Monthly Review June 2024

OUT NOW: Our Monthly Press Review June 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, on the war in Sudan, and news on the protests in Kenya.

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 Website on Externalization:

Externalizing Asylum: A compendium of scientific knowledge
Externalization of asylum procedures and refugee protection is a highly topical and controversial issue shaping political and societal discussions worldwide. Externalization denotes the outsourcing of asylum procedures and refugee protection to other countries.
The initiative “Externalizing Asylum” provides comprehensive insights into the background and effects of externalization practices. Coordinated and edited by Prof. Dr. Ulrike Krause and Dr. Christiane Fröhlich, the initiative consists of approximately 60 nuanced analyses by scholars from around the world addressing diverse legal, political, conceptual, ethical, and further challenges of externalization.

Follow Up: Gaza

02.07.24 Guardian: Palestinians flee Khan Younis as eight reported dead after Israeli strikes: IDF bombards ruined city and orders mass evacuation after rocket barrage claimed by Islamic Jihad

27.06.24 Guardian: Israel warns it could take Lebanon ‘back to the Stone Age’ as defence minister wraps up Washington trip

Also see AJE 27.06.24: Mapping 7,400 cross-border attacks between Israel and Lebanon; Dwer Spiegel 19.06.24: Israel droht Hisbollah mit »umfassendem Krieg«, USA um Deeskalation bemüht

26.06.24 AJE: Israeli forces continue Gaza bombardment as UN aid chief demands access: Attacks come as UN sounds alarm over deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, demands opening of crossings.

26.06.24 AJE: India exports rockets, explosives to Israel amid Gaza war, documents reveal: There is mounting evidence that weapon parts from India, a country that has long advocated dialogue over military action in resolving conflicts, are quietly making their way to Israel, including during the ongoing months-long war in Gaza. A lack of transparency on India’s transfers helps them slip under the radar, say analysts.

23.06.24 taz: Israel treibt Annexion voran: Israels Finanzminister hat erklärt, die Kontrolle über das Westjordanland weiter festigen zu wollen. Peace Now bezeichnet das Vorhaben als Annexion.

Also see Guardian 20.06.24: IDF transfers powers in occupied West Bank to pro-settler civil servants

21.06.24 MEM: Expert panel at SOAS discuss accountability for Israel’s Gaza war crimes and Genocide: Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, emphasised the need to pay tribute to Palestinians, who stand as a symbol of international crisis and have changed our understanding of the word “resistance.” Albanese stated that “Gaza works like a concentration camp,” adding that we have been too cautious with our language by referring to Gaza as an open-air prison. “Even in prison there are more rights than what has been granted to most people in Gaza,” she added. Albanese also discussed the difference between genocide and extermination, highlighting that settler colonialism is inherently genocidal.

19.06.24 NYT: U.S. Pier for Gaza Aid Is Failing, and Could Be Dismantled Early: Officials hope a looming deadline will pressure Israel to open more land routes into the territory, which is facing extreme levels of hunger.

17.06.24 Zeit: Tausende protestieren erneut gegen die Regierung Netanjahus: Seit Monaten demonstrieren jedes Wochenende vor allem in Tel Aviv Zehntausende Menschen gegen die Regierung und ihre Gaza-Politik. Zum Wochenbeginn weiteten sich die Demonstrationen erneut nach Jerusalem aus.

12.06.24 NYT: U.N. Report Accuses Both Israel and Palestinian Groups of War Crimes: A United Nations commission investigating the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel and the subsequent conflict in Gaza has accused both Palestinian armed groups and Israel of committing war crimes, and the panel said that Israel’s conduct of the war included crimes against humanity.

10.06.24 ACLED: Civilians or Soldiers? Settler violence in the West Bank: While violence in the West Bank is far from a new phenomenon, a sharp rise in settler violence in recent years turned into a tsunami following Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. Emboldened by the Israeli far-right government, settlers see the ongoing war in Gaza as an opportunity to push forward their agenda of forcing Palestinians to leave their villages. According to B’Tselem, an Israel-based observatory of settler violence, settlers have forced at least 18 Palestinian communities — over 1,000 people — to flee their homes since October.

01.06.24 NYT: What We Know About the Latest Gaza Cease-Fire Proposal: President Biden outlined a road map put forward by Israel that would begin with an immediate, temporary cease-fire and work toward a permanent end to the war and the reconstruction of Gaza.

All Africa and the New Age of Starvation

13.06.24 Guardian: Conflicts drive number of forcibly displaced people to record high: The latest annual assessment from the United Nations high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) said a sharp rise in the number of people forcibly displaced during 2023 had brought the total to a record high of more than 117 million.

