Tag Archives: Migrant

AMA, Human Rights

African States and Partners Call for Urgent and Coordinated Action to Save Migrant Lives Ahead of IMRF

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African States and partners convene in Cairo to strengthen cooperation and advance practical solutions to prevent migrant deaths and disappearances along migration routes. Photo: IOM 2026

Geneva, Switzerland, 17 April 2026- /African Media Agency (AMA)/- African States and partners have called for stronger, coordinated action to prevent migrant deaths and address disappearances along migration routes, following a three-day technical consultation in Cairo held in line with the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM).

The consultation produced a recommendation note consolidating African operational priorities, good practices, and areas for cooperation aligned with the GCM and the UN Secretary-General’s 2024 recommendations. The note is designed to directly support African Member States’ reporting and discussions at the second International Migration Review Forum (IMRF 2026) to be held from 5–8 May 2026 at United Nations Headquarters in New York, ensuring that the lived realities of migrants and their families on the continent are reflected in global commitments.

The consultation was convened by the United Nations Network on Migration and co-organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), with the support of the Continental UN Network on Migration for Africa.

Across the world, over 82,000 migrant deaths and disappearances have been recorded since 2014, including 18,866 in Africa, according to IOM’s Missing Migrants Project. However large, these figures only show a sliver of the crisis; the true scale is believed to be much larger.

According to the available data, most of those who die on migration routes within and departing from Africa are never identified. Their families are left without answers, without recourse, and often without access to a support system.

“Every life lost along migration routes underscores the urgent need to strengthen collective efforts to prevent deaths and disappearances along migration routes and improve cooperation on missing migrants to protect people on the move,” said Justin MacDermott, IOM Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“The exchanges during this consultation have identified concrete actions on prevention, search and identification of the missing, support to their families, and better documentation of the crisis, which can inform the IMRF process and help advance policies that address the crisis of missing migrants,” he added.

The consultation brought together more than 50 participants, including representatives from government institutions, the African Union, the League of Arab States, United Nations partners, humanitarian organizations, civil society actors, and technical experts, from Djibouti, The Gambia, Libya, Morocco, Niger, and Tunisia, and was organized around five pillars: prevention of migrant deaths and disappearances; data and foresight, search and identification of the missing; support to affected families, and accountability and justice.

Participants reviewed good practices from across the continent, including coordination mechanisms, search and rescue approaches, and processes related to the identification of the remains of migrants who have died. They emphasized that effective responses require cooperation across government institutions and partners at national and transnational levels, and that humanitarian assistance to migrants in distress must be protected.

The consultation also highlighted the rights and needs of families of missing migrants. Participants underscored the importance of accessible mechanisms through which families can seek information about missing relatives and stressed the need for sustained institutional cooperation and cross-border collaboration.

Participants further discussed persistent gaps in data on migrant deaths and disappearances, which create a skewed perception of the crisis and undermine effective responses. Strengthening ethical and disaggregated data collection, improving transnational information sharing, and using data to identify high-risk areas and inform humanitarian assistance were highlighted as necessary steps to enable more effective responses.

“Saving lives and responding to the plight of missing migrants requires cooperation on national and transnational levels,” said Anna Praz, ICRC Head of Delegation in Cairo. “Above all, States have a critical role to play in developing technical capacities, policies and legal frameworks to address this important humanitarian issue.”

Yet, there is also a role for civil society and local actors that needs to be preserved in the context of dwindling humanitarian funding. As Dr. Amal Emam, CEO of the Egyptian Red Crescent noted, “Through Humanitarian Service Points, Red Cross and Red Crescent staff and volunteers provide support, care, and safe spaces for people on the move.”

Participants also agreed on the importance of follow-up mechanisms to maintain momentum beyond the consultation, including a working group focused on missing migrants along key African corridors and a shared resource repository consolidating tools, guidance, and methodologies to support national implementation.

This event comes at a pivotal moment, following the Ministerial Meeting of African GCM Champion Countries held on 1 April in Cairo, where Champion Countries called for a unified African position ahead of the 2026 IMRF, emphasizing the need for strengthened collaboration to ensure the protection and safety of migrants through whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches, among other priorities outlined in the Joint Ministerial Statement.

The United Nations Network on Migration and partners stand ready to support African Member States in ensuring that the priorities identified in Cairo are clearly reflected throughout the IMRF process. This includes providing technical support, elevating African perspectives, supporting national reporting, and accompanying States in the implementation of their commitments.

Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf International Organization for Migration

For more information, please visit IOM’s Media Centre.

