Current_Trends_and_Related_Challenges_web

Current Trends and Challenges
2. Smuggling of migrants in South-West Asia
2.1 Overview
High levels of irregular migration occur within
South-West Asia and from South-West Asia to
destinations in Europe, the Gulf region, and
Oceania. Although irregular movements within
the region and between South-West Asia and
the Gulf region are not always — but certainly to
some extent — facilitated by smugglers, irregular
migration from South-West Asia to destinations
in Europe and Oceania is generally facilitated by
smugglers.
Afghanistan is one of the most significant source
countries for irregular migrants in South-West
Asia, with particularly large numbers of migrants
moving primarily to Pakistan, followed by the
Islamic Republic of Iran. 1 Many irregular migrants,
some facilitated by smugglers, initially move to
neighbouring Islamic Republic of Iran or Pakistan,
which are home to vast Afghan communities.
According to estimates in a 2013 report,
approximately 2.7 million irregular migrants
from Afghanistan live in Pakistan. 2 Figures for the
Islamic Republic of Iran are not available.
Afghan nationals also migrate irregularly to the
Gulf region and to India, although the extent
to which these movements are facilitated by
smugglers is not known. 3 A few reports indicated
that Afghan migrants are also smuggled to
neighbouring China, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and
Uzbekistan. 4
Irregular migration of Afghan nationals to
countries in Western Europe and Australia is
mostly organized by smugglers. Until late 2013,
Australia was a popular destination country for
Afghan nationals, judging by the apprehending
of 4,243 smuggled migrants in 2012 and 1,826
smuggled migrants between 1 January and 30
June 2013, as shown in Table 6. 5
The available research literature reveals Austria,
France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and the United
Kingdom as principal destinations for Afghan
migrants smuggled to Europe. 6 Greece and
other Scandinavian countries are also significant
destinations for irregular Afghan migrants. 7
In 2012, European authorities recorded 12,169
irregular border crossings by Afghan nationals
into European Union Member States, down
from 22,992 in 2011 and 25,918 in 2010. 8 In
2012, 24,395 Afghan nationals were found to
be illegally residing in European Union Member
States, compared with 25,294 in 2011 and
21,104 in 2010. 9 Many of the detections were
in Greece, where 12,390 Afghan nationals were
1 Jan.–
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
30 June 2013
Total 977 1 620 1 311 3 082 3 321 920
Austria
By land 977 1 620 1 311 3 082 3 321 920
Germany Total 495 1 805 1 970 3 037 2 897
Total 2 574 1 885 2 731 3 363 2 528 624
By land 2 500 1 440 1 029 1 179 770 244
Italy
By sea 62 431 1 701 2 179 1 748 377
By air 12 14 1 5 10 3
United Kingdom Total 3 090 4 120 15 501 1 330 1 110
2013 on the smuggling of migrants in Asia.
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