Managing migrations: the cooperation strategy begins to bear fruit From operation Sophia to the Abidjan summit with the African Union: this is how works to build alternatives to death journeys which only enrich traffickers by Federica Mogherini High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy EU operations saved tens of thousands lives and stopped a lot of traffickers. We also went beyond the emergency to face the issue at the root: in Libya, along the routes of migrants, and in the countries of origin A more just and humane management of migratory flows is possible. And after three years of work in Italy, in and with our international partners the results are beginning to be seen. When I arrived in Brussels, the topic of migration did not even appear on the Foreign Ministers agenda. Faced with the daily tragedy of dozens of deaths in the waters of the Mediterranean, the an institutions have mobilized, alongside the Member States, in the front line. We started from the management of that emergency: within a few months we managed to organize a an military operation in the Mediterranean, to save lives and to fight the networks of human traffickers. We called it Operation Sophia (see articles in 1/17, ed), like a girl child born on board our ships, and the command of the operation was in Italy, entrusted to an Italian admiral. Thanks to Operation Sophia we have saved tens of thousands lives, stopped more than a hundred traffickers and today our soldiers are training the Libyan coastguards, the only ones that can intervene in the territorial waters of Libya, to save those risking their lives. But we went beyond the emergency to face the issue at the root: in Libya, along the routes of migrants and even more in the countries of origin. First of all with the migration compact, an Italian idea that could only be achieved by joining forces at the an level. We have initiated a direct dialogue with key African countries, to decide together the most effective tools to create development and jobs, and to face the profound reasons that push their young 2017 september-october 69
people to leave. And from Brussels we have put in place two new instruments: an emergency trust fund, with a budget of almost three billion euros, and the largest investment plan of all time for the African continent, to create development and employment in the most fragile parts of the continent and support our partners in the fight against human traffickers. It is a strategy that is based on several pillars but which has a single guiding principle: a true partnership with Africa, a common work in the interest of both continents. The Valletta summit of November 2015 showed that together we can really face a phenomenon of historical and global reach. The Abidjan summit last November, between the an Union and the African Union, marked a further step forward in this extraordinary joined work. Already during 2017, thanks to the collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), we started to work for the voluntary and assisted return of migrants blocked in detention camps in Libya, in often unspeakable conditions. In Abidjan, the African Union joined us: we set up An image of the summit of Abidjan (Ivory Coast) between the EU and the African Union 70 2017 september-october
The agreements between the EU and African countries must be based on a mutual exchange. The EU would guarantee: a general redefinition of the cooperation policy towards investment projects, financed by existing instruments to be charged to the EU budget the issue of EU-Africa financial products, which facilitate access to financial markets for African countries and the formulation of other financial solutions to improve the performance of relevant phenomena such as remittances an improved cooperation in the field of security (border control, refugee mana an Union, African Union and United Nations task force to work together for the first time. It is not just about bringing people blocked in Libya back home. The goal is giving those people the opportunity to build a new life in their country of origin learning a job, setting up a business, overcoming the trauma experienced in Libya. The numbers say that thanks to this valuable joined work, we have so far managed to bring 21 thousand migrants from camps in Libya back to their respective countries of origin, following a rigorous process accompanied by reintegration measures. At the beginning of February, four detention centers were closed a first step in the right direction. But more than numbers the stories speak: that of ten boys from the Gambia who, thanks to our support, have bought a refrigerated van and now shuttle between fishing villages on the coast and markets inside the country. Or that of Debbie, a Nigerian girl who dreamed of being a tailor and today is trying to realize that dream with our help. Each of the people closed in the detention camps in Libya has its own history and aspirations. It often took the savings of an entire family to make one of them leave. Going back home is not always easy and our cooperation with the UN agencies and with our African partners is essential. And finally we start to see results. What the Migration Compact is The migration compact is the proposal that the Italian government presented to the EU in 2016 for a common approach to the migration crisis, with the aim of reducing flows also along the Mediterranean route. It is based on new agreements with the countries of origin and transit, especially those in Africa, to be financed with innovative instruments such as EU-Africa bonds. The premise on which the proposal is based, is that migrations to must be considered a structural phenomenon, which cannot be solved with emergency solutions, but acting on the causes of migratory flows, and therefore looking outside the an borders. In particular, the African countries of origin and transit of many migratory flows, are the main interlocutors with which to act. 2017 september-october 71
agement, criminal justice) first at national, then regional level, considering the transnational nature of migratory flows the implementation of instruments of legal migration towards, providing for national quotas and the provision of training and language courses for migrants, in collaboration with the companies involved schemes for the redistribution of migrants inside EU. At the same time, African countries are required: effective border control and reduction of illegal flows, with the EU s commitment to transfer skills and resources increased cooperation for the repatriation of irregular migrants, through the establishment of EU liaison offices directly in African countries, implementation of functioning databases and public registers and acceptance, for the repatriation, of charter flights also managed by individual EU member states on-the-spot management of migratory flows, starting with the necessary distinction between asylum seekers and economic migrants, accompanied by the immediate transfer in for those who deserve international protection implementation, with EU support, of national asylum systems strengthening the fight against human traffickers. 72 2017 september-october
Unfortunately, some of the women and men who have travelled to do not have a home to return to. Some come from countries at war and are entitled to international protection. For these people we have opened a great humanitarian channel at an level together with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, with 50 thousand places available in the next two years. Slowly, and thanks to these huge common efforts, in constant coordination with Italy, we are coming out of the emergency of the past years. We are demonstrating that it is possible to manage and govern an epochal phenomenon such as migration, with humanity. It is possible if we choose to work together with our international partners, to build opportunities and jobs. If we put aside the logic of confrontation and choose the logic of cooperation. In recent years, this has been the choice of the Italian government and the an Union. It is the right choice. Next months will be decisive for reinforcing the results we have achieved, proceeding in the direction of the partnership and of a humanitarian momentum capable of saving lives and offering alternatives to death journeys which only enrich traffickers. 2017 september-october 73