Monthly Review April 2024

OUT NOW: Our Monthly Press Review April 2024 covers topics such as Eurafrican migration control, migration, and displacement in African countries, and news on the European border regime. Please also find our update on the Gaza war.

In case there is a news item, report, or campaign you would like to flag in next month’s review please write us via contact@migration-control.info or on Twitter @MigControl.

New on Migration-Control.Info

Bi-Monthly Bulletin

New Bi-monthly bulletin: Outsourcing borders Monitoring EU externalisation policy: “This project, carried out by Statewatch and migration-control.info and funded by Bread for the World, Misereor, Medico and Pro Asyl aims to make the EU’s externalisation policies, plans and practices public. In doing so it seeks to highlight their impact on the rights of people on the move, as well as democratic standards of transparency and accountability. It addresses a lack of public information by publishing relevant EU documents, in this phase primarily those produced or discussed by the Council of the EU. It also tackles the overflow of information that results from a variety of EU institutions, working groups and national governments involved in the externalisation agenda by summarising thematic and regional developments, and by analysing key issues in depth.”

Sudan Dossier

Young refugees in Sudan between the hammer and anvil of the two generals. Report by Tahani Ajak: “The situation of refugees in the White Nile camps is beyond disastrous.”
The State of Horn of Africa Migration During the Sudan War by Adam Babiker:”Due to the ongoing war, Khartoum is no longer a safe transit route for migrants.” (DE Version als PDF )

Ein Jahr Krieg: Die Zerstörung des sozialen Gefüges der Revolution im Sudan by Marwan Osman und E. Jungfer: “Es ist nicht nur ein Krieg zwischen zwei verrückten Generälen…. Es ist ein Krieg gegen die Unterschichten und ihr Streben nach einem besseren Leben.” (EN Version as PDF)

Blog

Das MoU mit Ägypten: Ein neuer Deal? (The MoU with Egypt: A new deal?) von migration-control.info: “In diesen Zeiten, in denen Von der Leyen, Meloni und ihresgleichen in Europa die Oberhand gewinnen und in denen große Teile des Maghreb – Ägypten, Tunesien, Algerien und Marokko – fest unter der Kontrolle konterrevolutionärer Diktaturen zu stehen scheinen, sollten wir uns erst recht davor hüten, die Visionen der EU für bare Münze zu nehmen.” (In these times when Von der Leyen, Meloni and their like are gaining the upper hand in Europe, and when large parts of the Maghreb - Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco - appear to be firmly under the control of counter-revolutionary dictatorships, we should all the more doubt about the EU's visions on externalization)

Follow-Up: Gaza

30.04.24 NYT: Police Clear Building at Columbia and Arrest Dozens of Protesters: Officers in riot gear removed demonstrators who had seized Hamilton Hall, a building with a history of student takeovers. Scores of other arrests were made on campuses across the country.

Also see AJE 25.04.24: Blocks from the White House, US students stand steadfast with Gaza

29.04.24: AJE: Israeli officials eye threat of ICC arrest warrants over war in Gaza: Israeli media reports say the International Criminal Court might soon issue arrest warrants for senior Israeli government and military officials.

27.04.24 Tagesschau: Zu Wenig, zu langsam (Too little, loo slow): The situation of civilians in the Gaza Strip is catastrophic - many still do not have enough to eat. Even a new border crossing and the airlift do nothing to change this. Some people are eating grass to survive.

Also see DAWN 27.04.24:Three recent reports, including the leaked internal State Department memorandum, an internal assessment by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the report of the Independent Task Force on the Application of National Security Memorandum-20 to Israel (the “Task Force”), conclusively confirm that Israel's conduct impeding and blocking humanitarian aid has triggered the legal requirement to halt military aid.

24.04.24 NYT: Signs Suggest That Invasion of Rafah Is All but Inevitable: Israel says an assault on Gaza’s southernmost city is vital to dismantling Hamas and has proposed evacuating civilians. But more than a million people have taken refuge in the city.

23.04.24: Satellite images show Israeli forces gathered for Gaza escalation: The analysis indicates that Israel has deployed more than 800 military vehicles to two bases. At least 120 vehicles are stationed at the northern border of the Gaza Strip and 700 are in the Negev desert, to the south. The satellite imagery also reveals that Israel has established nine military outposts just outside the enclave.