03.06.24 Africa Report: Ports, farmland, contracts: What is UAE’s Mohamed bin Zayed seeking in Africa?: For MBZ, Africa is seen as a means to ensure the survival of its state, a reservoir of resources and a potential zone of influence. As a telling figure, 60% of the DRC’s mining exports are directed to the UAE and China.. Since 2006, the cornerstone of this policy and the UAE’s economic ambitions has been port concessions through two companies: DP World, based in Dubai, and Abu Dhabi Ports Group, based in Abu Dhabi.

North Africa

Algeria

27.06. Guardian: Water Scarcety and Protests: On 8 June, anger over months of water rationing spilled over in the drought-stricken central Algerian town of Tiaret, where baclava-wearing demonstrators barricaded roads and burned tyres.
Rationing had been introduced to deal with a drought in parts of Algeria and neighbouring Morocco where the amount of rainfall that had historically replenished critical reservoirs was much reduced.

Algeria / Morocco

21.06.24 Africa Report: Diplomatic freeze between Algeria and Morocco sees trade plummet: The diplomatic breakdown between Algeria and Morocco has had a major impact on imports and exports between the neighbouring countries, which have fallen by more than 80%.

Egypt

24.06.24 NAJ: Egypt’s Demographic Time Bomb: This month of June 2024, the Egyptian population reached the record number 106.4 million people. Egyptians added 126,000 babies in just one month. Dividing this by 30 days, fetches 4,200 babies per day. The Egyptian government does not like this trend

29.06.24 MEM: European companies signing more than $42 bln worth of deals in Egypt, von der Leyen: The announcement of more than 20 new deals or MOUs with Egypt follows a 7.4 billion euro EU funding package and an upgraded relationship with the country that was agreed in March, amid a push to stabilise its economy and stem migrant flows to Europe.

Egypt / Sudan

19.06.24 Guardian: EU-funded Egyptian forces ‘rounding up and deporting Sudanese refugees’: Egypt forcibly returned 800 Sudanese detainees in first three months of this year, Amnesty International reports. The organisation said a campaign of mass arrests in Cairo and neighbouring Giza, and in the southern city of Aswan, where police have “conducted mass stops and identity checks targeting black individuals, spreading fear within the refugee community, leaving many afraid to leave their homes”.
Amnesty documented 14 arrests of refugees from public hospitals in Aswan. People were held in makeshift detention facilities run by Egyptian border guards, a force that has received extensive EU funding.

Also see SWM 21.06.24: Egypt accused of unlawful deportation of Sudanese asylum seekers

Tunisia

19.06.24 Sergio Scandura on X: Tunisia's SAR area and TNMRCC have been officially included in the GISIS Global SAR Plan of IMO (International Maritime Organization, UN maritime authority).

19.06.24 AJE: Smuggler paradise on Tunisia-Libya border hurts as closure strangles trade: The people of Ben Guerdane survived off the Ras Jadir border crossing. Its closure hurt them, badly.

12.06.24 Infomigrants: UN alleges Tunisian border guards rounded up migrants and passed them to Libya: According to a confidential UN briefing seen by the news agency Reuters, Tunisian border guards rounded up migrants and passed them to counterparts in Libya, where the migrants allegedly faced forced labor, extortion, torture and killing.

07.06.24 UN: CERD letter to Tunisia: „I write to inform you that the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (“the Committee”) received updated information under its early warning and urgent action procedure related to the situation of Sub-Saharan African migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Tunisia.“

06.06.24 taz: Mi­gran­t:in­nen in Tunesien: Abschiebung um jeden Preis: Videos in sozialen Netzwerken zeigen eine neue Welle der Gewalt gegen Mi­gran­t:in­nen und Geflüchtete in Tunesien. Polizei und Nationalgarde gehen zurzeit an dem 40 Kilometer langen Küstenstreifen zwischen Chebba und Sfax gegen Schmuggler und Menschenhändler vor. Die Opfer der Gewalt sind jedoch meist die Geflüchteten selbst. Die meisten sind aus Subsahara-Afrika eingereist und warten in der Region auf die Überfahrt auf die italienische Insel Lampedusa.

East Africa

Ethiopia

04.06.24 AJE: Strong evidence that Ethiopia committed genocide in Tigray war: Report: Issued on Tuesday by the United States-based New Lines Institute, the 120-page draft quotes multiple, widespread and credible independent reports that Ethiopian forces and their allies carried out “acts constituting the crime of genocide” during the conflict, which ran between 2020-22. The authors call for Ethiopia to be brought before the International Court of Justice.

Ethiopia / Sudan

27.06.24 TNH: Sudanese refugees trapped in Ethiopian forest call for ‘immediate evacuation’: A large group of Sudanese refugees who have been stranded in a forest in a conflict-affected region of neighbouring Ethiopia for the past two months are facing “catastrophic” living conditions and continued attacks by local militiamen and bandits.

