21 November 2017
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An analysis of the EU's Trust Fund for Africa undertaken by Oxfam has found that of the €400 million allocated to migration management, "most projects are designed to restrict and discourage irregular migration through migration containment and control," while "a meagre 3% of the budget is allocated to developing safe and regular routes."
The Trust Fund was established after the November 2015 Valletta Summit, and the Oxfam report argues that:
"These results show that the approach of European donors to migration management is far more geared to containment and control. This falls short of their commitment under the Valletta Action Plan’s second pillar, to ‘promot[e] regular channels for migration and mobility from and between European and African countries’ or Strategic Development Goal target 10.7, to ‘facilitate orderly, safe and responsible migration and mobility of people’.
Without sufficient investment in opening more safe and regular mobility pathways – both within Africa and towards Europe – the EUTF will not only fail to achieve its goals for development, but also its migration-related policy goals. Rather than leading to a reduction in migration, restricting irregular migration will simply force migrants to take more dangerous routes."
See: An emergency for whom? The EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa – migratory routes and development aid in Africa(Oxfam, link) and: Executive Summary(pdf):
"In 2015, the EU and its member states set up the ‘EU Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa’ to promote stability and economic opportunities and to strengthen resilience.
An Oxfam analysis of all the projects approved under the instrument shows that its flexible nature has generated both opportunities and risks. This briefing argues that the Fund lacks sufficient checks and balances to ensure that European interests do not take precedence over the needs of the people that aid is intended to help."
Background: Valletta Conference 11-12 November 2015 Update: Final texts and full documentation(Statewatch News Online, November 2015)
See also:New report says "development aid is misused and diverted through the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa" (Statewatch News Online, 19 September 2017): A new report by Global Health Advocates says that the EU's multi-billion euro 'Emergency Trust Fund for Africa', launched following the November 2015 Valletta Summit and designed to address "root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa", is prioritising "quick fixes driven by Europe’s short-term domestic priorities, with little involvement of local governments let alone civil society actors."
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