22.04.24 Guardian: Israel still has no proof of Unrwa terrorist claims – but damage to aid agency is done: Inquiry has not backed up allegations of ties to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which led to loss of $450m as people died in droves

18.04.24 taz: Kommentar: Die Glocke von Gaza: Nichts kann so bleiben, wie es ist, wie es war. Das gilt für Israel, für die Besatzung, für die sklerotische Autonomiebehörde, aber es gilt ebenfalls für Deutschland, für ein Verständnis von Staatsräson, das unserem Land, unserem internationalen Ansehen und unseren gesellschaftlichen Möglichkeiten beträchtlichen Schaden zufügt.

17.04.24 Guardian: Revealed: Israel has sped up settlement-building in East Jerusalem since Gaza war began: Government ministries and offices behind most contentious of projects, which will create thousands of housing units

09.04.24 NYT: Iran Smuggles Arms to West Bank, Officials Say, to Foment Unrest With Israel: The covert operation, described by U.S., Iranian and Israeli officials, is heightening concerns that Iran is seeking to turn the West Bank into a flashpoint in its shadow war with Israel.

07.04.24 NYT: Israel Withdraws Troops From Southern Gaza as War Hits 6-Month Mark: Israel has significantly reduced the number of troops it has on the ground in Gaza over the past several months. Only a fraction of the soldiers that it deployed in the territory earlier in the war against Hamas remain.
Now, the last group of Israeli soldiers in the southern city of Khan Younis has left Gaza in order “to recuperate and prepare for future operations,” the army said.

06.04.24 NYT: Gaza War Turns Spotlight on Long Pipeline of U.S. Weapons to Israel: President Biden sends arms to Israel under an Obama-era $38 billion aid agreement that runs until 2026. Israel’s purchases include the types of bombs dropped in Gaza.

05.04.24 taz: Angriff auf Hilfskonvoi in Gaza: „Katastrophe ist menschengemacht“: The Israeli army has fired on an aid convoy in Gaza. Riad Othman from Medico International speaks of a targeted attack.

01.04.24 Guardian: Fears grow that Gaza could become ‘Mogadishu on the Mediterranean’: Gaza is facing deepening anarchy as the last remnants of civil order break down, leaving a vacuum increasingly filled by armed gangs, clans, powerful families and criminals, dozens of interviews with senior aid officials, experts and people in the territory reveal.

31.03.24 NYT: Protests Against Netanyahu Intensify as Cease-Fire Talks Resume: Thousands gathered outside Parliament to call for early elections in what were shaping up to be one of the largest demonstrations against the government in Israel since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip.
Some protesters carried signs calling for Mr. Netanyahu’s “immediate removal.” Others wielded posters calling for elections, saying “those who destroyed can’t be the ones to fix.”

All Africa

15.04.24 Guardian: Covid pandemic made poorest countries even worse off, World Bank warns: The devastating impact of the pandemic on the world’s poorest countries has brought poverty reduction to a halt and led to a widening income gap with nations in the rich west, the World Bank has warned. Urging governments and the private sector to do more to help tackle what it called a “great reversal”, the Bank said that since 2019 there had been a surge in food insecurity and debt distress. The Bank’s data showed that one in three countries eligible for grants and concessional loans under its International Development Association (IDA) arm was poorer, on average, than it was on the eve of the Covid-19 pandemic.

April 2024 The Walrus: Why the West Refused to Stop the Rwandan Genocide. And why it still matters: "Genocide should matter. We should mind. But no nation—not even my own country of Canada—wanted to provide us with the resources to stop the bloodbath. Apparently, some humans are simply not worthy of protection under the human rights conventions that evolved in the richer nations of the Global North."

North Africa

Egypt

25.04.24: The New Humanitarian: Inside Egypt's secret scheme to detain and deport thousands of Sudanese refugees: “Thousands of Sudanese refugees who escaped to neighbouring Egypt have been detained by Egyptian authorities in a network of secret military bases, and then deported back to their war-torn country often without the chance to claim asylum, an investigation by The New Humanitarian and the Refugees Platform in Egypt has found.”

01.04.24 AJE: El-Sisi sworn in for third term as Egyptian president: In power for the past decade, the 69-year-old former army chief is set to remain president until 2030.

Libya

16.04.24 AJE: UN’s Libya envoy resigns citing no hope for political progress: Abdoulaye Bathily says ‘lack of political will and good faith’ on the part of Libyan leaders are making UN governance efforts in Libya futile.