Also see Desperation and Hope: Sudanese Refugees' Struggle in Amhara Region Camps

24.06.24 Sudan Tribune: Ethiopian militias invade Sudanese territory, escalating violence and looting: eports of escalating violence, looting, and attacks on farmers and herders in the border area have raised alarm as the militias attempt to seize control of agricultural lands. Military sources revealed that the militias have targeted Sudanese herders, killing one and stealing hundreds of cattle.

Somalia

11.06.24 AJE: At least 49 dead, 140 missing in migrant boat sinking off Yemen: UN: Refugees and migrants from the Horn of Africa and East Africa are increasingly braving the dangerous journey to reach Saudi Arabia and other Arab states of the region via Yemen. The IOM said in a statement on Tuesday that 71 people had been rescued, eight of whom were taken to hospital. At least six children and 31 women were among the dead.

20.06.24 AJE: Somalia asks peacekeepers to slow withdrawal, fears armed group resurgence: Somalia and neighbouring nations have expressed concern over al-Shabab seizing power amid a ‘security vacuum’.

Sudan:

26.06.24 Guardian: Sudan’s warring factions using starvation as weapon, experts say: Human rights experts working for the United Nations have accused Sudan’s warring parties of using starvation as a war weapon, amid mounting warnings of imminent famine in the African country.

Also see TNH 24.06.24: ‘We survive together’: The communal kitchens fighting famine in Khartoum; WOZ 20.06.24: Hungern, wo die Waffen schweigen: Die grösste Flüchtlingskrise der Welt spielt sich derzeit im Sudan ab. Ganz im Süden des Landes, in den Nuba-Bergen, finden Hunderttausende Schutz – aber immer weniger zu essen. Die Region steht vor einer Hungersnot.; Guardian AJE 20.06.24: Tensions bubble as Sudanese refugees feel resentment from Chadian hosts: Some 600,000 Sudanese are seeking safety in Chad, but host communities are blaming them for using up scarce resources; AJE 18.06.24: Starving to death is as scary as the war for Sudanese refugees in Chad; Guardian 17.06.24: ‘We need the world to wake up’: Sudan facing world’s deadliest famine in 40 years: Sudan is already the worst humanitarian crisis in the world and is slipping towards a humanitarian disaster of historic proportions, with far less media coverage and global concern. A UN humanitarian appeal for the country has received only 16% of the funds it needs; IPC: Sudan: Acute Food Insecurity Situation for April - May 2024 and Projections for June - September 2024 and October 2024 - February 2025: Fourteen months into the conflict, Sudan is facing the worst levels of acute food insecurity ever recorded by the IPC in the country.

19.06.24 AJE: Civil war in Sudan takes centre stage at UN: Sudan has accused the United Arab Emirates of arming a paramilitary force in the country’s 14-month civil war, prompting a clash at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

30.06.24 SWM: Blitzkrieg: RSF advance deep into Sennar State and storm into the capital Sinja: Shocked residents scrambled to leave the Sennar state capital Sinja yesterday after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) suddenly and unexpectedly stormed into the city, which lies in a fertile agricultural region along the banks of the Blue Nile.

Also see 30.06.24 Sudan Tribune: Mass displacement and looting in Sinjah After RSF attack: Sinjah, the capital of Sennar state, and surrounding areas are experiencing a mass exodus of civilians following the Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) attack on the city on Saturday. The RSF has been accused of widespread looting and human rights violations.;SWM 26.06.24: Sennar at risk of partial encirclement; AJE 20.06.24: Sudan’s RSF captures key army stronghold of el-Fula: The capture of el-Fula may be “significant”, being one of only two army bases in strategically located West Kordofan, with a power station.; SWM 19.06.24: RSF suffer losses attacking Khartoum enclave; SWM 17.06.24: Eid in Sudan: 'Nothing is worth all this destruction': Fighting continues in El Fasher as RSF advance deeper into the city; 14.06.24 AJE: Sudan’s army repels major assault on el-Fasher; kills RSF commander; 14.06.24 SWM: Desert combat in North Darfur between RSF and Joint Force: Now the fighting has spread to desert regions closer to the Chadian border, an area inhabited by both Zaghawa and Arab tribes, which constitute the majority of the Joint Force and RSF, respectively. BBC 11.06.24: Key Sudanese city could fall to rebels imminently – US: US envoy Tom Perriello told the BBC that some in the RSF think capturing El-Fasher will help them establish Darfur as a breakaway state. Mr Perriello said the US would not recognise an independent Darfur "under any circumstances".;taz 09.06.24: Massaker in Sudan: Hunderte Leichen in Weiß: In einem Dorf in Sudans Kornkammer Gezira soll die RSF-Miliz über 200 Menschen getötet haben. Hilfswerke warnen derweil vor einer schweren Hungersnot.

