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Morally evaluating human smuggling: the case of migration to Europe

Much of the recent debate on immigration to Europe has focused on how many refugees should be allowed to enter and how refugees should be distributed among EU member states, but there has been less academic focus on under what conditions, if any, human smuggling is morally permissible. How should we morally assess those who make a business out of helping migrants reach their desired destination and those who pay smugglers to reach their destination? We argue that human smuggling is morally permissible under some conditions even if it is illegal. Human trafficking, by contrast, is immoral and should be illegal. The moral conditions for permissible human smuggling are sometimes being met on the route from Africa to Europe (but are all too often grossly violated). We consider and rebut objections based on the arguments that a legal prohibition on human smuggling must translate into a moral one, and that human smuggling violates the rights of individuals to freedom of association in receiving countries. We conclude with policy implications.

Date of Publication
Type of Resource
Target Audience
Academia
Author
Eamon Aloyo
Eugenio Cusumano
Source / Publisher
Routledge - Taylor and Francis Group
Language
English
Geographic Scope
Regional
Region
Europe
Workstream Output
No
Regional Review Process
No
GCM Objectives
9
Cross Cutting Theme
Human rights
Keywords
Migrant rights
Migration policy and other public policies
Smuggling of migrants
Trafficking in persons
Status
Published

*References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).