Also see Jungle World 11.04.14: Der Staat als Beute: Die Korruption in Libyen befördert das organisierte Verbrechen. Schmuggelgeschäfte befeuern auch den brutalen Bürgerkrieg im Sudan. Derweil werden erneut Pläne für eine neue libysche Übergangsregierung angekündigt – und nicht verwirklicht. In dem Land mit 6,8 Millionen Einwohnern und offiziell 2,5 Millionen Erwerbstätigen sind mindestens zwei Millionen Personen auf staatlichen Gehaltslisten eingetragen. Viele davon arbeiten aber gar nicht für den Staat, sondern erhalten Gefälligkeiten, um ihre Loyalität zu sichern. Allein die Personalkosten machen 60 Prozent des gesamten Budgets aus.

Dawn 04.04.24: The Staggering Human Cost of Libya's Ongoing Crisis: Once awash in oil wealth, Libya has been trapped in what seems like a state of perpetual crisis since the fall of Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

Tunisia

27.04.24: jeuneafrique: Migrants : à Jérissa, dans le no man’s land entre Tunisie et Algérie (Migrants: in Jérissa, in the no man’s land between Tunisia and Algeria): An article about the situation of migrants in the Tunisian-Algerian border zone, with a comment from the Tunisian National Guard spokesman Houssem Jebabli, “who sidesteps questions about the detention centres or camps that could be created. ‘The most likely scenario is the reopening of the Bir Fatnassia centre in Tataouine [South],’ says a migration expert.”

See also 19.04.24: Melting Pot Europa: Tunisi. A Lac 1 la condizione delle persone accampate fuori dall’OIM diventa sempre più critica (Tunis. At Lac 1 the condition of the people camped outside the IOM becomes increasingly critical); 18.04.24: The New Arab: 'They don’t want us here, but they won’t let us leave': The African migrants trapped in Tunisia; 18.04.24: Le Monde: Giorgia Meloni de retour à Tunis pour consolider son projet de coopération migratoire (Giorgia Meloni returns to Tunis to consolidate her migration cooperation project); 16.04.24: MEM: Over 100 migrants awaiting burial after drowning off Tunisia's coast; 09.04.24: Maldusa project: Lampedusa prepares for summer

03.04.24 taz: Tausende Flüchtende in Tunesien: Schutzlos im Olivenhain: Since an EU deal, fewer refugees have been travelling from Tunisia to Europe. Instead, around 70,000 people are staying in temporary camps.

East Africa

Djibouti

09.04.24: weafrica24: At Least 38 Migrants Die in Shipwreck off Djibouti Coast: “According to the Ethiopian embassy in Djibouti, the vessel ‘capsized off the northeast coast of Djibouti on Monday [08.04.24],’ carrying ‘60 Ethiopian migrants heading towards Yemen.’”

Ethiopia

29.04.24 ACLED: EPO Year in Review: 2023-2024: The Ethiopia Peace Observatory (EPO) is a special project launched by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) in April 2021 to enhance local data collection efforts in Ethiopia and offer deeper analysis through weekly and monthly updates

Kenya, Tanzania

30.04.24 Il Post: Le grosse inondazioni in Africa orientale (Major flooding in East Africa): In recent days, at least 200 people have died in Kenya and other East African countries due to major floods and landslides caused by prolonged heavy rains. In Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi, floods have swept through entire towns, flooded roads and houses, and landslides have demolished houses and caused dams to collapse.

Somalia

01.04.24 taz: Somalia zerfällt noch weiter: Puntland strebt nach Unabhängigkeit: The government of the autonomous region of Puntland in north-east Somalia declared its withdrawal from Somalia's federal institutions on Easter Sunday, opening the door to the second secession of a region from Somalia after Somaliland, which has been a separate state since 1991.

Sudan

29.04.24 NYT: Surrounded by Fighters and Haunted by Famine, Sudan City Fears Worst: A powerful paramilitary group has encircled El Fasher, the last remaining obstacle to domination of the sprawling Darfur region, raising alarm about mass killings if the city is taken.

29.04.24 AJE: Sudan’s Original Janjaweed Leader Sides with Army Against Tribal Foe: Notorious Leader Musa Hilal has pledged support for the army in a move that could divide Arabs in Darfur (page no longer online)

28.04.24 New Arab: Sudan demands emergency UN meeting on UAE 'aggression': Sudan has requested an emergency UN Security Council meeting on what it calls UAE "aggression" for allegedly supporting paramilitaries battling the army, a diplomatic source said Saturday.