01.06.24 NZZ: Kaugummis und Süssgetränke finanzieren den Krieg im Sudan: Denn der Akaziensaft , der im Land gewonnen wird, ist in den Produkten unerlässlich. Wer im Sudan Gummiarabikum transportieren und exportieren will, kommt nicht an den verfeindeten Armeen vorbei. Sie lassen die Konvois mit dem begehrten Saft der Akazie nur gegen Bezahlung durch. Davon leben die beiden Kriegsparteien.

West Africa and Sahel

Atlantic Route

19.06.24 TNH: Deaths on migration route to Canary Islands soar to 1,000 a month: Mauritania has overtaken Senegal as the main departure point for those taking on the perilous Atlantic crossing. More than 5,000 people died in the first five months of this year trying to reach Spain by sea, 95% of them on Atlantic Ocean crossings from West and Northwest Africa to the Canary Islands, a new report on the world’s deadliest migration route reveals. Arrivals in the Canary Islands have been rising for years, but the latest figures represent an increase in fatalities of almost 700% in the first five months of 2024 over the same period in 2023. Frontex has sought to blame “criminal groups” for the increase in dangerous crossings.

Burkina Faso

21.06.24 AJE: Is Burkina Faso on the cusp of another coup?: Worsening insecurity in the country is fuelling rumours of dissent against Burkina Faso’s military government.

Also see Clingendael Special in Long Reads and Reports.

22.06.24 RFI: Mali: des munitions d’armes de la Minusma envoyées au Burkina Faso pour être détruites: Au Burkina Faso, RFI révélait en début de semaine l'arrivée à Ouagadougou de 80 à 120 soldats maliens et de supplétifs russes de l'African Corps géré par Moscou, pour appuyer le capitaine Ibrahim Traoré.

Mali

HRW 25.06.24: Mali’s Junta Renews Assault on Political Opposition: Mali’s military junta arrested 11 opposition figures last week in the authorities’ latest assault on the political opposition.

Mauritania

29.06.24 AJE: Mauritania’s President Ghazouani leads in presidential election: Ghazouani, a 67-year-old former army chief of staff and defence minister who is widely expected to win the race in the first round, had 55.72 percent of the vote, the tallies on the electoral commission Ceni’s website showed as of 14:40 GMT on Sunday.

Niger

26.06.24 AJE: At least 20 soldiers, one civilian killed in western Niger: Soldiers had killed dozens of fighters while defending themselves, it said. Aerial and ground reinforcements were being deployed to track down the rest of the attackers.

21.06.24 AJE: Niger revokes French nuclear group’s licence at major uranium mine: Removal of Orano licence highlights tensions with France, with Russia said to be eyeing the major site.

02.06.24 Air Info: Crise pastorale au Niger : les éleveurs d’Agadez au bord du gouffre: Les éleveurs de la région d’Agadez sont aux prises avec une période de soudure particulièrement difficile cette année. C’est la conséquence d’une sévère sécheresse qui a non seulement réduit les pâturages mais aussi favorisé l’émergence de maladies affaiblissant le cheptel. À cette crise sans précédent, exacerbée par une sécheresse sévère, s’ajoute une pression supplémentaire : l’exploitation commerciale de la paille restante.

Nigeria

11.06.24 NYT: Nigeria Confronts Its Worst Economic Crisis in a Generation: People in Africa’s most populous nation are suffering as the price of food, fuel and medicine has skyrocketed out of reach for many.

04.06.24 taz: Generalstreik lähmt Nigeria: Nigerias Gewerkschaften haben am Montag einen unbefristeten Generalstreik gestartet, um einen höheren Mindestlohn zu erzwingen.

Central and Sub Saharan Africa

DR Congo

19.06.24 TNH: DR Congo’s war-displaced face rebel shelling and militia abuses: Residents of displacement sites in Goma, the largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo say they are living in constant fear after deadly artillery strikes hit their homes last month, and because of sexual violence and robberies occuring in the camps.

18.06.24 taz: Kongos lukrativer Zankapfel: Die Minen von Rubaya im Osten der Demokratischen Republik Kongo sind eine wichtige Quelle von Coltan – die Erzmischung mit Tantal, ohne das es keine modernen Elektrogeräte gibt. Seit Kurzem herrschen dort Kongos M23-Rebellen, es tobt Krieg

Kenya

25.06.24 taz: Massenproteste in Kenia: Generation Z kämpft um ihre Zukunft: In Kenia kämpft eine neue Jugendbewegung gegen Korruption. Sie verzichtet auf sichtbare Führer. Bei Straßenschlachten gibt es Tote;

