source: The New Arab

published: 2 September 2024

Image Credit: Public archive

While media and political attention is often focused on migrants’ deaths trying to cross the strips of sea at Europe’s borders, there is much less awareness about what happens in transit countries such as Niger, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and others.

A newly-published report by IOM, UNHCR and the Mixed Migration Centre describes an extremely grim situation for people on the move trying to reach Europe through the African continent. The report denounces the ‘unimaginable horrors’ experiences by refugees, including ‘death, SGBV, torture and physical violence, kidnapping for ransom, trafficking in persons, robbery, arbitrary detention, collective expulsions and refoulement.'

The EU frequently attributes the human rights abuses suffered by refugees and migrants in transit countries to the actions of human smugglers and traffickers. This narrative conveniently shifts the focus away from the EU’s role and responsibility: in reality, the EU member states’ border externalisation policies, which outsource border control to non-EU countries, are the main drivers of migrants’ abuse and exploitation.

The New Pact on Migration and Asylum

The New Pact on Migration and Asylum, approved by the EU Parliament earlier this year, embeds border externalisation as a core component of Europe’s migration policy. The mechanism is very simple: by offering financial aid and support, the EU expects transit countries to stop migrants before they make it Europe, preventing them from reaching European soil before they are able to lodge an asylum application.

Deals with third countries usually include provisions for setting up migration control centres, bolstering local coast guards, and implementing stricter border surveillance measures.

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