22.04.24 AJE: Sudan war could lead to more ethnic killings in volatile Darfur region: Clashes between the Sudanese army and the rival RSF are pulling in tribal actors, raising fears of a spiral into mass killings along ethnic lines, said the director of an international nongovernmental organisation (INGO), who requested anonymity to protect their team in North Darfur.

17.04.14 Guardian: Increasing number of villages torched across Sudan shows conflict is intensifying – report: Satellite data indicates growing number of airstrikes on settlements, in a war that has already killed thousands

15.04.24 taz: Geberkonferenz für Sudan: Regierungen sagen Millionen zu: At the international Sudan conference in Paris on Monday, important progress was made in financing humanitarian aid. At the start of the conference, the EU Commission pledged 215 million euros to finance the UN appeal for aid for Sudan and a further 140 million for the UN appeal for aid for the effects of the Sudan crisis in neighbouring countries, totalling 355 million. According to Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens), Germany is providing a total of 244 million euros for both appeals. France has pledged 110 million. The USA is contributing the equivalent of 138 million.

Also see Guardian 15.04.24: UK Foreign Office holding secret talks with Sudan’s RSF paramilitary group: News that the British government and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are engaged in clandestine negotiations has prompted warnings that such talks risk legitimising the notorious militia – which continues to commit multiple war crimes – while undermining Britain’s moral credibility in the region. One human rights group described the UK’s willingness to negotiate with the RSF as “shocking”.

15.04.24 taz: Kämpfe in Darfur weiten sich aus: While diplomats and aid organisations are conferring about Sudan in Paris, fighting is intensifying in Sudan's western region of Darfur. Local media and observers agree that fierce fighting is taking place around the town of El Fasher in Sudan's western region of Darfur, with numerous civilian casualties.

01.04.24: AJE: Are Sudan’s civil society activists being targeted by both warring sides? Sudan’s warring parties are using food as a weapon and targeting local activists for feeding their communities.

West Africa, Sahel, Chad

Sahel

18.04.24 AJE: Deadly Sahel heatwave caused by ‘human-induced’ climate change: Study: The heatwave caused temperatures in Mali and Burkina Faso to climb to more than 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) between April 1 and April 5, an unusual spike for the season that likely led to numerous deaths, said the study published on Thursday.
The WWA’s observations and climate models found that “heatwaves with the magnitude observed in March and April 2024 in the region would have been impossible to occur without the global warming of 1.2C to date”, which it linked to “human-induced climate change”.
Although the Sahel is accustomed to bouts of heat during this time of year, the extreme hot spell in April would have been 1.4C cooler “if humans had not warmed the planet by burning fossil fuels” such as coal and other activities such as deforestation.

23.04.24 Guardian: The Guardian view on the Sahel and its crises: the west can still make a difference: In an impoverished region, which has long suffered poor governance and instability, violence is surging. The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project says that deaths in conflict due to political violence grew 38% last year, while the Global Terrorism Index says that the Sahel accounted for around half of all terrorism deaths worldwide. Banditry claims many lives too.
The west’s priorities have been containing Islamist militancy and migration, as well as a booming drugs trade linked to armed groups. But coup-makers see an opportunity in alternative sponsors who don’t impose conditions that they see as impinging on their interests and tying their hands in fighting jihadists.

Burkina Faso

25.04.24 Guardian: Burkina Faso soldiers massacred 223 civilians in one day, finds rights group: Burkina Faso’s military summarily executed 223 civilians, including at least 56 children, in a single day in late February, according to an investigation into one of the worst abuses by the country’s armed forces for years. The mass killings have been linked to a widening military campaign to tackle jihadist violence and happened weeks after Russian troops landed in the west African country to help improve security.

Also see Le Monde 29.04.24: Le Burkina Faso suspend l’accès à plusieurs sites d’information dont celui du « Monde », ainsi qu’à la chaîne TV5Monde
DW 29.04.24: Why Burkina Faso is muzzling foreign media
Guardian 29.04.24: Burkina Faso bans more media over coverage of alleged massacre
16.04.14 adf news: Burkina Faso Use of Volunteer Militia Drives Increase in Civilian Deaths: Since Burkina Faso’s ruling junta came to power in September 2022, the leadership increasingly has relied on the poorly trained and lightly armed Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland (VDP) to serve as front-line forces to battle extremists. Experts believe the strategy has led to thousands of civilian deaths, driven attacks on communities providing volunteers and shredded the country’s social fabric.

