European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa website.
[This is an excerpt from an article in The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs and Policy Studies.]
The deteriorating security situation in West Africa is further indication that the funds and resources dedicated to curbing criminal and security challenges in the region have been less effective than intended (Kervyn & Shilhav, Citation2017). Human trafficking criminal networks coupled with insurgent activities have further served to increase forced migration and irregular migration from the West African sub-region even with the collaborative efforts of the EU with African security architectures (Beauchemin et al., Citation2020; Black & Highman, Citation2020; Idemudia & Boehnke, Citation2020; Rodrigues & Bjarnesen, Citation2020). As a result, young Africans have continued to have reasons for engaging in irregular/illegal migration to regions outside the ECOWAS zone. As Castillejo (Citation2019) and Wittenberg (Citation2017) reasoned, these security concerns in various countries in the West African region are ultimately related to the narrow approach adopted to contain these crises.
Weak political and security institutions across African countries have also contributed to the increasing flow of irregular/illegal migration to Europe. Countries such as Niger, Chad, and Libya, key transit points for such migration, suffer from fragile political and security institutions, exacerbating the challenges of migration management (Karagueuzian & Verdier-Chouchane, Citation2014; Kervyn & Shilhav, Citation2017; Molenaar, Citation2017). While the African Migration Policy and other sub-regional initiatives are intended to be ultimately implemented in many countries, the lack of institutional capacity to enforce these policy frameworks has been largely ignored. Reports by Hahonou (Citation2016), Molenaar (Citation2017), and Karagueuzian and Verdier-Chouchane (Citation2014) indicated border porosity due to structural inefficiency and corruption of security personnel. This according to Kervyn and Shilhav (Citation2017) is the result of a narrow approach in combating criminal networks which is a short-term solution rather than funding a long-term solution of building political and security institutions which will be more proactive in security and political governance. In Niger, reports indicated that the EU-supported migration policy which supports Nigerien authorities has been largely questioned and criticised by local authorities for not showing concerns to local authorities (Molenaar, Citation2017). This indicates a low trust level and institutional capacity of the Nigerien authorities to address migration issues even with the support of the EU. And the Nigerien region is a strategic transit migration zone where strong security and political institutions are necessary for curbing irregular/illegal migration.
Another key aspect of the such migration that has been neglected by the agreements and frameworks is the economic aspect of the whole process. Molenaar (Citation2017) observed that irregular/illegal migration in the Agadez region of Niger has become economically significant, supporting local livelihoods through ancillary services linked to smuggling and migrant support. The regular flow of migrants in this region means that local residents are constantly engaged in low-income but flourishing activities that make the whole irregular/illegal migration process lucrative for local residents across transit routes (Lücke, Citation2019). While this contributes to facilitate such migration, there have been relatively few developmental efforts in local communities across African nations especially in transit routes. As the findings from Niger indicate, local communities which are largely neglected by existing migration policy frameworks make considerable economic opportunities from irregular/illegal migrants (Molenaar, Citation2017). As such any efforts to eliminate such migration without replacing a similar legitimate source of economic income to local communities are likely to be resisted as in the case of Niger and other West African nations. This oversight has also facilitated collaborations between local residents and criminal networks who engage them for financial rewards. Therefore, considerable efforts to engage with local communities along transit routes must be consciously attempted to improve local economies which in the long run will help to discourage irregular migration facilitation (Lücke, Citation2019).
Call for Papers: People on the Move. The Commonwealth and management of international migration
From Empire To Equality?: Migration And The Commonwealth
Despite its emphasis on human rights and migrant protection, the African Migration Policy has struggled to achieve meaningful progress in safeguarding the underlying principles. Since the establishment and adoption of that policy, cases of human rights abuses from state institutions have made headlines across the continent. Human rights violations across the continent, from Nigeria’s EndSARS protests to political unrest in Mali and Uganda, underscore the challenges in implementing the AU’s human rights commitments (Abati, Citation2020; Igwe, Citation2020; Tayo, Citation2020; Uwazuruike, Citation2020). The implication of these developments is that more African youths have expressed a desire to relocate to Europe out of concerns for their safety and human rights protection within their countries. In cases where there are no legitimate means to facilitate such travel, youths have taken to irregular/illegal migration patterns thus questioning the sincerity and dedication of the AU Migration policy. In these cases, there were no significant interventions by the AU to uphold its objective of protecting human rights and enhancing internal security. As the UNDP, Citation2019) report observed, this is due to the fact that many African nations are yet to support or show effective concerns for global, regional and sub-regional migration initiatives out of concerns for internal security.
Conclusion and way forward
It is evident that, the concerns arising from the inability to contain and curb irregular/illegal migration trends from Africa to Europe can be traced to the inability of existing frameworks to effectively tackle the root causes of these migrations. While considerable resources have been deployed by the AU, the EU and the RECs, the intertwining issues and domestic realities have shown the need for a more searching re-evaluation of these interventions. As rightly observed by Castillejo (Citation2019), there must be an intentional definition of the aims of both parties involved in the collaboration and a decision on how best to fuse the strategic objectives of both parties to enhance deeper productivity and effectiveness. This would also help not only to redefine the approach to tackling irregular migration but also to prioritise key areas that would have maximum impacts within the shortest possible time. Addressing irregular migration requires not only European engagement but also a stronger emphasis on African agency.
Empowering regional frameworks and local actors within Africa can lead to more sustainable migration management solutions, emphasising economic development, good governance, and human rights protection. Secondly, grassroots efforts must be embraced by the various migration policies and initiatives so that local economies are considerably enhanced to discourage the vulnerability of residents to collaborating with criminal networks. Furthermore, considerable efforts at instituting structures for good governance and security reforms must be initiated to provide sufficient platforms for the implementation of the several migration initiatives.
Long-term success in migration management hinges on building robust governance structures and grassroots initiatives in transit countries to ensure that funding and partnerships lead to sustainable development outcomes. In addition, concerted efforts and synergy must be geared towards discouraging irregular/illegal migration rather than containing it. Governments of African States must realise that creating sustainable economic opportunities, gainful employment and social infrastructures within their boundaries are inalienable rights of citizens to which they are entitled.
Samuel Okunade, Margaret Monyani are with the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa and Ebenezer Oluwole Oni is with the Department of Political Science and International Relations, Bowen University, Iwo, Nigeria.
