuggling.

25. Recruitment and the journey:
• Girls being trafficked originate from the poorest areas of Nigeria, predominantly the villages
neighboring Benin City, and belong to particularly disadvantaged families.
• Before leaving, most Nigerian women undergo a voodoo ritual that contributes to burden
the woman both symbolically and morally. The ritual aims to scare them into silence and to
make sure that they will repay the debt contracted in order to reach Europe. The amount
typically owed is between EUR 20,000 and EUR 50,000.
• Many women were promised legal jobs as domestic workers, hairdressers, or waitresses.
Even though some were aware of the sexual exploitation they would be subject to, none of
them had imagined the level of brutal exploitation and abuses they would suffer.
• On the way to Europe, when crossing Libya women are subjected to sexual violence,
torture, kidnappings and arrests.
• There is a registered number of pregnant women arriving in Italy, often a consequence
of sexual abuse and rape. It is quite common that upon arrival women declare being
married to one of the traffickers.
Arrival:
• Women usually bring Italian or European telephone number which they call or women know
they have to call a Libyan or Nigerian contact who will provide them with the Italian or
European contact.
• Once in Italy, migrant women are forced into prostitution or begging.
It has been discovered that there is a substantial expansion of the trafficking of
Nigerian women in Europe, not only in Italy.
Nigerian Women in Italy

26. Egyptian Unaccompanied Migrant Children
In mid-August 2015, a group of migrants and refugees departed by boat from Balteem, Kafr el-
Sheikh governorate, in Egypt with the intention to arrive in Italy. Out of the 240 migrants on
board, 183 were Egyptian, out of which 132 (73%) were UMCs. The boat got into distress at
sea, and an SOS signal was sent by satellite phone. The International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC) received the SOS signal . A nearby commercial ship responded to the distress
signal, and handed the rescued migrants to Greek authorities on the island of Crete. The 133
UMCs were registered and identified by Greek law enforcement. IOM Egypt assessed and
interviewed children. The findings:
• In rural Egypt- a broker (semsar) facilitates irregular migration.
• The parents or relatives make arrangements to pay for smuggling services upon the safe
arrival of the child. An average of approximately USD 3,500 is the price of irregular entry for
Egyptian children to EU.
• Irregular migration of Egyptian children is strongly situated in the age group of from 14 to 17
years.
• Among the factors to migrate are: wish to financially support their family in Egypt by sending
remittances, weak Egyptian education system, support the marriage of a family member or
sibling(s), other socio-cultural variables in the decision to migrate.
• The journey represents a traumatized experience for children, causing psychological and
physical consequences
• 36 %of the UMCs articulated the desire to return home.
• 45 out of 132 children left protective shelters already during the first week of their stay to
migrate onward through Macedonia and Serbia towards Italy and Germany.

27. 27
PROPOSED RESPONSE

28. The response to human trafficking and related abuses against
vulnerable populations in times of crisis should be:
Considered as a life-saving protection
activity
• Operationalized and fully integrated before, during
and after a crisis.
• Systematically incorporated into assessment,
monitoring and funding mechanisms.

29. Smuggling of Migrants Response
 Mitigate ‘push’ factors
 Promote stability, create education and employment opportunities
 Information campaigns on the risks of migrant smuggling and legal
alternatives
 Help migrants in distress and save lives
• Search and rescue operations
• Humane and dignified reception
• Assist migrants in detention – develop alternatives to detention
• Access to services
• Create alternative means for migration
• labor migration, resettlement, humanitarian admission
• Awareness raising on the benefits of migration
 Prosecute migrant smuggling
 Improve legal framework and its implementation
 Enhance international, regional and inter-regional cooperation of law
enforcement agencies (see ‘Bali Process’)

30. Trafficking in Human Beings Response
The key consideration of all anti-trafficking responses is the “4-P’s”
framework: prevention, protection, prosecution and
partnership/coordination.
Evidence demonstrates that prevention of human trafficking: is not only
“informing potential victims” (campaigns, information sharing) but creating
opportunities in the communities and countries of origin (addressing the
root causes of trafficking) as well as creating opportunities for legal migration
channels ( study, work, family reunification, international protection etc).
is to improve quality of prosecution – have all involved work together on
one side Police, Prosecutors and Judiciary – on the other side Lawyers
representing Victims, Victims and their right to unconditional access to
Assistance and Protection at individual and family level as well as respecting
the principle of non-punishment and non-prosecution

31. Responding to irregular migration:
Traditional Pre-frontier responses include:
•Information campaigns
•Visa requirements
•Pre-boarding documentation checks (country of origin/transit)
•Advance passenger information systems, alert lists
•Re-entry bans
•Carrier sanctions
•Punitive measures against human smugglers
•Continuous risk analysis, intelligence gathering, information exchange
Border management responses include
•Strengthening borders (fences, electronic surveillance)
•Strengthened border patrols, controls, inspections
•Documents with enhanced security/biometric features
•Training for border guards
Post - arrival measures
•Detention
•Workplace inspections
•Employer sanctions
•Restrictions on the right to work, access to housing, social welfare benefits
•Forced return (trough a readmission agreement or without it)

32. Comprehensive facilitation policies
•Opening more regular channels for migration
•Amnesty / regularization for irregular workers
•Assisted voluntary return and reintegration (as part of functioning
migration management and asylum systems)
•Regional mobility schemes
•Regional cooperation and cooperation with countries of transit and
origin

33. Concluding Remarks
Restrictive policies increase the demand for migrant smuggling services,
drive up the fees and push smugglers to change their routes.
→ The migrant smuggling business is unlikely to be stopped by restrictive
policies without alternative legal avenues for migration.
With Trafficking in Human beings we have already observed that restrictive
policies have led traffickers to change their modus operandi and use regular
migration channels.
→The trafficking in human beings business is unlikely to decrease unless
further actions are taken to mitigate the root causes / vulnerability of at-risk
populations as well as demand reduction
→Heavy reliance on victims of trafficking as the primary (and sometimes even
sole) source of information on traffickers is in need of adjustment due to it’s
limitations. More research needed.

34. 3434
Thank you for your attention!
Irina Todorova,
Regional Thematic Specialist on Assistance to Vulnerable
Migrants,
IOM Regional office for the EEA, the EU and NATO,
Brussels
itodorova@iom.int