Across the world, countries are facing increasingly complex challenges related to irregular migration, driven by humanitarian disasters, conflict, political instability, and economic inequality. People smugglers facilitate the illegal entry of others into foreign countries through a range of methods, including producing or providing fraudulent travel or identity documents, bribing officials, and arranging secret transport across international borders. These complex criminal networks exploit individuals seeking better opportunities, charging high fees for dangerous journeys and exposing people to further risks, including trafficking in persons.
In this context, the Bali Process plays a vital role in strengthening cooperation and dialogue among Members and Observers. By tackling criminal networks, upholding migrant rights, supporting registration and integration, and reducing exploitation, the Bali Process helps countries respond more effectively to the evolving challenges of irregular migration.
Countering People Smuggling
People smuggling occurs across all regions of the world, affecting countries of origin, transit, and destination alike. Yet, there are no reliable global statistics on the number of people smuggled. The hidden and illicit nature of the activity, coupled with the absence of comprehensive data collection and reporting systems, makes the scale of the problem extremely difficult to measure.
Smuggling is a highly profitable enterprise for criminal groups. Smugglers and networks exploit the desperation of individuals and families fleeing poverty, armed conflict, persecution, natural disasters, and humanitarian crises. In exchange for high fees, they promise passage to safety and opportunity, but often deliver only danger. Journeys are typically illegal and extremely hazardous, leaving people exposed to violence, exploitation, and abandonment. Those who are smuggled are placed in highly vulnerable situations, where they may fall victim to other crimes, including human trafficking.
Beyond its human cost, people smuggling fuels the operations of powerful criminal networks, generates vast illicit profits, undermines border security, erodes public trust in migration systems, and destabilizes regions. It is a crime with profound humanitarian, security, and governance consequences.
Recognizing people smuggling as a serious organized crime is therefore essential. Addressing it requires stronger legal frameworks, coordinated international cooperation, and victim-centered approaches. In this regard, the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime has become the central forum in the region for developing collaborative solutions. Bringing together over 45 member states and international organizations, the Bali Process fosters dialogue, information-sharing, and practical cooperation to strengthen border management, disrupt smuggling networks, and protect vulnerable people on the move. As a platform for regional coordination and collective action, the Bali Process is a key pillar in the fight against people smuggling.
©Jo Aigner
Border and Migration Management
Challenges related to geography, fragmented systems, limited resources, and corruption often converge at borders, weakening the effectiveness of border management and security frameworks. These vulnerabilities are frequently exploited by those involved in human trafficking and migrant smuggling, whose sophisticated and continually evolving operations make it difficult for governments to respond effectively. In this context, the work of the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime is critical.
By promoting regional cooperation, capacity-building, and the sharing of best practices, the Bali Process helps member countries strengthen border integrity, enhance detection and interdiction efforts, and address the complex, cross-border nature of trafficking and smuggling networks. This collaborative approach supports governments in anticipating and adapting to emerging threats, ensuring that border and migration management frameworks remain resilient in the face of increasingly sophisticated criminal activity.