12.04.24 RFI: Le Burkina annonce la création de prisons militaires annexes, les associations s’inquiètent: According to the government, the current facility is too small and can no longer hold people in compliance with the prescribed standards. But this decision is worrying some human rights defenders.

11.04.24 RFI: Le Burkina Faso étoffe sa flotte de drones achetés à la Turquie: The Burkinabe army already had five Bayraktar TB2 combat drones, acquired in spring 2022 under Colonel Damiba, each costing €4.5 million. Now, with the delivery of a dozen TB2 models as well as the more powerful Akinci UAVs, the number of personnel has tripled.

Burkina Faso – Ghana

18.04.24 TNH: Ghana accused of expelling Fulani asylum seekers from Burkina Faso: While Ghana has welcomed thousands of Burkinabè refugees fleeing escalating jihadist violence across the border, Fulani rights groups allege that it has also been expelling ethnic Fulani asylum seekers, targeting a community unfairly accused of supporting the insurgency.

Chad

30.04.24 ACLED: Between violence, geopolitical competition, and the quest for social justice: Chad’s road to elections: Chad will hold presidential elections on 6 May amid tight political controls by the incumbent leader. In this guest contribution, Dr. Valerio Colosio examines political violence in Chad through two generations of Déby rule and whether the election will confirm the status quo or trigger some deeper transformations, in a moment of big geopolitical changes in the Sahel.

18.04.24 CNN: Chad’s government threatens to kick out US troops as Russia expands influence in Africa:In a letter sent to the US defense attaché last week, Chadian officials threatened to cancel the Status of Forces Agreement, or SOFA, which determines the rules and conditions under which US military personnel can operate in the country. While the letter did not directly order the US military to leave Chad, the officials told CNN that it said all US forces would have to leave the French base in N’Djamena.

Mali

30.04.24 Reuters: IMF, Mali reach staff deal on $120 mln emergency financing: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday it had reached a staff-level agreement with Mali for about $120 million in emergency financing, as the West African country is struggling with rising food insecurity. Import costs for essential goods such as food and fertilizers in Mali have risen due to a regional funding squeeze and recent geopolitical shocks, the IMF said in a statement.

17.04.24 Maliweb: Crise énergétique :le Niger finalise un accord de livraison de 150 millions de litres de gasoil au Mali. Niger is once again coming to the aid of Mali, which is plunged into an unprecedented electricity supply crisis.

11.04.24 Le Monde: Mali's junta 'suspends' political party activities for 'reasons of public order': Mali's ruling military junta on Wednesday, April 10, suspended all political activities, saying the move is needed to maintain public order. "Until further notice, for reasons of public order, the activities of political parties and the activities of a political character of associations are suspended across the whole country," under a decree decided by junta leader Colonel Assimi Goita, a government spokesman said.

Niger

12.04.24 Reuters: Russia sends military trainers and air-defence system to Niger, says Niger state TV: In a Thursday broadcast, RTN showed footage of a military cargo plane unloading gear as people in fatigues stood by. It said the deployment followed a recent agreement between Niger's junta and Russian President Vladimir Putin to boost cooperation.

12.04.24 AJE: Agadez has begun to live again: The flow can be visually confirmed around bus stations in Agadez. The minaret of the great mosque of Agadez, a landmark for desert caravans, stands in the background. Market stalls sell supplies for the journey, like food, water cans and phone batteries, while nearby houses serve as garages for loading trucks with goods. Travellers, mostly boys and young men, wait under tarps with their belongings.

05.04.24 RFI: Niger: les autorités décrètent la dissolution des conseils des collectivités territoriales: In Niger, the regional, city and district councils have been dissolved by order of the President of the Conseil national pour la sauvegarde de la patrie (CNSP), the body that overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum on 26 July 2023.

Senegal

12.04.24 African Business: Senegal’s Faye rows back from campaign rhetoric with cautious economic hires: Former tax and IMF officials will take up key government posts as Senegal's new president departs from the radicalism of the campaign trail. The appointments are likely to reassure international investors that Senegal, which was largely seen as a business-friendly hub under predecessor Macky Sall, will remain a safe destination for investment.

09.04.24 AJE: European Parliament urges inquiry after Al Jazeera Senegal investigation: Investigation revealed that EU-trained Senegalese police meant to tackle cross-border crime worked to quash pro-democracy protests.

Europe

Cyprus

21.04.24 Tagesschau: Zypern will Migration mit EU-Abkommen begrenzen: The small EU island republic of Cyprus is at its breaking point in the face of an influx of refugees. Now European money is to help keep Syrian refugees in Lebanon, through which they are travelling to Cyprus.

