Global Irregular Migration and Trafficking in Persons Sanctions Regulations 2025

This particular sanctions regime is a landmark step, as it is the first dedicated regime of its kind anywhere in the world. It is designed to prevent and combat the networks that enable irregular migration and reflects deep collaboration across government from the Home Office to law enforcement and draws on the full breadth of our expertise. It enables us to strike at every link in the chain from source to destination. We can impose real costs on the callous groups and individuals who promote and profit from the inhuman trade in people’s lives. Sanctioned individuals will face serious consequences, including being banned from entering the UK, being disqualified from company directorships and having their assets frozen. The regime adds powerful new tools to our arsenal. It allows us to act against people smugglers and their enablers with the same force that we apply to terrorists, cybercriminals and kleptocrats. I hope that noble Lords will agree that that is evidence of how seriously we intend to tackle this problem.

This regime reflects our broader strategy, which is to use sanctions to deter and disrupt threats and malign behaviour, defend our values and protect our country. It will target individuals and entities wherever they are in the world, from operators in countries of origin to those who smuggle migrants across borders and those who enable, promote and profit from these dangerous journeys, including companies involved in small boat supply chains and organised immigration crime. No part of the smuggling infrastructure will be beyond our reach.

Crucially, the regime will also allow us to target hostile state-backed actors who seek to weaponise migration in order to destabilise the UK or our allies. On 23 July, the UK took action. We sanctioned 25 individuals and entities involved in people smuggling, from small boat suppliers in Asia and hawala money movers in the Middle East to gang leaders in the Balkans and north Africa, individuals such as Bledar Lala, who leads a smuggling ring that moves people from Belgium across the English Channel to the UK, and Muhammed Pirot, a hawala banker who controls payments from people being smuggled from the Kurdistan region of Iraq to Europe via Turkey.

These designations cover a range of activities: supplying boats; forging documents; facilitating illicit payments; and orchestrating smuggling operations. Each one represents a blow to the business model of exploitation. We will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the designations imposed so far, as well as any future designations, to ensure that they demonstrate our ability to target individuals and entities anywhere in the world, disrupt the activities of criminal networks and deter others from engaging in this vile trade.

Although we are proud to lead, we do not stand alone. People smuggling and trafficking are global concerns, and we are working with international partners to confront them together. That includes strengthening sanctions co-ordination, sharing intelligence and building joint responses to dismantle criminal networks. We welcome the news from EU President von der Leyen that she intends to put forward a new system of sanctions, specifically targeted at people smugglers and traffickers, for EU member states. We look forward to working with the EU and other key partners to smash the gangs and tackle irregular migration.

Sanctions are a powerful tool of foreign and security policy. UK sanctions are built on a transparent and robust legal framework—it is important to emphasise that—which was confirmed by the Supreme Court in July this year. However, there may be instances where activity by a person falls within the scope of sanctions and other relevant law enforcement and criminal justice powers. In these instances, we work closely with colleagues across Whitehall and in law enforcement to deconflict and ensure that appropriate tools are used. The FCDO will continue to play its full part in delivering the Government’s plan for change. This legislation and the designations that follow are proof of that commitment.

I apologise again for not being present on time and forcing the Committee to wait. I beg to move.

The memorandum mentions that sanctions for human trafficking have been adopted under the global human rights sanctions regime, but that regime was deemed to be inadequate. Can the Minister tell us a bit more as to why that regime was not fit for this purpose and why it was necessary to create a wholly new sanctions regime?

One of the purposes of the regulations is to prevent and combat the instrumentalisation of migration by state actors—the Minister referred to that. This is an interesting and important development, and I am glad to hear that the European Union is keen on this. This is where it is likely that the sanctions will target the political level of certain states—for example, the situation at the border between Poland and Belarus—whereas the other sanctions are likely to target more ordinary criminals, so to speak. Does the Minister agree that it is particularly important for this aspect of the new sanctions regime to ensure that there is international action and co-operation?

I have a final, more technical point. Regulations 6 and 7, under the “urgent procedure”, contain a list of states—the US, the EU, Australia and Canada—where individuals might be designated under similar sanctions and where we would adopt an urgent designation, in part based on those other designations. I was a little confused because I understood that no other states had a sanctions regime like this one. So, in what circumstances would that urgent procedure come to fruition?