Vincent Cochetel, the UN agency's special envoy for the western and central Mediterranean, presented the document in Geneva at the beginning of July and explained the details to Vatican News.
Why is crossing the Sahara more dangerous than crossing the Mediterranean?
The first danger that migrants and refugees tell us about is the attacks by criminal gangs who rob them, depriving them of all their possessions. For women there is a higher risk of sexual violence on these routes. Then there is the violence exercised by smugglers or the threats of traffickers: extortion, forced labour and sometimes sexual exploitation. The dangers also come from the authorities at the border posts, people who abuse their position to extort money from these unfortunates and not only on the routes to North Africa or to Europe by sea, but also on the routes to the interior and south of the African continent. They saw people dying in the desert, people falling from trucks and not picked up by smugglers, sick people abandoned in the middle of nowhere. Most of them have seen corpses on these roads in southern Algeria, northern Niger and southern Libya, but also in other areas of the Sahara. When the question is asked: “Do you know anyone who died at sea?”, the answers are much fewer. Based on these testimonies, we think that there are many more people who die on land than at sea.
Is the Sahara a "black hole" for NGOs and international institutions?
Absolutely. There are many black holes like this, to which no one has access, or there are very few people who do. It is very difficult for international organisations to go there because of the extreme geographical conditions but also because some governments do not want humanitarian organisations to witness this violence, which is secret and silent. This deaths in the desert is a phenomenon which gets much less media coverage because it is less visible than a boat in difficulty in the Mediterranean. Humanitarian organisations must find other channels of information: work a little more with traditional leaders, with local authorities, who are witnesses and sometimes even victims of these gangs. They need to work on a system of search, identification and referral of these people who control small towns and oases along these routes.
What is the profile of migrants attempting the desert crossing? Are their countries of origin changing?
In general, the profile does not change much. We depend a lot on data provided by States. When migrants and refugees cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe, about one in two people obtain asylum or humanitarian permission in Europe. One in two people are therefore considered to be in need of international protection. The other kind generally leave their country for economic reasons or to study in Europe or elsewhere. On the African continent, the situation is more or less the same. Most migrants and refugees remain on the African continent. 70% remain in the country close to their country of origin with the intention, when things go better, of returning home. The only recent changes that have had an impact on this mobility to North Africa are the Sudan crisis - 10 million displaced - and the war in Mali and Burkina Faso, which has forced many citizens of these countries into exile. Once again, not everyone went to North Africa: many Burkinabé went to the countries of the Gulf of Guinea, in West Africa.
Once someone has overcome the dangers of the Sahara, do they still want to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe?
In their country, 21% of people interviewed said they had a destination in mind and that, regardless of information about the dangers, they would do their best. 79% regretted having made this choice: if they had known what the real risks were they would not have embarked on the journey. It is quite interesting. For many, Libya is the final destination. 70% of people reached their final destination when they arrived in Libya.
What reception policies are in place in North African countries at the end of the Saharan journey? What violations and abuses have been reported?
The main problem is that all North African countries have ratified international agreements relating to the protection of refugees, be they international or regional agreements, but no North African country has a law on asylum. All other countries on the African continent have asylum systems that work more or less well, which is not the case in North Africa. These countries always tell us that they are transit countries. But this is not true. At the time of the pandemic three years ago, in North African countries we saw communities of all kinds, both migrants and refugees, most of whom worked in the informal sector of the economy. But without a legislative framework, these people have no right of residence. Their situation is very precarious. And as soon as accidents occur, because there are frictions in some communities, there is a risk that things will end badly, such as the waves of expulsions from Algeria to Niger, from Tunisia to Libya, to Algeria, from Libya to other neighbouring countries. These mass expulsions are not the solution, because people go to other countries and then leave.
What protection solutions can be developed to improve assistance on these Saharan routes, and by which actors?
States must agree. No single state can face the challenges of better managing these movements on the continent. We need to work on a path-based approach, on the paths that people take. The dynamics within communities are not necessarily the same, so we also need to find out who influences them, how they fund their journeys, what programme activities have stabilising value, where protection needs to be improved and work on the return; there are people who need assistance to get back home. A whole range of activities need to be put in place, not just by humanitarian organisations. States must take responsibility for these field-based solutions, and we must not abandon this obligation of solidarity. First of all, we must save lives, regardless of the status of the people involved, whether they are refugees or migrants. It is an important denomination but not in terms of emergency aid. The trafficker does not know whether a person is a migrant or a refugee. Europe must also help countries along these routes to put in place protection and assistance mechanisms that provide dignified alternatives to dangerous and irregular journeys. A little in the spirit of what European states adopted with some African states at the Valletta summit in 2015.
Delphine Allaire
Vatican News
