G7 interior ministers met last week in Mirabella Eclano, in the Campania region, with the objective of intensifying efforts to fight people smuggling.

The G7 is a group of the world's richest and most industrialized democracies and includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Migrant smugglers are estimated to earn at least 6.7 billion dollars a year. Many use social media platforms to attract business.

The interior ministers at the meeting, which was hosted by Italy's interior minister Matteo Piantedosi, drafted an Action Plan in which they expressed the group's commitment to dealing with the threat of terrorism "to protect the security and freedom of our societies."

The agenda of the meeting included a call to raise the attention on Ukraine and the huge quantity of weapons in circulation; attention to campaigns to influence and spread fake news implemented in particular by Russia; and stopping the circulation of Fentanyl and other synthetic drugs.

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'Over 120 million people fleeing' says Grandi

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, who took part in the final session dedicated to migration, said the conflict in the Middle East was creating a massive refugee flow.

"There are over 120 million people fleeing war, persecution, violence of any kind. Complex flows that create important challenges for all G7 countries and for others, like those of Africa and the Middle East directly impacted," he said.

According to Piantedosi, criminal groups take advantage of these movements which are "putting the lives of migrants at risk and are violating the laws drafted by States to govern migration policies."

The five pillars of the Action Plan

The Action Plan outlined at the gathering is based on five pillars: strengthening the investigative and operational capability of police forces, including through joint actions and the creation of a network of units specialized in crimes and investigations over migrant and human smuggling; strengthening international cooperation with third countries of origin and transit of irregular migration flows; developing and promoting campaigns of information and sensibilization; implementing the monitoring of flows to anticipate trends.

Piantedosi observed that particular attention would need to be paid to the "virtual dimension" because the services offered to smugglers are increasingly publicized on social media. "Cooperation with the main internet providers will be fundamental," said Piantedosi.

UNHCR to monitor centers in Albania

The meeting also discussed the migrant centers that Italy is preparing to open in Albania by the end of October. The project, the Italian interior minister said, "was seen by everybody with great interest" at the G7 meeting of interior ministers and is "a different plan" from the one originally launched by Great Britain in Rwanda.

Italy says the initiative will be implemented in accordance with European rights and rules. The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, will also monitor the situation.

"We are ready to do it with transparency and absolute independence," said UNHCR chief Grandi.

He added that "the government has asked us to verify that this Albanian operation abides by international law. I will be able to say this once the operation will be in place."

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