The post African States and Partners Call for Urgent and Coordinated Action to Save Migrant Lives Ahead of IMRF appeared first on African Media Agency.

Lifestyle

Deported Migrant Returns to US, World Pride in DC, Sports Finals

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The migrant at the center of a legal storm is back on US soil. Kilmar Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported to El Salvador. He now faces criminal charges. Plus, World Pride is wrapping up in Washington DC with thousands set to take part in a parade close to the White House. And the latest sports news on the NBA finals and Stanley Cup.

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Lifestyle

Trump and Musk Break Up, Tariffs Raise $70 billion, ICE Detention Conditions

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A rift between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk escalated on Thursday with the two trading barbs on their respective social media platforms. Reports from the Treasury Department show Trump’s tariffs have raised nearly 70-billion dollars so far this year. And, migrant detainees staged a protest at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement run facility in Miami.

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Lifestyle

US-funded flight returns self-deported immigrants to Honduras

Maravi Post Reporter

The first US-funded flight carrying Honduran immigrants returning home arrived in San Pedro Sula on Monday.

After highly-publicized migrant detentions in the US and the deportation of hundreds of migrants to a high security prison in El Salvador, the passengers had accepted an offer to self-deport in exchange for a free flight back home.

The offer has been paired with highly-publicized migrant detentions in the US and the deportation of hundreds of Venezuelan migrants to a high-security prison in El Salvador.

Deputy Foreign Minister Antonio Garcia was there to meet the returning Hondurans:

“They say it’s difficult, that there’s a hostile atmosphere towards migrants, that they’re afraid to go out to work or walk down the street, that sometimes there are raids in restaurants and workplaces. So it’s a very unpleasant environment and they say: ‘no, I’d rather not live like this, I’m going back to my country’.”

Monday’s flight carried 68 Hondurans, including four children born in the US. Twenty-six more migrants aboard the flight were headed home to Colombia

Limited appeal

Experts believe the self-deportation offer will only appeal to a small portion of migrants already considering return, but unlikely to spur high demand.

Honduras immigration director Wilson Paz says the number of Hondurans deported from the U.S. so far this year is below last year’s pace:

“I don’t think it will be thousands of people who apply for the program, but we will have quite a few cases, and it is our responsibility to ensure that they arrive in an orderly fashion on charter flights, that we have the manifests in advance so that there are no delays, and that we can support them in everything they need upon arrival to the country.”

The Honduran government will support the returning migrants with $100 cash and another $200 credit at a government-run store that sells basic necessities.

US President Donald Trump has promised to increase deportations substantially.

Source: Africanews

https://video.euronews.com/mp4/ED/15/36/75/07/ED_PYR_1536757_20250520060943.mp4
Lifestyle

Senegal’s fishing crisis: Overfishing, migration, survival

Maravi Post Reporter

Overfishing by foreign vessels is decimating fish stocks in the West African country of Senegal, which is in turn fueling migration to Spain, according to a report released Tuesday. The Environmental Justice Foundation, a London-based group specializing in environmental and human rights issues, said illegal overfishing and destructive practices by foreign vessels are responsible for increased irregular migration to Spain. It based its conclusions on interviews with fishermen in Spain and Senegal and its prior research on foreign overfishing.

The group found that 57% of fish stocks in Senegal are in a “state of collapse,” with foreign vessels playing a significant role in declining numbers. Its analysis showed 43.7% of licensed vessels in Senegal are foreign-controlled, predominantly of Spanish and Chinese origin. As fish populations dwindle, local fishermen are facing income loss, and many have turned to migration as a last resort. Fishing is an important economic sector in Senegal that employs 3% of the workforce.

Irregular migration to the Canary Islands almost doubled in 2024, according to the Spanish Interior Ministry, reaching 46,843. While exact figures aren’t known due to a lack of information on departures from West Africa, Senegal is one of the top three nationalities of arrivals to the Spanish islands. The Atlantic route from West Africa to the Canary Islands is one of the deadliest in the world. The Spanish migrant rights group Walking Borders estimates the victims were in the thousands last year. Migrants and former fishermen in the Canary Islands told the Environmental Justice Foundation that the treacherous journey to Spain was a last resort, a way to provide for families when fishing in Senegal could no longer put food on the table. “If I was able to gain enough money in fishing, I would never have come to Europe,” said Memedou Racine Seck.