14.04.24: AlJazeera: Cyprus suspends asylum applications for Syrians as arrivals rise: “In practice, the measure means asylum seekers will be confined to two reception camps offering food and shelter, with no other benefit.”

Germany

22.04.24 ND: Ankunftszentrum in Berlin-Tegel: Fatale Zustände für Geflüchtete: Mismanagement, incompetence and profit maximisation are said to create inhumane conditions in the camp with almost 5,000 residents.

Italy

19.04.24 taz: Iuventa-Crew wird nicht bestraft (Iuventa Crew will not be punished): The court in Trapani, Sicily, dismissed the case against the crew of the German sea rescue ship Iuventa on Friday. The trial, which is based on investigations that have been ongoing since 2017, was the largest against sea rescuers in the EU to date.

04.04.24 Rescue.org: Report: Please wait: Barriers to access the procedure for international protection in Italy: Today many people in Italy are stuck in an asylum vacuum, without proper documentation, work or accommodation - caught in a state of limbo that can last for up to eight months.

Poland

27.04.24 Guardian: Polish border ‘pushbacks’ back in spotlight after pregnant woman’s ordeal: Activists say little has changed in treatment of migrants and refugees under Donald Tusk’s new government

UK

28.04.24 Guardian: Home Office to detain asylum seekers across UK in shock Rwanda operation: The Home Office will launch a major operation to detain asylum seekers across the UK on Monday, weeks earlier than expected, in preparation for their deportation to Rwanda, the Guardian can reveal. Officials plan to hold asylum seekers who turn up for routine meetings at immigration service offices or bail appointments and will also pick people up nationwide in a surprise two-week exercise.

Also see: Comment on the Guardian 30.04.24: Never mind stop the boats: Sunak is using fear to build a life raft for himself. But the people will stop him: Asylum seekers are our neighbours, not political pawns for failing politicians. If MPs cannot resist the Rwanda plan, activists will;
Guardian 22.04.: The tortuous journey of the UK government’s Rwanda plan: Key dates in the Conservatives’ struggle to push through their policy of processing asylum seekers in a third country
Guardian 23.04.24: Humanitarian groups demand safe routes to UK after five deaths in Channel

01.04.24 Guardian: Migrant workers at greater risk of modern slavery after Brexit, research finds: Workers on the schemes faced significant issues of debt and deductions from wages because of illegal recruitment fees as well as costs incurred from travel, training, accommodation and high visa charges, researchers found. They also described deception by intermediaries, who misled workers about the conditions and length of employment they could expect. Migrant workers’ vulnerability to exploitation was compounded by the hostile environment as fears of immigration enforcement action deterred them from reporting mistreatment or exploitation to the authorities.

European Union

EU Migration Pact

10.04.24 taz: Europäische Asylrechtsreform Geas: „Ein System der Abschottung“: The EU Parliament has voted in favour of the controversial Geas asylum reform. Among other things, the legislative package provides for faster asylum procedures at the external borders and a solidarity mechanism for the distribution of asylum seekers.

Also see ECRE 12.04.24: Adoption of EU Pact on Migration and Asylum: The EU Pact on Migration and Asylum was adopted by the European Parliament (EP) on 10 April during its penultimate plenary session before the end of the current mandate. The ten legislative files that collectively make up the Pact were all approved with varying levels of support from members (MEPs)
Statewatch 10.04.24: The EU Migration Pact: a dangerous regime of migrant surveillance
Statewatch 04.04.24: Hardwiring the externalisation of border control into EU law
EUObserver 08.04.24: The colonial biometric legacy at heart of new EU asylum system: “On Wednesday (10 April), the EU is set to vote on a new set of asylum and migration reforms. Among the many controversial changes proposed in the new migration pact, one went almost unnoticed — a seemingly innocent reform of the EU's asylum database, EURODAC. Although framed as purely technical adjustments, the reality is far more malicious. The changes to EURODAC will massively exacerbate violence against people on the move.”11.04.24 Euractiv: Von der Leyen to seek third-country migration deals during Hungary’s EU Council presidency: Starting in July, Hungary’s EU Council presidency will be in charge of brokering agreements between EU countries and defining the policy agenda. Budapest is also interested in continuing to work on tackling the issue at the external borders and in third countries via such deals. Two diplomats said that could take the shape of more deals over the months after June’s EU elections, starting with Morocco or Turkey, but looking at the southern neighbourhood as a whole, too.