Also see Reuters 03.07.24:Tear gas, stones and flames as Kenya protesters say 'Ruto must go!': Riot police fired tear gas grenades and charged at stone-throwing protesters in downtown Nairobi and across Kenya on Tuesday in the most widespread unrest since at least two dozen protesters died in clashes a week ago. The nationwide demonstrations signalled that President William Ruto had failed to appease a spontaneous youth protest movement, despite having abandoned plans for tax rises that triggered the unrest last week.; BBC 02.07.24: Tear gas fired at anti-government protesters in Kenya; Guardian 29.06.24: Kenya’s youth-driven protest movement at crossroads as it considers future: The movement that brought thousands of people out on to the streets in recent weeks, against the backdrop of a cost of a living crisis that has left many young people feeling hopeless, has little precedence in Kenya where protests are traditionally elite-led.; AJE 28.06.24: Kenya protests simmer after deadly week of demonstrations; AJE 27.06.24: ‘Not afraid to die’: Kenya tax protests inspire broader demand for change; ACLED 27.06.24: The opposition party led Kenya’s 2023 tax protests — that’s not the case in 2024; NYT 25.06.24: Anti-Tax Riots Rock Kenya, as President Vows Crackdown on ‘Treasonous’ Protesters; AJE 20.06.24: Kenya police use tear gas, water cannon as hundreds protest over tax hikes; Bird 20.06.24: The rise of Africa’s Gen Zs: From TikTok, X to the streets

26.06.24 NYT: Behind the Deadly Unrest in Kenya, a Staggering and Painful National Debt: Kenya, the fastest growing economy in Africa, is on the brink of a fiscal calamity. Across Africa, nations are spending more on interest than on health or education.

Also see Guardian 01.07.24: The world is scrambling to understand Kenya’s historic protests – this is what too many are missing: A finance bill was the trigger, but the backdrop is government debt and blinkered interventions from western institutions

13.06.24 TNH: Dadaab voices: Despair as refugee food rations in Kenya slashed by 60%: A severe funding shortfall has forced the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) to slash food rations and halt cash transfers to all refugees in Kenya, threatening the well-being of already vulnerable households.
This month, 630,000 people in the Dadaab, Kakuma, and Kalobeyei refugee camps will receive only 40% of the recommended minimum calorie intake needed to stay healthy. The cuts began in May.

Also see 30.06.24 East African: Financial exclusion, lack of identity documents: The nightmare of Kenyan refugees

Mozambique

16.06.24 AJE: ‘Double attack’: The curse of natural gas and armed groups in Mozambique: As Cabo Delgado province juggles large LNG reserves and ongoing violence, vulnerable civilians are paying the price.

West Asia

Lebanon

11.06.24 AJE: The EU’s 1 billion-euro gift will hurt Lebanon and its people: The money will only solidify the corrupt elite’s power and fuel violence against citizens and refugees.

Europe

Germany

19.06.24 FragDenStaat: Scharfe Kritik an Drittstaatenlösung: “The chancellor and prime ministers want to discuss whether asylum procedures can be outsourced to third countries. The basis for the discussion is a report by the Federal Ministry of the Interior. We are publishing the document.”

Also see taz 21.06.24: Asyldebatte in Deutschland: Absurd teure Scheinlösungen: Die Politik sucht mit den anvisierten Asylverfahren in Drittstaaten eine Wunderwaffe gegen die AfD-Erfolge. Monatelang hatte das Innenministerium die Idee von Dutzenden Ex­per­t:in­nen prüfen lassen. Doch diese seien „skeptisch bis kritisch“ oder lehnten „solche Modelle klar ab“, heißt es in dem Bericht, den Innenministerin Nancy Faeser (SPD) am Donnerstag der Ministerpräsidentenkonferenz vorstellte; taz 19.06.: Eine Verschärfung jagt die nächste;

Greece

17.06.24 AJE: Masked men who abused refugees likely worked ‘in concert’ with Greece: New documents from EU border agency Frontex cast doubt on a Greek mayor’s claim that the incident was ‘fake news’.

17.06.24 BBC: Greek coastguard threw migrants overboard to their deaths, witnesses say: The Greek coastguard has caused the deaths of dozens of migrants in the Mediterranean over a three-year period, witnesses say, including nine who were deliberately thrown into the water.
The nine are among more than 40 people alleged to have died as a result of being forced out of Greek territorial waters, or taken back out to sea after reaching Greek islands, BBC analysis has found.

Also see BBC 17.06.24: Greek opposition urges investigation after BBC migrant deaths report

Italy / Tunisia

24.06.24 Internazionale: Come funzionano i voli di rimpatrio forzato dall’Italia alla Tunisia: An entire plane is chartered to transport one or more dozens of people, each of whom will be escorted by two or three police officers. In the case of Italy, those people are mostly Tunisian nationals, as confirmed by the data provided to us by the Ministry of the Interior. In 2023, there were 2,006 out of 2,506. Out of 106 charter repatriation flights, seventy were to Tunisia. Departing from Trieste or Rome airports, these flights always stop over in Palermo, where the Tunisian consular authorities have to confirm pro forma - on the basis of a bilateral agreement signed on 5 April 2011 - the identity of people who have received an expulsion decree.

