1
Asymmetries in national regulations and enforcement practices cause the displacement of migration flows to more lenient jurisdictions
Displacement Convergence
2
The anti-human smuggling measures analyzed by the FLOWS project did not cause the displacement of targets: the nationalities of the victims of human smuggling did not change before and after the actions considered
3
Enforcement policies (e.g. stronger control of the Libyan coasts) often make migration journeys more dangerous by causing human smugglers to modify their modi operandi (e.g. more overcrowded boats abandoned in international waters)
4
Less stringent admission criteria for immigration, enlarged family reunification conditions, and the chance to register for self-employed work in destination countries reduce opportunities for human smuggling and related crimes, such as corruption and money laundering. Conversely, more stringent policies may cause migrants to resort to human smugglers
5
Migrations to Europe and North Africa are partially independent. Many migrants leave their countries of origin with the intention of settling down in North Africa without reaching Europe. Therefore, anti-human smuggling policies implemented along European boarders only partially affect migration to North Africa
6
Corruption influences the displacement of drug trafficking from one country to another as traffickers seek the most corrupted environments to obtain protection against arrests and seizures
7
North African drug trafficking routes are changing because of the increase in the smuggling of cocaine and opioids coming from South America and Asia
8
Transnational crimes have emerged, over the centuries, in those areas of the Mediterranean where governance is weak and there is a high tolerance of corruption and illicit trade
9
Specific convergence between human smuggling and other transnational crimes is episodic. It changes across time, space, and in relation to the type of goods being trafficked.
10
Exceptional episodes of convergence between human smuggling and other transnational crimes (e.g. trafficking of drug or licit goods) are mainly spatial (e.g. use of the same routes), tactical (e.g. use of the same concealment system), or related to offenders (e.g. groups engaged in human smuggling begin to traffic illicit goods)
11
Cocaine flows have recently started to converge along routes traditionally used to traffic cannabis
12
More data are needed in relation to the convergence of transnational crimes. While FLOWS Project has piloted the issue of crime convergence, greater knowledge and resources are required to test how this phenomenon works on the ground