EU - Egypt

17.04.24: RLS: A Regional Alliance against People on the Move: “The new EU–Egypt deal is neocolonialism at its best — and signals complicity in Israel’s destruction of Gaza”.

EU/Ethiopia

30.04.24: InfoMigrants: EU tightens visa requirements for Ethiopians in readmission quid pro quo: “The EU this week announced tighter visa conditions for Ethiopians. In a series of measures, people from Ethiopia will have to wait 45 days instead of 15 days for their EU visa to be processed [...]. The changes, announced by the Council of the EU on Monday, April 29, are intended to put pressure on the East African country to cooperate in deportation procedures.”

EU - Lebanon

02.05.24: Euractiv: EU pledges €1 billion for Lebanon to curb migration, support economy: “European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Thursday (2 May) €1 billion in financial aid to Lebanon, disbursed over three years, to support the country’s economy and address the challenges posed by refugees and migration.”

EU – Sudan

15.04.24 Guardian about Patis Conference: Europe: Sudan war ‘world’s worst child displacement crisis,’ Paris conference told – as it happened: Senior officials gathered in Paris for an international humanitarian conference on Sudan, co-organised by France, Germany and the European Union.

Frontex

16.04.24: digit36: Frontex Director calls for “gender-sensitive borders” and now explains the concept: “Hans Leijtens wants more female employees in EU border troops and “women-sensitive” camps at the external borders. The concept is also being criticised.”

Italy - Albania

23.04.24: InfoMigrants: Italy-Albania asylum-seeker deal to cost €653 million, report finds: “An agreement between Italy and Albania to have asylum claims processed outside the EU will cost an estimated 653 million euros over five years, the Italian research institute Openpolis has found.”

Italy – Tunisia

18.04.24 Euractiv: Italy and Tunisia forge stronger ties to tackle migration challenges: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni embarked on a significant diplomatic mission to Tunis on Wednesday (17 April), where she solidified a partnership with President Kais Saied aimed at tackling migration challenges. Meloni stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation with Tunisia so that the country does not become an arrival point for migrants wanting to enter Europe. In addition to migration issues, agreements totaling €100 million were signed.

Reports and Long Reads

CAR

25.04.24 GRANTA: Wagner in Africa by James Pogue: he Russians really were everywhere in Bangui. There was a Wagner base not far from my hotel, and convoys of men in Wagner uniforms passed at all hours, usually in groups of four or five Land Cruiser 79 pickups, the 4×4 of choice for rebel groups and mercenaries the world over.

EU

04/24: transform! europe: At the heart of Fortress Europe II. Austria’s Role in Border Externalisation Policies in the Balkans: “Over a year ago, the network transform! europe published the first part of the study At the Heart of the Fortress Europe, focusing on the role of Austrian actors and Austrian-based organisations in externalising the EU border regime in the Balkans, more specifically in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Considering the New Pact, Part II of the study follows up on Austria’s involvement in EU border externalisation policies through migration management.”

April 2024 Picum: Cases of criminalisation of migration and solidarity in the EU in 2023: In 2023, PICUM’s media monitoring confirmed a concerning trend: at least 117 individuals faced criminal or administrative proceedings for acting in solidarity with migrants in the EU. Additionally, at least 76 migrants were subjected to criminalisation under counter-smuggling legislation.

April 2024 CEAR: El Pacto Europeo sobre Migración y Asilo:

10.04.24 Solomon: How European countries wrongfully classify children seeking asylum as adults: Thousands of children seeking protection in Greece, Italy, and the UK have likely been registered as adults – a failure with serious consequence. Every year, tens of thousands of children undertake dangerous journeys to Europe on their own, often in search of safety or to reunite with relatives. In 2023, more than 41,500 unaccompanied children applied for asylum in EU countries.