20.06.24 ASGI: Patrol boats to Tunisia, the Council of State grants Italian civil society’s precautionary petition: At the end of May, the Regional Administrative Court rejected the appeal by ASGI, ARCI, ActionAid, Mediterranea Saving Humans, Spazi Circolari, and Le Carbet against the transfer of the patrol boats to the Tunisian Garde Nationale. Following this decision, the transfer of the first three boats was scheduled for June. In response, the associations appealed the ruling to the Council of State, urgently requesting a precautionary suspension of the measure.

18.06.24 AJE: Nothing ‘out of the box’ about Italy’s asylum offshoring deal with Albania: The scheme will no doubt prove to be just another costly forum for politically expedient human rights violations.

Also see taz 01.06.24: Flüchtlingspolitik als Abschreckung: Ausgelagert nach Albanien

UK / Sudan

24.06.24 Guardian: UK ‘tried to suppress criticism’ of alleged UAE role in arming Sudan’s RSF militia: UK accused of trying to head off condemnation of Gulf ally over alleged aid to forces accused of genocide in Darfur

European Union

CEAS

02.06.24 taz: EU-Paket zur Asylpolitik: Reform für mehr Abschreckung: Nach mehr als achtjährigen Verhandlungen einigten sich die EU-Innenminister*innen Mitte 2023 auf eine grundlegende Reform der EU-Asylpolitik. Mittlerweile haben EU-Parlament und Rat der EU das Verordnungspaket offiziell beschlossen. Die EU setzt mit der Reform deutlicher als je zuvor darauf, Geflüchtete per massiver Abschreckung fernzuhalten.

Also see taz 02.06.24: Geflüchtete als Waffe: Strategie der hybriden Kriegsführung: Das 2023 beschlossene neue EU-Asylsystem enthält nun einen Mechanismus, der es Staaten erlaubt, im Fall von „Instrumentalisierung“ Geflüchteter durch feindliche Nachbarstaaten oder sogar NGOs das Asylrecht noch weiter einzuschränken.

Frontex

13.06.24 NZZ: Fabrice Leggeri, former EU border agency chief, is Le Pen's secret weapon in Brussels: Leggeri now represents France’s right-wing National Rally party in the European Parliament. He wants tougher asylum rules, and is preparing for a Marine Le Pen presidency. How did he make the switch to politics? Leggeri says that a few weeks after resigning from Frontex in June 2022, he was visited by a group of RN parliamentarians. The politicians asked him about the migration crisis,

13.06.24 LMD: Offiziell illegalzurück. Wie Frontex die Pushbacks der griechischen Küstenwache vertuscht: Insgesamt haben wir in der Ägäis in den letzten vier Jahren rund 3000 Pushbacks erfasst, bei denen die Griechen 82 000 Personen zurück in die Türkei geschickt haben. In diesem Zeitraum war Frontex in der Ostägäis mit einem tausendköpfigen Personal, mit hunderten Schiffen, mit Beobachtungsflugzeugen und Hightechgeräten präsent – finanziert aus europäischen Steuergeldern in Milliardenhöhe.

12.06.24 Statewatch: Frontex collaboration with Libya: “we call them and try to persuade them to take them back”: Frontex’s official line is that they only have contact with the Libyan authorities concerning boats in some kind of distress in order to save lives, in accordance with international law, and the agency does not consider Libyan to be a safe country. A spokesperson recently told Der Spiegel and Lighthouse Reports that it shares the coordinates of boats with Libya “with a heavy heart.”

Reports and Long Reads

Afghanistan

13.06.24 LMD: Bedrohte Diaspora: Trotz vieler Einschränkungen verlassen weiterhin viele Af­gha­n:in­nen das Land. Für durchschnittlich 350 Dollar gelangt man von Sarandsch in Nimrus, der am dünnsten besiedelten Provinz Afghanistans, nach Teheran. Belutschische Fluchthelfer bringen die Reisenden mit Pick-ups ins pakistanische Belutschistan. Dort beginnt ein langer Marsch in die iranische Provinz Sistan und Belutschistan.
Täglich sollen ungefähr 5000 Afghan:in­nen in Iran ankommen, die meisten illegal. Fast zwei Drittel von ihnen werden schnell zurückgeschickt.3 Seit Ende 2023 hat die Zahl der Ausweisungen noch einmal rasant zugenommen. Der Kommandeur der iranischen Grenztruppen in der Provinz Razavi-Khorasan erklärte Anfang Februar 2024, dass binnen 15 Tagen 20 000 Afghan:in­nen ausgewiesen worden seien. Zwischen Januar und November 2023 wurden nach UNHCR-Angaben 631 000 Afghan:in­nen aus Iran deportiert.