Local activists in Senegal have voiced their frustration with foreign overfishing and its contribution to the migration crisis. Karim Sall, President of AGIRE, a Senegalese organization operating in the Joal-Fadiouth marine protected area, condemned foreign nations for their role in the crisis. “I get so angry when (foreign nations) complain about immigration because they are the real pirates and what they did is worse than clandestine immigration. It’s theft, plundering our resources to feed their own inhabitants while we suffer,” said Sall. Industrial foreign fleets, many of which use bottom trawling techniques, are exacerbating the crisis. These vessels drag heavy nets across the seafloor, indiscriminately catching young fish and destroying marine ecosystems like seagrass and coral reefs, which are vital for fish reproduction. As a result, fish stocks are unable to recover, deepening the hardships of local fishing communities and eaters.

Fish plays an important role in food security in Senegal, especially for protein consumption. Due to declining fish stocks, consumption per capita in Senegal has fallen from 29 kilograms per year to 17.8 kilograms per person. The report also pointed to a lack of transparency in fishing licenses and inadequate government management of fisheries as contributing factors. Despite efforts by the Senegalese government to address the crisis, experts warn that without stricter regulations on industrial foreign fleets, the situation will worsen. Migrant and former fisherman Souleymane Sady, who arrived in the Canary Islands in 2020, summed up the situation fishermen in Senegal face: “Since the government cannot regulate the boats and we cannot work normally, we choose to run away from the country to come for stability,” he said.

Source: Africanews

https://video.euronews.com/mp4/ED/14/84/79/05/ED_PYR_1484795_20250514041650.mp4
Lifestyle

Reports of US plans to deport migrants to Libya spotlight rights abuses

Maravi Post Reporter

News that the US may be planning to deport migrants to Libya has been met with consternation by rights groups.

The Trump administration continues to expand its efforts to remove migrants to third-party countries, despite legal challenges. On Wednesday, a US judge ruled that migrants could not be deported without being given the opportunity to challenge it in court.

Libya’s rival governments have also both said they would refuse to accept the deportees and the country’s highly restrictive asylum procedures also raise questions about the deportees status on arrival.

Libya is a major transit hub for asylum seekers trying to reach Europe and each year, thousands attempt a dangerous Mediterranean crossing. An estimated 800,000 migrants are currently in Libya and their mistreatment has been widely documented.

A United Nations-backed, independent fact-finding mission in 2024 found evidence that crimes against humanity had been committed against migrants in Libya. Victims were subjected to enslavement, forced disappearance, torture and murder, among other crimes, the investigators found. Dead migrants have been found in mass graves across the country, while tens of thousands of others have drowned trying to escape Libya on smugglers’ boats.

Deterrent factor

Libya’s brutal reputation for migrants may be part of the reason it appeals to Washington, says Camille Le Coz, Director of the Migration Policy Institute Europe.

“What’s striking about the choice of Libya is that this is a country where the conditions are particularly challenging for refugees and other migrants.

“Many migrants end up in detention centres, centres that are managed by militia or the government, where they get tortured, where their families get blackmailed to secure their release. There’s been repeatedly reports of mass graves, most recently in February, in different parts of the country. In 2024 International Organization for Migration reported that there’d been about 1,000 migrants who’d been killed in Libya, but we know the figures are likely to be much higher.”

“This type of operation is expensive, it’s difficult to set up, and so, we can speculate that it might be, you know, to show that if you get to the US you might be sent to this place that is extremely dangerous for migrant populations and that this may deter people from coming.”

Both the Tripoli-based government of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah and its rival administration in eastern Libya controlled by military commander Khalifa Hifter have denied signing a deportation deal with the Trump administration.

Despite documented abuses in Libya, the European Union and Italy have for years funded, trained and equipped Libyan groups, including the coast guard, to stop migrants from reaching European shores.

Source: Africanews

https://video.euronews.com/mp4/ED/14/47/47/09/ED_PYR_1447479_20250509123806.mp4
Lifestyle

Lampedusa: Honouring the migrants who died at sea

Maravi Post Reporter

In a quiet corner of Lampedusa cemetery retired professor, Fabio Giovanetti waters plants and tidies rubbish from the graves of migrants of who have died crossing the Mediterranean Sea. “We have never seen or met these people, none of them have given us their name or their story. We don’t know anything, but they are still human beings who had the misfortune to encounter a shipwreck,” he says.

Lampedusa is the gateway to Europe for the thousands of migrants who cross the Mediterranean every year. This small island in the middle of the sea has for decades welcomed anyone who arrives, alive or dead, after the long journey to the European coasts. In 2024 the Italian Red Cross welcomed over 45,000 people. More than 9,000 people have already arrived in Lampedusa in 2025. Some of those who don’t survive the sea journey and whose story ends here in Lampedusa, are buried in the local cemetery. Often little is known about them, sometimes their name is known, sometimes not even that. Giovanetti, is a member of the Forum Lampedusa Solidale, a group of citizens who help those in need on the island, local and migrant alike.