09.04.24 Statewatch: Policing migration: when “harm reduction” means “multipurpose aerial surveillance”: EU’s latest “operational action plan” on migrant smuggling gives a central role to Europol, which will receive data resulting from more than two dozen joint police operations launched by EU member states, EU agencies and a range of non-EU states. The UK is heavily involved in the plan, and is leading one activity. One objective is for harm reduction and assistance to victims, but the only activity foreseen is for Frontex to increase use of its “EUROSUR Fusion Services, including the Multipurpose Aerial Surveillance aircraft service.”
with Documentation of Operational Action Plan 2024-2025: Migrant smuggling Council doc. 14541/3/23 REV 3, LIMITE, 15 March 2024 (pdf), Council doc. 14541/23, LIMITE, 3 November 2023 (pdf)

Greece

April 2024 Boat Refugee Foundation: Visualising data from the Greek hotspots 2016-2023 and Documenting Conditions in the Greek Hotspots 2016-2023

Senegal

30.04.24 MMC: Multiple and intersecting harms. Examining use of force in return and its detrimental impact on migrants’ human rights during and after return to Senegal

One Year of War in Sudan

30.04.24 NYT: One Year of War in Sudan: How Two Rival Generals Wrecked Their Country: The fighting between two generals leading competing military factions has now been going on for a year, leading to massacres, hunger and a massive wave of people fleeing their homes.

15.04.24 ACLED: One Year of War in Sudan: Since fighting first broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on 15 April, ACLED records 5,550 events of political violence and more than 15,550 reported fatalities in Sudan.

15.04.24 TNH: From mutual aid to mass displacement: How we chronicled a year of conflict in Sudan: What started as a dispute over plans to merge the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) into the regular army has turned into a nationwide war that is drawing in an ever-expanding number of militias, rebel forces, and ordinary civilians

14.04.24 taz: Ein Jahr Krieg in Sudan: Die Krieger zerstören ihr Land: After a year of war between the army and RSF militias, nothing is working in Sudan. There is a threat of famine and an expansion of the fighting.

15.04.24 taz: In die Wüste geschickt: Very few people manage to flee from the war in Sudan to neighbouring Egypt. They are anything but welcome there.

11.04.14 AJE: After a year of war in Sudan, what is the situation now?: It has been nearly one year since war broke out in Sudan, causing a devastating humanitarian crisis and bringing long-existing political and ethnic tensions into sharp focus. The two warring parties, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), have continued a longstanding struggle for power. Over the past year, violent clashes have killed nearly 16,000 people and displaced millions.

11.04.24 TNH (Podcast): How mutual aid in Sudan is getting international support: As international NGOs and the UN struggle to access certain areas, decentralised mutual aid networks – known as emergency response rooms (ERRs) – have stepped in to fill the vacuum.
In acknowledgement of this reality, donors, international NGOs and UN agencies are trying to shift their programmes to support these local volunteer-led networks, but deep-seated bureaucracy – standing in stark contrast to mutual aid groups’ nimbleness and agility – has meant that only a fraction of the millions of dollars promised to them have been received by ERR volunteers.

Tunisia

09.04.24 Alarmphone: One year on from the start of the crisis, violations of migrants' rights continue in Tunisia In addition to intercepting migrants in national territorial waters, the Tunisian National Guard also endeavours to pursue them within the country, notably by arbitrarily displacing them, disregarding humanitarian considerations and the international conventions signed and ratified by Tunisia. These violations occurred in several regions of the country, where security forces decided to push migrants towards rural, peri-urban areas, notably in El Aamra, El Jédériya, and Kasserine, where their situation is becoming increasingly worrying and alarming.

Campaigns

09.04.24 Statement: One year on from the start of the crisis, violations of migrants' rights continue in Tunisia: More than a year after the President of the Republic of Tunisia’s statement following a meeting of the National Security Council linking the presence of migrants to “a plot to alter the demographic composition of Tunisia”, systematic violations and racist and xenophobic campaigns targeting sub-Saharan migrants in the country continue unabated.

Database Detention Landscapes by Border Criminologies, Mobile Info Team and the Border Violence Monitoring Network: “The database pools testimonies, incident reports, open-source research and visual evidence of rights violations inside facilities where migrants are detained in Greece. By bringing all these resources together it sheds light on the systemic nature of different forms of violence in Greek facilities. The database is a tool for lawyers, researchers, and civil society actors. It aims to support litigation efforts and provide a model that can be replicated across different localities.”

Events

15.05.24, 7 - 9 pm EEST, online: Virtual Teach-In about the #FreePylos9 by the Feminist Autonomous Centre for Research: “In this teach-in, to take place virtually the week before the trial of the “Pylos 9” begins, we will be joined by defendants' lawyers, organisers, and people facing criminalisation to understand how this case has unfolded, and why it is crucial to show solidarity with people on the move criminalised as “smugglers” or “traffickers”. We’ll discuss this specific legal case, linking it to and contextualising it within ongoing practices of resistance to border violence, which is the real cause of deadly shipwrecks.”