The UN Refugee Agency UNHCR said it successfully evacuated 135 people from Libya to Niger on the night of Tuesday, October 16, amidst an increasingly volatile security situation in Tripoli. In a statement, UNHCR said many of the evacuated had been held in detention centers for several months and were suffering from the effects of malnutrition and poor health.
Ibrahim from Mali and Djibril from Cameroon were arrested by Algerian security forces and forced to cross the border to Niger, located in the middle of the desert, on foot. They told InfoMigrants about their nightmarish journey.
Earlier this week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou. The two sides promised to work closer on stemming illegal migration due to Niger's role as a migration hub in Western Africa, but Issoufou's own human rights record raises alarms.
Non-profit organization ARCI has denounced that the cooperation between the EU and Africa on migration policies focuses on controls and repatriations rather than protection.
Helen was held in Libya, where she endured violence and abuse. Today, she is waiting to be transferred to Europe thanks to a resettlement program promoted by the EU, IOM and UNHCR.
Nearly 600 African migrants were rescued Sunday after being stranded in the Algerian desert. Algeria has been accused of pursuing a tough deportation policy of African migrants.
The International Organzation for Migration (IOM) has expressed concern for the the fate of the stranded migrants in the no man's land between Algeria and Niger. IOM Director General William Lacy Swing said the number of migrants making the dangerous journey there is on the rise.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a recent report that the gap is growing between the number of refugees who need resettlement and the places made available by countries worldwide. The agency is calling for stronger efforts by governments to continue the UN resettlement program.
The UN children fund UNICEF said there are 30 million children worldwide who have been displaced by conflict, the highest number since World War II. The organization is calling on world leaders to intensify protection measures for minors.
UNICEF has signaled alarm at the rise in the number of migrant children being expelled to Niger after a tightening of borders in Europe and North Africa. Minors risk becoming victims of trafficking, violence, abuse, exploitation and detention, the organization said.
In a recent report, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization has said that studying trends linked to the lack of water could help communities to adapt and alleviate migratory pressure. Migrants can share good practices, skills and knowledge transfer, and use remittances for managing water resources.
The UNHCR reports that it has successfully evacuated over 1,300 refugees from Libya since November 2017, while the International Organization for Migration has helped 15,000 migrants return to their countries of origin with support from the EU and the African Union.