Atlantic Route

12.06.24 Caminando Fronteras: Suivi du Droit à la vie a la frontière euro-africaine occidentale. Le rapport analyse les différentes routes migratoires de la Frontière Occidentale Euro-Africaine et compile les chiffres des victimes lors des passages frontaliers au cours des cinq derniers mois.

Burkina Faso

June 2024 Clingendael: ECHOES OF THE SAHEL - A special issue newsletter focusing on the current state of Government, Security and Democracy in Burkina Faso: The security situation in Burkina Faso appears to be continually deteriorating. Burkinabe forces have rapidly lost control of the country’s territory, with over 60% now seemingly under extremist control. The political situation has been further destabilized following a recent attack by JNIM on an army outpost in Mansila, resulting in the deaths of over 100 soldiers. This attack, the deadliest against security forces to date, is reminiscent of the 2022 Gaskindé attack—a security failure that triggered Traoré’s own coup. In response to this escalating crisis the Burkinabe army and its civilian partner militias increasingly resort to indiscriminate targeting of civilian populations in vulnerable areas.

12.06.24 THN: International aid groups ‘utterly failing’ conflict victims in Burkina Faso: More than two million people have been displaced by the conflict in Burkina Faso, with the violence leading to tens of thousands of deaths and back-to-back military coups in 2022. The country’s current leader, army Captain Ibrahim Traoré, has ramped up military operations and enrolled tens of thousands of civilians into a nationwide anti-jihadist volunteer force. In response the jihadists have enforced blockades on dozens of towns and villages around the country.

Ethiopia

20.06.24 Guardian: From Nobel peace prize to civil war: how Ethiopia’s leader beguiled the world: When Abiy Ahmed took power in Ethiopia, he was feted at home and abroad as a great unifier and reformer. Two years later, terrible violence was raging. How did people get him so wrong?

EU Borders

06.06.24 Statewatch: Automating the fortress: digital technologies and European borders: The fortification of Europe’s borders is inherently linked to the use of digital technologies. From the biometric passports and automated gates used at border crossing points to the drones, sensor systems and detection technologies used to prevent and detect unauthorised migrants, digital technologies are crucial to a political project that seeks to give state authorities increased knowledge of – and thus control over – foreign nationals seeking to enter the EU. Vast quantities of public funding have been used to develop and deploy these technologies, and unless there is significant public and political opposition to the project, it is likely that the EU will provide far more money in the years to come.

EU/Tunisia

Alarmphone: New report: Interrupted Sea: On World Refugee Day, transnational civil society is mobilizing to denounce the illegal and violent practices of Tunisian coastguards funded by the European Union in the Mediterranean. Based on testimonies gathered by various actors of Tunisian and transnational civil society, this report documents the interception practices of the Tunisian National Guard in the Central Mediterranean. The data collected, based on 14 in-depth interviews conducted between 2021 and 2023 with exiled people who survived attacks at sea, highlight violent and illegal practices, ranging from non-assistance, to manoeuvres intentionally aimed at capsizing boats in distress, causing shipwrecks and costing the lives of many exiled people.

Mauretania

28.06.24 taz: Geflüchtete in Mauretanien: Bis hier und nicht weiter: In Mauretanien sammeln sich Geflüchtete aus ganz Afrika. Spanien und die EU bezahlen das Land dafür, Menschen mit dem Ziel Kanaren aufzuhalten. 210 Millionen Euro bekommt Mauretanien aus Brüssel, 64 Millionen Euro aus Madrid – zusätzlich zur westlichen Entwicklungshilfe. Osten des Landes lebt derweil das Gros der rund 249.000 Flüchtlinge, die Mauretanien aufgenommen hat. Es ist eine beachtliche Zahl für ein Land mit der Einwohnerzahl von Berlin und der Wirtschaftsleistung von Gelsenkirchen. Die Geflüchteten werden prima facie vom UNHCR per Herkunftsnachweis anerkannt. Mauretanien stellt eine Identitätskarte inklusive Aufenthaltstitel aus, die Menschen haben unbeschränkten Zugang zum – bescheidenen – mauretanischen Gesundheitssystem. Kinder dürfen die staatlichen Schulen besuchen, Erwachsene dürfen arbeiten.

Mediterranean:

United: The Fatal Policies of Fortress Europe: More than 60.620 migrant deaths were documented up to May 2024.

19.06.24 taz: Tödliche Außengrenze: Neue Berichte machen Grenzschützer für den Tod von Migranten mitverantwortlich. Dieses Jahr sind bereits 1.018 Menschen im Mittelmeer gestorben.

21.06.24 taz: Umkämpftes Gewässer: Die italienische NGO Emergency rettet Geflüchtete auf dem Mittelmeer. Ihre Arbeit wird zunehmend eingeschränkt. Unterwegs auf einem Rettungsboot.

