African and EU leaders adopted a political declaration and a common action plan at the Valletta Summit on migration, in Malta, 12-15 November 2015.

The Rome Declaration, adopted at the Ministerial Conference in Rome in 2014, is the key strategic document of the Khartoum Process whereby its members agreed to assist participating states in tackling human trafficking and smuggling between the Horn of Africa and Europe.

Since its inception in 2002, the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime (Bali Process) has effectively raised regional awareness of the consequences of people smuggling, trafficking in persons and related transnational crime, and also developed and implemented strategies and practical cooperation in response. 48 member countries and international organizations, as well as a number of observer countries and international agencies, participate in this voluntary forum.The policy guides aim to provide an overview of international and regional standards for the identification and protection of victims of trafficking, drawing extensively on examples of good practices from Bali Process member countries. In line with the recommendations of the Fifth Ministerial Conference in April 2013, these policy guides are the second set of Bali Process Policy Guides falling within the thematic areas of the Bali Process and on issues of particular concern to Bali Process members. They are voluntary, non-binding and intended for use as reference tools by a range of domestic agencies in Bali Process Member States.

Since its inception in 2002, the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime (Bali Process) has effectively raised regional awareness of the consequences of people smuggling, trafficking in persons and related transnational crime, and also developed and implemented strategies and practical cooperation in response. 48 member countries and international organizations, as well as a number of observer countries and international agencies, participate in this voluntary forum. The policy guides aim to provide an overview of international and regional standards for the identification and protection of victims of trafficking, drawing extensively on examples of good practices from Bali Process member countries. In line with the recommendations of the Fifth Ministerial Conference in April 2013, these policy guides are the second set of Bali Process Policy Guides falling within the thematic areas of the Bali Process and on issues of particular concern to Bali Process members. They are voluntary, non-binding and intended for use as reference tools by a range of domestic agencies in Bali Process Member States.

Since its inception in 2002, the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime (Bali Process) has effectively raised regional awareness of the consequences of people smuggling, trafficking in persons and related transnational crime, and also developed and implemented strategies and practical cooperation in response. More than 45 member countries and international organizations, as well as a number of observer countries and international agencies, participate in this voluntary forum. At the Fifth Bali Process Regional Ministerial Conference in April 2013, Ministers agreed that policy guides be developed to assist policy makers and practitioners to criminalize people smuggling and trafficking in persons. Ministers directed that the Regional Support Office (RSO), in consultation with interested members, develop guides for States to enable a range of domestic agencies to promote a consistent understanding of international legal obligations, and to assist in the development of effective domestic legislation. Further to this direction, the RSO established a drafting committee of experts from Bali Process Member States and international organizations to develop the policy guides.The policy guides are voluntary, non-binding and intended for use as reference tools by a range of domestic agencies in Bali Process Member States. In order to keep these policy guides short, practical and user-friendly, they focus on how to effectively criminalize migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons in domestic law. Issues of protection and assistance to smuggled and trafficked persons have been addressed within the thematic scope of the guides, but it is expected that these issues may be more comprehensively addressed by future policy guides. In line with the recommendations of the Fifth Ministerial Conference in April 2013, these policy guides are the first set of Bali Process Policy Guides falling within the thematic areas of the Bali Process and on issues of particular concern to Bali Process members.