NCJ Number
184029
Date Published
August 2000
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the nature and extent of "people smuggling" and its threat to Australia, along with Australia's and global initiatives to combat it.
Abstract
Undocumented migration involves persons entering a country that is not their country of origin without the proper authority. When migrants are assisted in this process by a third party or parties, it is generally referred to as smuggling or trafficking. Recent trends show that illegal migration to Australia is increasing. Impacts include the increasing involvement of organized crime in people smuggling, the influence on local ethnic tensions, the economic threat posed by work forces composed of illegal immigrants, and security issues related to tensions in international relations as a result of government responses to people smuggling. Australia's Federal Government has implemented legislation and various policies to address the issues of human smuggling and undocumented migration generally. Human smuggling is, however, a transnational activity. As such, it cannot be stopped by the activities of one country alone. Domestic efforts to stem the activities of smugglers will have little effect without the cooperation of origin and transit countries. United Nations efforts include the Draft United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols, as well as the United National Global Program Against Trafficking in Human Beings, which aims to bring to the forefront the involvement of organized crime groups in human smuggling and trafficking, as well as the promotion of the development of effective criminal justice responses to these problems.