20.06.24: Humanity: Humanity Overbord: Based on operational data and testimonies of people rescued from distress at sea between September 2022 and March 2024, the report shows human rights violations in the Mediterranean and sheds light on the complexity of reasons to flee. Drawing on operational data, the report points out how the failure to provide assistance, the obstruction of non-governmental search and rescue and externalisation policies by the EU and its member states such as Italy and Malta make the Mediterranean one of the deadliest migration routes in the world.

13.06.24 LMD: Umkämpfte See. Konfliktregion Mittelmeer: Auch heute ist das Mittelmeer ein geografischer Raum, in dem die Interessen und Ambitionen der nördlichen und südlichen Anrainerstaaten aufeinandertreffen: der Israelis und der Palästinenser, der Europäer und Maghrebiner, der Araber und Afrikaner. An das fast geschlossene Meeresbecken grenzen 18 Länder, plus die Inselstaaten Zypern und Malta. Über Schifffahrtsrouten im Mittelmeer, das nur 0,7 Prozent der globalen Meeresfläche ausmacht, wird etwa ein Viertel des Welthandels abgewickelt.

Niger

14.06.24 Guardian: A cycle of debt, sex work and cocaine: the women in west Africa caught in Europe’s drugs trail: As white powder bound for European ports floods the city of Agadez in Niger, female migrants are the most common victims in a growing addiction crisis

Sahel

Mixedmigration: Unpacking migrants’ information access in the Central Sahel: With the deterioration of the security situation in the Central Sahel (Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger) and the recent decision by the Alliance of Sahel States to withdraw from ECOWAS, the situation for migrants in the region remains precarious and ever-evolving. Access to trustworthy information is imperative in this context so that migrants can make well-informed decisions about their journeys.
Key findings include:

• The majority of respondents (61%) experienced information gaps, either before and/or during their journey.
• Safety/security (40%) and costs (34%) were the most reported information gaps.
• Respondents mostly relied on direct and interpersonal means of obtaining information, such as phone calls (80%) and in-person discussions (77%) before departing.

Sudan

02.07.24 NZZ: Moataz wollte eine Klinik eröffnen, Ahmed ein Hotel. Nun planen die jungen Sudanesen ihre Reise nach Europa: Der Krieg im Sudan hat auch viele Studenten und gut Ausgebildete zu Flüchtlingen gemacht. Zwei Porträts von jungen Sudanesen in Flüchtlingslagern, die ihre Zukunft verloren haben – aber auch die Angst.

Sudan Transparency: A Feminist Perspective on the Armed Conflict in Sudan: Sudanese women played a central role in the December 2018 revolution and the toppling of the Bashir regime in the name of freedom and societal justice. Now, women are faced with a new and harsher chapter as the conflict spreads, becomes more complex, and increasingly reflects racial bias.

25.06.24 AJE: A massacre, an exodus from Darfur and years of rehab for Sudanese refugees: Hundreds of thousands of civilians from the Masalit farming tribe (often referred to as non-Arabs) saw their families murdered and their community expelled to eastern Chad about a year ago. The exodus unfolded after West Darfur’s Governor Khamis Abkar accused the RSF and allied nomadic fighters (often referred to as Arabs) of committing genocide against the Masalit during a live broadcast on June 6, 2023.

24.06.24 TNH: ‘We survive together’: The communal kitchens fighting famine in Khartoum: Communal kitchens are assisting hundreds of thousands of people in Sudan’s embattled capital, Khartoum, providing regular meals as well as social and emotional support amid a deepening famine that international aid groups are failing to tackle.

Tanzania

taz 20.06.24: Maasai in Tansania: Das Geschäft mit der Vertreibung: Tansania weitet seine Nationalparks aus – und vertreibt dafür die Maasai von ihrem Land. Es verdient vor allem die Tourismusindustrie.

Turkey

Forumcivique: Die Türkei - ein "sicheres Drittland"?
Migrant·innen werden in der Türkei oft instrumentalisiert und zeitweise als Druckmittel gegenüber der EU oder zu Propagandazwecken gegen Griechenland eingesetzt. Gleichzeitig wird das Klima ihnen gegenüber immer feindseliger.
Artikel in drei Teilen:
https://forumcivique.org/artikel/tuerkeimigration-die-tuerkei-ein-sicheres-drittland/
https://forumcivique.org/artikel/migration-die-tuerkei-ein-sicheres-drittland/
https://forumcivique.org/artikel/tuerkei-migration-die-tuerkei-ein-sicheres-drittland/

Campaigns:

03.-08. September Aktionscamp in Kiel: Kiel entwaffnen – Kriegsindustrie versenken!: Wir werden zusammen mit unterschiedlichen Gruppen und Bewegungen für eine gerechte, ökologische und feministische Welt kämpfen, uns internationalistisch vernetzen und die Kriegsindustrie konkret stören. Dabei werden wir, das antimilitaristische Bündnis »Rheinmetall Entwaffnen«, an Kämpfe hier und weltweit anknüpfen.