Today, the Minister of Justice, Mr. Vincent Van Quickenborne, officially launched the campaign in Liège. On this occasion, he inaugurated the new telephone number - 078 055 800 - of the Belgian helpline for victims of human trafficking.

With this awareness campaign entitled "Working together in the fight against human smuggling – Help save lives!", the Police want to encourage both nautical equipment dealers and citizens to report suspicious purchases or movements on the beach to the police via 112, via the 112 app or directly via the 101. 

Today, in the Committee on Justice of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne announced that Mr. Klaus Vanhoutte, former director of Payoke and one of the experts of the Special Committee on Trafficking in Human Beings and People Smuggling, had been recruited and appointed as national coordinator for the fight against human trafficking and smuggling.

The special parliamentary Commission tasked to assess the Belgian legislation and policy on trafficking in and smuggling of human beings adopted today 100 recommendations dealing with various forms of exploitation such as economic exploitation, sexual exploitation, the exploitation of begging, forced criminality, illegal adoption, and forced marriage.

During a press conference at the maritime police in Ostend, the Minister of Justice, Vincent Van Quickenborne, said that the strong approach towards human smugglers has led to a 90% drop in transit migrants to the UK.

The UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2022 was published today. It shows inter alia that climate change increases vulnerability to trafficking and that armed conflicts are another breeding ground for trafficking.

The Conference allowed participants to gain insight into legal provisions against labour exploitation and to examine the role of different actors in upholding the rights of foreign workers. Good practices and lessons learnt from selected countries were presented and discussed.

Today the English translation of the latest report on Human Trafficking and Smuggling from Myria was published. The 2018 report focuses on underage victims of trafficking and smuggling of human beings.

On 12 December 2018, the Belgian contact point of the EMN organized its annual asylum and migration policy event in which recent national and EU developments in the field of international protection, legal migration and integration and irregular migration, human trafficking and return were discussed. 

Europol launched a new report about child trafficking. It provides a comprehensive view on who the victims are and who the criminal networks are that trafficking the children in and into the EU. 

On the 31st of May and 1st of June, the Bulgarian Contact Point of the EMN - in the framework of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council - organized the EMN Annual Conference. The conference was dedicated to  challenges and success factors in managing migration flows. 

Two United Nations agencies are joining forces to combat migrant smuggling. They organized an event centering on a Joint Platform on Countering Migrant Smuggling.

Today, the Belgian Minister of Home Affairs, the Belgian State Secretary for Asylum Policy and Migration met with the British Home Secretary in London to discuss the issue of transit migration.

Today, Frontex published its Risk Analysis for 2018, which concentrates on the scope of Frontex operational activities and, in particular, on irregular migration at the external borders of the EU and Schengen Associated Countries.

Today the Commission adopted a new communication requiring immediate action from the EU and Member States to disrupt the modus operandi of traffickers, strengthen victims' rights and intensify EU internal and external efforts to provide a coordinated and consistent response.

Belgium has made progress in a number of areas to combat human trafficking and has managed a considerable number of convictions of perpetrators. Improvements are expected inter alia to enhance the identification of child victims and prevent the disappearances of unaccompanied children. 

On the 26th of October 2017 the general policy note on asylum and migration of the State Secretary for Asylum and Migration was published. The policy note provides an overview of the main achievements and priorities in the field of asylum and migration.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), published data on recent arrivals in Europe.  Compared with the 273,000 migrants who landed from January through Aug. 27, 2016, about 121,000 arrived during the same period this year. Furthermore, there was no evidence of any migrant dying in the Mediterranean since Aug. 9

A tribunal in Brussels sentenced eight persons to suspended 15-month prison sentences and a €165,000 fine for trafficking in human beings and degrading treatment.

Today, the Belgian Louise-Marie frigate departed from the port of Zeebrugge, starting its deployment in the Mediterranean sea in the framework of the EUNAVFOR MED – Sophia operation. The deployment will last until 28 July.

As from today, potential victims of trafficking are issued an annex 15 valid for 45 days during the reflection period, following modification of article 61/2 §2 of the Immigration Act.

Ahead of the meeting of Heads of State or Government in Malta on 3 February 2017, the Commission and the High Representative/Vice-President have set out their contribution to the discussion on how to better manage migration and save lives along the Central Mediterranean route.

Today the Commission is reporting on progress in the fight against trafficking in human beings. The report presents trends, progress and challenges in this field. Efforts must be stepped up to effectively fight this phenomenon.

Today, key Belgian stakeholders in the fight against migrant smuggling discussed inter alia the use of social media in migrant smuggling at a round-table organized by the Belgian Contact Point of the EMN.

The Council conclusions on migrant smuggling were adopted by the Council at its 3455th meeting held on 10-11 March 2016