Digitization of Migrant Smuggling: Legal and Operational Challenges and Recommendations for Improving the Response in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Montenegro
Digitization of Migrant Smuggling: Legal and Operational Challenges and Recommendations for Improving the Response in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Montenegro

Author(s): Danijela Milešević Plavšić, Goran Delić, Gordana Grujičić, Matea Ćurko, Katarina Najdanović
Subject(s): Politics, Criminal Law, Sociology, Criminology, Migration Studies, Asylum, Refugees, Migration as Policy-fields
Published by: Grupa 484
Keywords: cybercrime; migrant smuggling; digital technologies; organized criminal networks; budapest Convention; protocol against the smuggling of migrants; Western Balkans
Summary/Abstract: This document is the result of a regional research study conducted within the framework of a project implemented in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro from April 2024 to June 2025. The aim of the research was to examine the link between the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the context of migrant smuggling and the normative and institutional responses of states that are parties to the Convention on Cybercrime, as well as their obligations arising from the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants. The research was conducted in two phases. The first phase focused on field data collection, which included semi-structured interviews with migrants and representatives of civil society organizations, as well as data gathered through an online questionnaire. Fieldwork was carried out in various settings, including temporary reception centers, information and support sites for migrants, and online platforms. The research adhered to the principles of confidentiality, voluntariness, and personal data protection, with full respect for ethical standards in research involving vulnerable groups. The questionnaires and interviews were based on the analytical framework defined in the document Methodology for National Inputs on the Modalities of the Use of High Technology (‘ICT’) by Organized Criminal Groups and the Risks to which Migrants are Exposed, developed in consultation with experts in criminal law, security, cybercrime, and human rights.

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