Definición del delito

El artículo 3 a) del Protocolo contra el Tráfico Ilícito de Migrantes (examinado también en la sección Derecho y principios internacionales del presente capítulo) define el tráfico de migrantes e invita a los Estados a alinear su definición del delito con el acto y el fin indicados en el cuadro 2.

Table
Table 2. Elements of the crime of migrant smuggling
ACT PURPOSE
  • The procurement of illegal entry of a person, into a State of which that person is not a national or resident
  • To obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit (this can include non-financial gratification such as work or sexual benefits)

Article 6(1) of the United Nations Smuggling of Migrants Protocol also requires States Parties to criminalize the acts shown in Table 3.

Table
ACT PURPOSE
  • Offences related to Fraudulent documents (producing, procuring, providing or possessing of fraudulent travel or identify documents for the purpose of migrant smuggling)

 

  • The enabling of illegal stay for financial or other material benefit
  • To obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit

The humanitarian exemption

While the United Nations Smuggling of Migrants Protocol requires a financial or other material benefit as an element to establish the crime, some States do not include this in their national definition. This is a risk for humanitarian actors who help migrants to cross borders irregularly for no financial or material gain. The travaux preparatoires – the official record of the negotiations – for the UNTOC and the Protocol clearly state the intention to exclude the activities of those who provide support to migrants for humanitarian reasons or on the basis of close family ties.

Good Practice
Application of the humanitarian exception clause by the French Supreme Court

A French citizen (A. X.) was charged with facilitating irregular migration when he assisted four individuals (two Malian and two Libyan nationals) by transporting them in his mother’s car to the train station in Fontan/Saorge, France. The defendant is a member of a humanitarian association that specifically assists migrants in need without asking for any material or financial decompensation. Many members had already been charged and convicted for facilitating irregular migration, including A. X. who was sentenced to three months suspended imprisonment by the criminal court in Nice. The Court of Cassation acquitted the defendant from all charges, as the lower courts had misapplied the humanitarian exception clause provided for in article L. 622-4, No. 3 CEDESA.

Fuente

UNODC SHERLOC Portal

To Go Further
Policy Approaches
Criminalize migrant smuggling

 

  • Include all the elements of the crimes and related offences in national legislations, and provide for effective punishment.
  • Align national law with international law with regard to facilitating a person’s illegal border crossing without receiving any material or financial benefit. Such instances should not be considered smuggling, and as such should not be criminalized.
  • If the financial element is not included in the national definition of smuggling, enshrine a humanitarian exemption to avoid prosecution of humanitarian actors or family members.
Ámbito de aplicación del Protocolo contra el Tráfico Ilícito de Migrantes

Delito transnacional cometido por un grupo delictivo organizado

El tráfico de migrantes es, por definición, un delito transnacional, ya que entraña el cruce ilegal de fronteras internacionales. Sin embargo, muchas de las actividades que hacen posibles las operaciones de los traficantes —como la falsificación de pasaportes o la provisión de un alojamiento temporal— tienen lugar enteramente dentro de una nación y corren a cargo de emprendedores que no siempre forman parte de un grupo delictivo formal. La interpretación del Protocolo ha aclarado que su ámbito de aplicación debe entenderse de manera amplia (véase el párrafo 20 de la Guía legislativa para la aplicación del Protocolo de la UNODC).

Los delincuentes más importantes, cuyo enjuiciamiento tendría el máximo impacto, son los organizadores y altos mandos que supervisan los múltiples componentes de las operaciones de tráfico pero en general no participan físicamente en la comisión del delito. Los delincuentes de esta categoría suelen ser los que obtienen el máximo provecho del delito, corriendo el menor riesgo de ser llevados ante la justicia.

Tipificación de la tentativa de comisión del delito y de la participación en él

Policy Approaches
Criminalization of accomplices
  • Criminalize not only the smuggling of migrants, but also: attempts to smuggle; participation as an accomplice; and the organization or directing of other persons to commit the crime (article 6[2]).
  • Extend criminalization to those who participated as aides or facilitators.
  • Extend criminal liability to legal persons such as corporations (articles 5 and 10).
Good Practice
Criminalizing migrant smuggling attempts in the Dominican Republic

In 2011, charges were filed in the Dominican Republic against an alleged migrant smuggler. The suspect had rowed migrants in a boat from the port of Haina in the Dominican Republic out to sea, where they were transferred to a barge to be transported onward to the United States. The migrants were charged significant sums of money.

