While EU member states and citizens debate the new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, it is clear that migration has been, is and will continue to be an integral part of the relations between African and European countries. A ‘strong external dimension’ takes a pride of place in the Pact and ‘migration diplomacy’ will […]
While the African Union (AU) has developed ambitious plans for continental free trade it is becoming clear that free movement of people lags behind. This blog identifies six obstacles that impede progress on free movement for people in Africa and considers the prospects for future development. The AU Summit held in Niger on July 7 […]
The EU’s planned anti-smuggling military operation in Libya stands on fragile ground, both legally and politically. EU politicians, inspired by the UN Security Council’s 2008 anti-piracy resolution and the EU’s Operation ATALANTA, speak optimistically. However, as I argue in a recent post ‘The Legal and Political Feasibility of the EU’s Planned ‘War on Smuggling’ in […]
When arriving in Senegal’s main airport in Dakar, travellers have their fingerprints taken digitally and stored in an entry and exit tracking system. At the same time, the country’s navy carries out joint sea patrols to detect irregular migrants alongside Spanish police. Further north, Mauritania is building new border posts as part of a border […]
On 9 February 2015, the Moroccan State Minister of Interior presented the results of the exceptional regularization campaign of irregular immigrants implemented during 2014: close to 17,918 one-year residence permits were granted from 27,330 applications registered (almost half of them to Senegalese and Syrians, followed by Nigerians and Ivoirians). Among these, all women and children […]
