ICMPD commemorates this year’s International Migrants Day, ten years after the so-called migration crisis of 2015, an event that has left profound marks on the political and social landscape of Europe and its neighbouring regions. The crisis and a series of subsequent events shifted discourses and posed growing challenges that called for agility and innovation in policy responses.

Three regional migration Dialogues are further strengthening the responses to human trafficking and migrant smuggling across African and European routes. The Khartoum, Rabat, and Niamey Processes marked an important milestone in interregional cooperation to enhance policies and cooperation to align with realities on the ground, ensuring that responses to these crimes remain fit for purpose.

Director General elect Susanne Raab stressed the need for genuine alternatives for migrants to ensure access to legal pathways, to protect them from human traffickers and migrant smugglers. Ms Raab emphasised this at the second International Conference of the Global Alliance to Counter Migrant Smuggling in Brussels on 10 December; which opened with a Keynote Speech by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Officials and delegates from 39 Budapest Process countries and 12 organisations met in Istanbul on 26–27 November 2025, hosted by Türkiye as Chair. The 37th Senior Officials Meeting, since the dialogue’s launch in 1993, called for prioritising return and reintegration, legal pathways, and stronger law-enforcement cooperation.

The Network of Anti-Trafficking Coordinators of South-East Europe (NATC-SEE)¹ gathered to develop and exchange solutions on human trafficking, migrant smuggling, and labour exploitation including of foreign nationals in the region. At the meeting in Sarajevo on 13-14 November 2025, members of the network provided updates on their recent and upcoming regional collaborations to support victims of human trafficking; as well as case studies on identifying and prosecuting trafficking cases.

Two high-level side events held in Addis Ababa highlight African-led efforts to operationalise migration frameworks and promote regional integration.