The EU and Niger fight against human trafficking and smuggling at borders

The International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP), together with the National Police, have organized the “Meeting of the Joint Investigation Team – human trafficking and smuggling across borders” that took place from 1 to 12 July in Algeciras, Tarifa, Ceuta and Madrid as part of the ECI Niger project. 

The project, financed by the European Union Trust Fund for Africa and managed by FIIAPP, is being developed in association with specialists from the National Police Forces of Spain and France. 

For the first time, the Spanish National Police and tFIIAPP set up an operational meeting to raise awareness of the work between law enforcement agencies and organisations that participate in the initial reception process for migrants and asylum seekers. 

The meeting, whose organisers include the Department of Immigration Affairs and Borders, through the National Centre for Immigration and Borders, has been divided into two phases: The first, from 1 to 7 July, consisted of the team moving to border posts in Algeciras, Tarifa and Ceuta. In this first phase, participants had the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of one of the stages that irregular migrants have to go through, and which can see them become involved in human trafficking and smuggling networks.   The Niger delegation was also able to share the challenges and experiences that they experience daily in a transit country such as Niger with the National Police personnel stationed at the border posts. 

In the second phase of the meeting from 8 to 12 July, the team travelled to Madrid to continue the technical-operational training in the offices of the Department of Immigration Affairs and Borders, at Adolfo Suárez airport and at FIIAPP headquarters, where specific workshops on gender and human rights were held in collaboration with organisations such as the Red Cross and Save the Children. 

The meeting underlined not only the exchange of good practices in the fight against migrant smuggling networks in Niger, but also the methods of collecting, processing and analysing the information used to dismantle the aforementioned networks.