The suspect was alleged to have left the Dominican Republic with an accomplice and three migrants to rendezvous with a barge bound for Miami. Before reaching the barge, the rowing boat capsized. The suspect and his accomplice were able to swim back to the coast of the Dominican Republic, but the migrants all drowned. The suspect, his accomplice and their boat were subsequently found by the coast guard. Both were arrested; while awaiting trial, the suspect jumped bail. Two years later he was arrested by police in Italy, and extradition proceedings were started by the Dominican Republic. Although there was no bilateral treaty between the Dominican Republic and Italy, extradition was granted under article 16(4) of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC). Although the smuggling attempt had been unsuccessful, the suspect and his accomplice were charged with intention to enable illegal entry for financial or material benefit. Additionally, despite the fact that no borders had actually been crossed, the intention to do so was sufficient for the offence to be deemed a transnational crime. Both were convicted and sentenced to 15 and 5 years, respectively.

The interesting points were convictions on the basis of conspiracy; transnational crime without crossing borders; and extradition using UNTOC, in the absence of an extradition treaty. As these elements had been integrated into domestic legislation, the prosecution was successful

Non-criminalization of smuggled migrants

The United Nations Smuggling of Migrants Protocol criminalizes the actions of the smuggler, not the migrant.

The United Nations Smuggling of Migrants Protocol further provides for the non-liability of smuggled migrants for the crime of migrant smuggling

Article / Quotes
non-liability of smuggled migrants

Migrants shall not become liable to criminal prosecution under this Protocol for the fact of having been the object of conduct set forth in article 6 of this Protocol.

 

Fuente

article 5, United Nations Smuggling of Migrants Protocol

At the same time, the United Nations Smuggling of Migrants Protocol was drafted in such a way as to not interfere with how States Parties manage migration and address irregular migration. This intention is made explicit by article 6(4) of the United Nations Smuggling of Migrants Protocol:

Article / Quotes

Nothing in this Protocol shall prevent a State Party from taking measures against a person whose conduct constitutes an offence under its domestic law.

The Protocol does not require States to remove any penalties that it applies to migrants who enter or reside irregularly in a country. Smuggled migrants can therefore be held liable for immigration and other offences as laid out in domestic law. This approach has recently been restated in the Global Compact for Migration, objective 9 of which reads: “We further commit to ensure that migrants shall not become liable to criminal prosecution for the fact of having been the object of smuggling, notwithstanding potential prosecution for other violations of national law”.

Nonetheless, the Protocol encourages States to ensure that smuggled migrants are adequately screened, and that any needs of protection and assistance are identified. (For more, see Protection of the rights of smuggled migrants).

Policy Approaches
Non-liability of smuggled migrants in the crime of smuggling
  • Smuggled migrants should not be penalized for the crime of migrant smuggling
  •  Smuggled migrants may be prosecuted according to other violations of national law, such as migration-related offences.
  • Develop mechanisms to screen smuggled migrants to identify any protection and assistance needs.

States may seek the cooperation of smuggled migrants in order to investigate and prosecute smugglers, particularly in cases of organized crime where the leaders are hidden.

Policy Approaches
Cooperating with smuggled migrants to disrupt organized crime
  • States are encouraged to seek the cooperation(art 26 UNTOC) of smuggled migrants to help to:
    • Investigate and prosecute smugglers;
    • Disrupt organized crime;
    • Identify the routes and modus operandi of smugglers.
  • Ensure the effective protection of witnesses – and those close to them – from retaliation or intimidation by the organized group (article 24, UNTOC).
Tipificación de delitos conexos

Debido a su altísima rentabilidad, el negocio del tráfico forma parte frecuentemente de la cartera de delitos cometidos por los grupos delictivos organizados (para entender los delitos conexos, véase también la sección Comprensión y reducción de la oferta de tráfico de migrantes del presente capítulo). El concepto de grupo delictivo organizado se define en el artículo 2 de la Convención contra la Delincuencia Organizada, el tratado al que se remite el Protocolo contra el Tráfico Ilícito de Migrantes:

Glossary
organized criminal group

A structured group of three or more persons, existing for a period of time and acting in concert with the aim of committing one or more serious crimes or offences established in accordance with this Convention, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit

The domestic laws of many States, with regard to the smuggling of migrants, do not necessarily include the involvement of an organized criminal group. However, it is the main focus of the United Nations Smuggling of Migrants Protocol and UNTOC. This is because investigating, following and prosecuting the other crimes committed by organized criminal groups helps to dismantle the criminal group and therefore reduces the incidence of smuggling of migrants as well.

