Niger’s military junta has repealed a criminal law passed eight years ago. human trafficking and ordered annul all convictions It was produced with the application. This text, accepted within a framework, Agreement with the European Union (EU)It was another step in the European strategy externalize boundaries To stop people coming immigrants It comes from Africa. Officials stated that this law was voted “under the influence of different external forces.” classification of certain activities of a regular nature as illegal trafficking“. The rule has caused greater tension in the region and greater risk for migrants seeking to cross the country.
According to a statement from the national press office, when the military shelved this law, they criticized that it “was considered clearly contrary to our community laws and did not take into account the interests of the country.” Over the years, Niger has been one of the most important European partners in the Sahel. For example, in 2016, just one year after this law was implemented against human trafficking, 610 million euros The EU needs to stop immigration. This complicity came to a halt after the coup and the arrest of the previous president at the end of July, and became apparent when the military junta that seized power left this law on blank paper.
Relationship with Twenty Seven
“I deeply regret this decision and am very concerned about its consequences,” he said in a statement this week. Ylva JohanssonEuropean Commissioner for Home Affairs. He also argued that this law has caused a “significant” decrease in the arrival of immigrants since it came into force in 2015, and fears that there will be a “significant” decrease in the arrival of immigrants after the law is repealed. more deaths in the desert and immigrants trying to cross into Europe Libya.
Right now, The relationship between Niger and the EU is uncertainAfter the coup, the military cut bridges with France, accusing them of creating further insecurity in the country and demanding the withdrawal of displaced soldiers. A demand that Paris finally reluctantly agreed to, and began sending its troops home in October.
This Sahel country plays a key role in migration movements and acts as a funnel for many people moving from sub-Saharan countries to the Mediterranean coast. City Agadez Historically it has been associated with all things mobility. In the past, it was one of the crossing points for commercial caravans and a transit point for travelers. Currently, it has become a mandatory stop for immigrants Before crossing the Sahara to Libya or Algeria. This city hosts thousands of immigrants waiting on or off the street. reception centers Overcrowded and well beyond capacity limits, it is managed by international organizations.
A more dangerous route
“I don’t believe this law reduces people coming to Europe“, tells EL PERIÓDICO of the Prensa Ibérica group from Niger Moktar Dan YayeFrom the organization Alarm Phone Sahara, he points out that “this makes migrants more vulnerable and makes them invisible.” By declaring the people who transferred them guilty and persecuting them, Immigrants had to take more risks: He notes the need to seek hidden and more dangerous networks for traveling north, while also using alternative routes to surround population centers, which “causes greater numbers of missing people to appear.”
This law also disrupted life in the different towns and cities through which the immigrants passed. “It caused greater destruction in the economic fabric and social of this region. The law was enacted to prevent illegal human trafficking, but its implementation affected overall mobility. Drivers carrying migrants who set routes between Agadez and the Libyan or Algerian border have been detained, resulting in many people losing their jobs,” explains Dan Yaye.
Make aid a crime
A similar situation occurred with people who owned businesses and, above all, sold products and food to immigrants or rented rooms to them. People with no relationship criminal networks People who traffic people and take advantage of the vulnerability of immigrants in the region. But this law puts them all in the same bag. Equal Criminalized those who selflessly help immigrantsor when they support each other as stated Isidore NgueuleuHuman Rights advisor to the Africa section of the World Organization Against Torture.
“We have worked for years to highlight that this law supports the violation of human rights, the criminalization of immigration and arbitrary detentions,” Ngueuleu said by phone. said. He tells what he asked many times partial revision of this law, because there were other points he found positive, such as immigrants not being deported to their countries if they were at risk of being tortured. It regrets that after this text was repealed, the country’s authorities did not propose any alternative legislation.
“What we understand after the statement made with the repeal of the law is that the authorities want this. Repurposing migration as an economic activityNgueuleu points out something he calls “dangerous.” He argues that they will have to distinguish between legitimate economic activities related to the movement of people and regulate them, such as transport or accommodation. Illegal and mafia smuggling networks that take advantage of the vulnerability of migrants.