Council of Europe Joins UK Border Security Summit

Gianluca Esposito, the Director General of Human Rights and Rule of Law at the Council of Europe, spoke at the Border Security Summit in London, emphasizing the need to combat migrant smuggling while ensuring the protection of fundamental human rights.

The Summit, organized by the UK Home Office and held at Lancaster House on March 31 and April 1, gathered representatives from over 40 countries and international organizations to discuss strategies for tackling organized immigration crime and the networks that facilitate migrant smuggling.

Esposito underscored the importance of aligning criminal laws across jurisdictions, implementing stricter penalties for smugglers, and strengthening international collaboration between law enforcement agencies and judicial bodies. He also announced that the Council of Europe is preparing a new legal framework in the coming months to address and prevent migrant smuggling more effectively.

To support these efforts, the Council of Europe has established a Network of Prosecutors specializing in migrant smuggling, created 26 migration country profiles—available online—to provide insights into national policies, and promoted the use of existing Council of Europe conventions on cybercrime and digital evidence to disrupt financial networks linked to smuggling operations.

Beyond security measures, Esposito stressed the necessity of a migration policy rooted in human rights, in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights and other relevant international agreements.