Tunis, 21 May 2024— The Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Tunisia, Naif University of Security Sciences (NAUSS), and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are co-hosting the Arab Forum to Curb Migrant Smuggling and to Promote Safe and Regular Migration Pathways from 21 to 23 May 2024 in Tunis, Tunisia. The forum will discuss coordinated and integrated responses to counter migrant smuggling and promote safe and regular migration pathways.

The Forum brings together officials and experts to discuss best practices in countering migrant smuggling, inter-state cooperation for safer migration, and enhancement of regular migration pathways, as well as interventions to protect migrants who have or are at risk of being smuggled.“Our country has adopted an approach rooted in deepening communication and cooperation with our sister nations, regional and international organizations, and agencies," said Mr. Kamal El-Feki, Tunisian Minister of Interior.

"We look forward to enhancing this cooperation and diversifying its avenues, aiming to solidify the international efforts made to combat irregular migration, curb migrant smuggling, and boost joint efforts to promote safe and regular migration pathways—one of the most asserted rights guaranteed by international law," he added.

The large-scale smuggling of migrants across borders in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region represents a serious threat to migration governance, national security, and the economic well-being of migrants in the respective countries. 

Many migrants resort to smugglers when they do not have the option or access to regular pathways or when information on regular migration options is not readily available.

To this end, Objective 9 of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration (GCM) defines three clear goals: preventing smuggling, ensuring smuggled migrants are not criminalized, and ending the impunity of smuggling networks.

The Forum is organized under the agreement between IOM-NAUSS through the Arab Center for Technical Cooperation in Migration and Border Management and in partnership with Tunisian authorities, underscoring the importance of conducting a regional workshop on counter-migrant smuggling to be hosted in Tunis.

“Today's forum aims to present the best international and national practices in combating the smuggling of migrants, investigating it, disrupting it, and prosecuting its perpetrators, as well as discussing protection measures and facilitating the access of migrants, who have been smuggled, to health and other services,” said Mr. Khalid bin Abdulaziz Alharfash, Secretary of the Naif Arab University for Security Sciences (NAUSS) Supreme Council & Vice-President for External Relations.

“The forum also seeks to advance the exchange of information and sensitive data between Arab countries, discuss joint research on the same topic, explore existing international cooperation mechanisms, and develop further cooperation within the Arab region,” he added.

NAUSS and IOM have two memorandums of understanding signed in 2011 and renewed in 2019. These were included in the University’s annual work program for the year 2024. They aim to facilitate the promotion of coordinated and integrated responses to counter migrant smuggling and promote safe and regular migration pathways in collaboration with authorities and regional bodies.

IOM’s Strategic Plan (2024-2028) includes facilitating pathways for regular migration as one of the three strategic objectives. In this framework, IOM works with partners to make existing and new regular pathways accessible and inclusive to enable more individuals to benefit from opportunities for development and protection.

“Managing borders in an integrated and safe manner while ensuring border workers' and travelers' quality of life is essential to effectively regulate international migration,” said Mr. Othman Belbeisi, IOM Regional Director for the MENA region “The International Organization for Migration (IOM) commends the efforts of Arab states to strengthen cooperation mechanisms and joint efforts, and this event is an example of the ongoing coordination mechanisms launched within the framework of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers,” he added.

About the Arab Center for Technical Cooperation in Migration and Border Management - The center is hosted by NAUSS on its campus and aims at strengthening joint efforts to support the efforts of the international community in combating organized crime, by implementing the updated Arab Security Strategy approved by the Council of Arab Ministers of Interior in its 32nd session dated 2015, which stipulated strengthening cooperation with international organizations and bodies specialized in various security fields.

About IOM—The International Organization for Migration (IOM), established in 1951, works to help ensure the orderly and humane management of migration, promote international cooperation on migration issues, assist in the search for practical solutions to migration problems, and provide humanitarian assistance to migrants in need, including refugees and internally displaced people.

For further information, please contact:

In Cairo: Tamim Elyan at telyan@iom.int

In Tunisia: Balkis Afifa Boussetta at bboussetta@iom.int