Joint cross-border meeting, consultations, exchange of experience and operational challenges on combating trafficking in human beings and migrant smuggling

10-11 May 2023

 

The EuroMed Justice Programme organized at Eurojust on 10-11 May 2023 a joint meeting of high-level criminal justice and law enforcement officials specialised in the fight against trafficking in human beings (THB) and smuggling of migrants in Israel and Jordan.

The objective of the meeting was two folded. Operational, to discuss the situation of the woman originating from Ethiopia and Eritrea trafficked through the border with Jordan into Israel for labour and sexual exploitation and strategic,  to initiate the discussion for the conclusion of a bilateral cooperation agreement between Israel and Jordan judicial authorities in the area of THB.

To support the discussion experts from The Netherlands, the Chair of the Eurojust College Working Group on anti-trafficking and JITs Secretariat representative shared their expertise,  tools and professional experience in combating THB and smuggling of migrants.

This important activity was organised under the EMJ 2022-25 Strategy and Action plan on migrant smuggling to create and maintain connections between the criminal justice authorities from South Partner Countries with their counterparts from EU Member States. For this purpose, EMJ Programme is facilitating the dialogue and operational contacts among EMJ stakeholders to explore the possibility to set up operational groups on countering THB corresponding to the geographically criminal realities observed on the ground and to jointly debate and identify practical solutions, facilitate first contact, expedite judicial cooperation.