Every migrant grave in this small cemetery tells a story. The Forum volunteers decided to decorate them with writings and drawings that restore dignity to people, but at the same time the tombstones tell the drama of those who die without an identity. On the tombs, the sea is often drawn wrapped in barbed wire, like in a prison. Over the years the Forum has managed to reconstruct fragments of stories, a form of respect towards these victims of the sea. One grave is for a man the group have named ‘Yassin’ from Eritera. “We don’t actually know what his name was. Yassin arrived dead in Lampedusa, but we wrote Yassin because a shipwrecked survivor said that someone near him was shouting this name” explains Giovanetti. Giovanetti tells the story of Ester Ada who died in 2009. “A Turkish merchant ship, the Pinar, rescued 153 migrants, including a dead woman. A dispute opens between Italy and Malta and despite being in Maltese waters, Malta refuses to welcome the merchant ship. The standoff lasts four days and in the end Italy welcomes the migrants together with the body of Ester Ada, this young woman who died during the crossing.”

Another young woman known as Welela is one of the very migrants buried in Lampedusa whose name and story we know says Giovanetti : “She was an Eritrean girl who was trying to reunite with her brother and during the journey she suffered a very serious accident that left her with burns all over her body.” “Once she arrived on the island (dead) she was taken to the mortuary and a lady from Lampedusa temporarily donated her tomb, so we were able to bury her here. Trying to reconstruct the history and identity of this person, our research intersected with that of her brother who lives in a city in Northern Europe and it was he who told us the whole story of this unfortunate girl,” he adds.

A few kilometres from the cemetery, on the Favaloro pier, patrol boats continue to disembark people rescued at sea. On April 21, 85 people were rescued by the coast guard in the stormy sea, along with the body of a young man, according to the Italian Red Cross. The latest confirmed victim of over 30,000 deaths in the Mediterranean in the last ten years, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Imad Dalil runs the migrants hotspot in Lampedusa for the Italian Red Cross. He says: “We are here to welcome people, alive as you said, inside the hotspot and guarantee them, with the multidisciplinary team, all the services both material and health and psychiatric support. Also dead people arrive at the dock and we are here for them too.”

Valeria Passeri, an aid worker for Mediterranean Hope, a refugee and migrant programme of the Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy says Lampedusa is a place where migrants pass through, but those who die enroute remain and the cemetery is a place where they can be remembered and belong. “The cemetery is a very important place because today it is the place where the people of Lampedusa and the people on the move meet. The only place where they are together. It is a place where it is possible to remember and taking care of that space means dedicating attention, honouring and welcoming people even if they did not make it.”

Source: Africanews

https://video.euronews.com/mp4/ED/13/95/71/05/ED_PYR_1395715_20250504120525.mp4
Lifestyle

D.C. Plane Crash, Migrant Housing At Guantanamo, January 6th Criminal Records

Maravi Post Reporter

An American Airlines plane collided with a military helicopter in the skies over Washington, DC, President Trump says the US will send deported migrants to a temporary facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and an NPR investigation finds lengthy criminal records for some January 6th defendants who received pardons.

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Lifestyle

KC Parade Shooting, Russian Space Nukes, Migrant Crossings Drop

Maravi Post Reporter

22 people were shot including children during the Kansas City Super Bowl parade, at least one person has died. Sources believe National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will brief top lawmakers on the threat of Russian antisatellite nukes. And, migrant crossings at the southern border have dropped by 50% after reaching record numbers in December.

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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Cheryl Corley, Dana Farrington Alfredo Carbajal, and Mohamad ElBardicy.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Ben Abrams and Lilly Quiroz.
We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. And our technical director is Zac Coleman.

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A Widening Mideast War, Unsealed Jeffrey Epstein Documents, Migrant Caravan in Mexico

Maravi Post Reporter

Explosions in Iran, a drone strike in Lebanon and a threat from Hezbollah’s leader to punish those responsible. Is the risk of a wider regional conflict growing? And new court documents related to disgraced financier and convicted sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein are now public. Plus, a glimpse into the journey of migrants desperately trying to make it to the U.S.

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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Mark Katkov, Andrea DeLeon, and Tara Neill. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Ben Abrams and Taylor Haney. We get engineering support from Stacey Abbot. And our technical director is Zac Coleman.

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