Seven million Africans live under various forms of modern slavery. Many of them have fallen into the clutches of human traffickers in an attempt to improve their own living conditions. Migrants are at particular risk.
The Government of the Canary Islands has repeatedly been asking for help from the other autonomous communities of the country, as it is witnessing a high number of unaccompanied minors arriving on its shores. It demands a change in law to bind relocations to a quota rather than keeping them part of a voluntary mechanism.
Migrant journeys on land in Africa are twice as dangerous as the Mediterranean crossing, according to a major new report based on over 31,000 interviews. The report calls for greater protection for migrants who face huge risks along routes to Europe.
On July 2, passengers on a flight from Paris to the Malian capital Bamako protested against the expulsion of a Malian national, but their actions were in vain. Moussa Sacko was expelled, despite having spent most of his life in France.
The number of migrants in Tunisia who are opting to be sent back to their home countries has risen sharply in recent months, according to the IOM. The news comes amid continued hostility towards migrants in Tunisia, a major transit point to Europe.
Migration from West Africa to Europe is increasingly shaped by a web of intertwined political, economic, and climate-related factors. As conditions in the region continue to deteriorate, Mauritania emerges as a crucial launchpad for migrants aiming for Europe. InfoMigrants takes a look at some of the push factors driving people to take one of the deadliest migration routes in the world – the Atlantic route.
In its latest annual report, the Norwegian Refugee Council has identified the ten most neglected displacement crises in the world. All but one are in Africa, with Burkina Faso topping the list.
The bodies of nine migrants found in a small boat in northern Brazil could have been hoping to travel to the Canary Islands, authorities believe. A person from Mali and one from Mauritania are thought to be among the nine corpses.
The Assistant High Commissioner for Protection at UNHCR, Ruvendrini Menikdiwela, commended Mali and its neighboring nations for keeping their borders open to those fleeing danger throughout the region and upholding asylum principles. However, she also warned that only a fraction of the funds the region needs were covered.
Some 500 Malian refugees have united as firefighters, safeguarding the grazing lands and livestock of local farmers around the Mbera refugee camp in Mauritania.
A total of 145 migrants reached the southern Italian island of Lampedusa in just a few hours on Monday. Meanwhile, a Tunisian citizen has been arrested on charges of aiding and abetting illegal immigration.
28-year-old Baba Sissoko left Mali for Italy where he eventually found a job and a new life. His experiences of the past few years are nothing short of a profound transformation. But they also came at a cost.