This is the first in a series of three 4Mi snapshots looking at the conjunction between smuggling and the risks and abuses faced by refugees and migrants moving through West and North Africa. It draws on 2,427 interviews conducted in Libya, Niger, Mali, and Tunisia between March and July 2021.

This first snapshot focuses on smuggling and dangerous routes, and the role of smugglers as perpetrators of risks relative to other actors in these locations. It underscores that while the use of smugglers and the risks associated with certain routes often go hand in hand, smugglers themselves are just one of a variety of actors perpetrating abuses against refugees and migrants.

This snapshot is produced in the context of a partnership with the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Observatory on Smuggling of Migrants.