c) Distinction from migrant smuggling

In practice, trafficking in human beings and migrant smuggling are crimes that are frequently confused, although they do not refer to the same realities. These two forms of crime are both the subject of separate Protocols, in addition to the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (the so-called “Twin Protocols”):

the Protocol against Trafficking in Persons (Palermo Protocol)
the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air : Smuggling of migrants is defined in article 3 as the procurement, in order to obtain (directly or indirectly) a financial or material benefit, of the illegal entry into a State Party of a person who is not a national or permanent resident of that State.

Thus, migrant smuggling is a crime committed against a State, while trafficking is a crime committed against a person.

Distinctions between these two crimes:

	HUMAN TRAFFICKING	MIGRANT SMUGGLING
ACTIONS	Traffickers can transport their victims from one place to another within the same country or abroad, but they can also house them, recruit them, etc. They are proactive and usually make initial contact with the victim by promising a better future and various opportunities (employment, education, security…).	Smugglers transport migrants to the country of destination and organize the crossing of international borders. It is usually the migrant who contacts the smuggler (especially through social media) in order to organize his or her journey to the destination country or continent.
MEANS	Traffickers use pressure tactics such as force, coercion, abuse, deception or manipulation.	The migrant establishes a direct contact and transaction with the smuggler of his own free will: he consents and no pressure is used against him.
GOAL	The purpose of trafficking is always the exploitation of one or more persons.	The goal of smugglers is to generate profit from the transportation of migrants and the organization of international border crossings.
TRANSNA-TIONAL	Trafficking occurs both within and outside the victim’s country of origin. Crossing borders can be legal.	Human trafficking systematically involves the illegal crossing of one or more international borders.

While the two crimes should not be confused, they are closely linked. Indeed, smugglers who are paid to organize the transit of migrants may expose them to increased risks of human trafficking. People on the move are particularly vulnerable. They face these risks during the precarious and perilous crossings organized by smugglers, and also once they arrive clandestinely in destination countries. Smugglers may put migrants in direct contact with traffickers or even exploit them themselves.

These crimes are also linked to broader socio-economic and political issues that need to be addressed (e.g. migration, global inequalities, unequal access to decent work opportunities, restrictive migration policies, national and international security issues, national and transnational crime, and terrorism).

Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, adopted on November 15, 2000 | FR | EN | ES

The identification of victims of human trafficking in transit and destination countries in Europe

A practical guideline for front line workers, p.14