Migrants and refugees also face increased hostility toward migration, xenophobia and barriers to repatriation, leaving many stuck in a foreign countries. More than 70% of migrants surveyed in Niger, Malaysia and Tunisia reported that smugglers are using more dangerous paths. Human smuggling is distinct from human trafficking in that smuggling involves a mutual agreement between two willing parties or entities, while human trafficking implies some sort of coercion, threat or abduction. In some cases smuggling can still be exploitive or even lead to human trafficking, but the majority of smuggling does not, according to the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, GI-TOC. Senior Analyst for GI-TOC, Lucia Bird Ruiz-Benítez de Lugo, described human smuggling as existing on a continuum, and cautioned against classifying all smugglers in the same way.

Source: The North Africa Journal January 27, 2021 22:41 UTC