Policy Approaches
Criminalize related crimes committed by organized groups
  • Criminalize the act of participating in an organized crime group (article 5, United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime [UNTOC]). In order to be able to prosecute such acts, gather evidence on:
    • The involvement of 3 or more persons acting as a structured group;
    • The existence of this group for “a period of time”
    • The “acting in concert”, that is, in a coordinated way.
  • Criminalize the act of laundering the proceeds of migrant smuggling (article 6, UNTOC):
    • Establish a regulatory and supervisory regime for banks and non-bank financial institutions;
    • Develop the capacity to detect and monitor the movement of cash across borders, as well as the capacity to trace money within the territory;
    • Promote international cooperation among law enforcement and financial regulatory authorities.
  • Establish legislation that allows the confiscation of the proceeds made from smuggling (articles 12 and 14, UNTOC).
  • Criminalize actions that serve to corrupt public officials, such as offering bribes, and also criminalize accepting such offers (article 8, UNTOC):
    • Adopt legislative, administrative or other effective measures to promote integrity and to prevent, detect and punish the corruption of public officials.
    • Ensure that authorities can take effective action to prevent, detect and punish the corruption of public officials. This should include providing such authorities with adequate independence to deter any other groups from exerting inappropriate influence on their actions.
Técnicas de recopilación de información de inteligencia

Para perseguir judicialmente el tráfico de migrantes, la investigación de las actuaciones de los traficantes debe regirse por información de inteligencia exacta y oportuna. Las políticas gubernamentales deben reflejar esa necesidad, y los gobiernos deben asignar los recursos requeridos para que se recopile y analice efectivamente esa información. La inteligencia puede operar en los países a nivel estratégico y táctico. Dado que el delito de tráfico de migrantes afecta a varias jurisdicciones, la cooperación de las entidades responsables de hacer cumplir la ley es fundamental para desmantelar las redes delictivas implicadas. (Véanse más detalles sobre los enfoques de política para la recopilación de información de inteligencia y el papel de la tecnología en el capítulo Migración regulada: gestión de fronteras.)

Key messages
  • La legislación nacional debería incorporar todos los elementos del delito de tráfico de migrantes, junto como los delitos conexos y con sanciones eficaces.
  • El objetivo del Protocolo contra el Tráfico Ilícito de Migrantes es combatir los grupos delictivos organizados que practican el tráfico de migrantes y recaban de él un beneficio considerable. Es importante no olvidar este objetivo al investigar y perseguir judicialmente ese delito.
  • Las tentativas de tráfico de migrantes y la complicidad en ese delito deberían estar penalizadas. Sin embargo, el principal objetivo de la legislación y de la política debe ser desmantelar las redes delictivas que practican el tráfico de migrantes y enjuiciar a los altos mandos de esas redes.
  • Las personas jurídicas, como las empresas, que participan en el tráfico de migrantes y en los delitos conexos también deben ser perseguidas por la ley.
  • La comisión de una agresión o de otro delito durante una operación de tráfico de migrantes no es simplemente un factor agravante; es un delito de por sí, que debe investigarse como si hubiera ocurrido por separado.
  • Cuando concurran circunstancias agravantes en el proceso de tráfico, las medidas punitivas deberían aumentarse en consecuencia, según la seriedad de la agravación.
  • Los migrantes objeto de tráfico no incurren en responsabilidad penal por el delito de tráfico.
  • Al reunir pruebas para los enjuiciamientos por tráfico de migrantes debería recabarse la cooperación de los migrantes afectados.
  • La pruebas reunidas sobre los crímenes cometidos por los grupos delictivos organizados son cruciales para reducir los casos de tráfico de migrantes, aun cuando se refieran a otros delitos.
  • El establecimiento de sistemas de trazabilidad financiera, el fortalecimiento de las investigaciones financieras y la lucha contra la corrupción de los oficiales públicos contribuyen al desmantelamiento de las redes delictivas que practican el tráfico de migrantes.
  • Las sanciones financieras, como el decomiso del producto del delito, son mecanismos eficaces para disuadir a los grupos delictivos organizados de ofrecer servicios de tráfico de migrantes.
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