The G7 leaders highlighted that migrant smuggling is often connected to other serious criminal offences, including money laundering, corruption, and trafficking in persons and drugs, which pose significant threats to community safety
G7 leaders have issued a joint statement reaffirming their commitment to prevent and counter migrant smuggling, under the G7 Coalition to Prevent and Counter the Smuggling of Migrants and the 2024 G7 Action Plan to Prevent and Counter the Smuggling of Migrants. “We are determined to enhance border management and enforcement and dismantle the transnational organised crime groups profiting from both migrant smuggling and human trafficking,” the statement read.
The G7 leaders highlighted that migrant smuggling is often connected to other serious criminal offences, including money laundering, corruption, and trafficking in persons and drugs, which pose significant threats to community safety.
“It can expose vulnerable smuggled persons to grave and life-threatening risks, including physical abuse, sexual and gender-based violence, extortion, labour exploitation, and forced labour and criminality,” the leaders noted.
The statement emphasised that the G7 Coalition has made concrete progress in strengthening the operational and investigative capacities of law enforcement agencies, as well as enhancing international cooperation between police, judicial, prosecution, and border services. The G7 leaders tasked their Interior and Security Ministers to intensify work on the 2024 G7 Action Plan by focusing on four key areas.
These include adopting a “follow the money” approach by leveraging financial intelligence and information-sharing to identify and hold criminal actors accountable, seize assets, and strip profits. They also plan to boost prevention with countries of origin and transit through stronger border management and raising awareness of risks.
The G7 committed to collaborating with social media companies on voluntary principles to prevent organised crime groups from using online platforms to coordinate migrant smuggling. Another area of focus is engaging with transport operators to prevent facilitation of irregular migration and mitigate the use of migrants to destabilise or as part of hybrid warfare tactics.
The leaders added that, consistent with their legal systems, they will examine the use of sanctions against criminals involved in migrant smuggling and human trafficking operations from countries where such activities are enabled. They committed to fostering global and regional cooperation and reaffirmed their support for legal migration pathways that reflect national interests.
“We remain committed to countering all forms of abuse and exploitation of migrants, ensuring protection of the most vulnerable, including refugees and forcibly displaced persons,” the statement added.
The G7 leaders concluded by underlining their united resolve to combat migrant smuggling and protect vulnerable populations through coordinated international efforts.
Threat of transnational repression
G7 leaders also issued a joint statement on Transnational Repression (TNR), voicing deep concern over its growing occurrence and describing it as a dangerous form of foreign interference. “We, the Leaders of the G7, are deeply concerned by growing reports of transnational repression (TNR). TNR is an aggressive form of foreign interference whereby states or their proxies attempt to intimidate, harass, harm or coerce individuals or communities outside their borders,” the statement read.
The leaders stated that such acts undermine national security, state sovereignty, and the safety and human rights of victims, while also violating principles of international law. “It has a chilling effect in our countries,” they added.
The statement emphasised that TNR often targets dissidents, journalists, human rights defenders, religious minorities, and those identified as part of diaspora communities. Building on this concern, the statement further condemned all acts of transnational repression, including threats or acts of physical violence, misuse of cooperation with other states or bodies, forced returns, digital harassment, spyware surveillance, and intimidation of family members.
“We also remain seized of threats by foreign states and their proxies to our citizens outside our borders, such as arbitrary detention,” the leaders said.
Highlighting the need for a comprehensive response, the G7 leaders stressed the importance of working with civil society and the private sector to counter the threat. They pledged to build global understanding of the threat and its corrosive impact on human rights and democracy, develop a TNR Resilience and Response Framework, and launch a Digital TNR Detection Academy. They also committed to supporting those targeted by TNR, along with members of civil society.
“We will redouble our efforts to keep our communities safe, to defend human rights, including the freedom of expression online and offline, and to safeguard our sovereignty,” the statement said. Meanwhile, the G7 summit continued in the absence of US President Donald Trump, who left early to address the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, CBC News reported.
Trump left the summit in Kananaskis, Canada, after Monday night’s family dinner, citing the need to attend to pressing matters in the Middle East.
Trump expressed satisfaction with the summit’s progress. “I have to be back early. I loved it. I tell you I loved it. And I think we got a lot done,” Trump told reporters Monday evening (local time), according to CBC News. “But we had just a really great relationship with everybody. It was really nice. I wish I could stay for tomorrow, but they understand, this is big stuff,” he added.
