A new mapping of East African migration routes will help regional CSOs make data-based decisions
Our latest data report offers detailed insights into migration in East Africa, migrants call for safer pathways to the U.S. after dozens die in a sweltering trailer, and experts raise concerns about the treatment of immigration detainees in Malaysia.
A new report that offers fresh information on migration movement in East Africa has been published by Freedom Collaborative in partnership with the Better Migration Management Programme (BMM), thanks to data collected and recorded by more than 30 CSOs working in the area. Using Freedom Collaborative’s Victim Journey Tracker tool, which was adapted for the regional context, the organizations were able to provide information on specific data points to help build up a detailed understanding of the journeys and experiences of vulnerable migrants from the region.
It is hoped the report’s findings will encourage CSOs to use data collection projects such as this to expand and strengthen their work and to strategize more effectively. At last week’s launch event, suggestions for the ways in which the data could be used included: multi-agency collaboration on missing migrants; transport sector initiatives; a focus on high-risk locations and routes; new approaches to tackling economic stress and poverty; greater focus on internal trafficking; and improving access to services for all migrants, regardless of age or gender.
The countries of the Horn of Africa region see high migration activity, with migrants, asylum seekers and refugees traveling both within and outside the area – most migrants travel irregularly and are at great risk of abuse and exploitation. For the past few years, Freedom Collaborative and BMM have worked with Kenyan and Somali CSOs, collecting and sharing data on human trafficking and risky migration routes relating to their countries. The new report expands on this work by analyzing the data of 31 CSOs from Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda, relating to cases of trafficking victims and vulnerable migrants from 2021.
The analysis not only provides an overview of the locations of origin, transit points and destinations of migrants from the region, but also offers insights into migration drivers and vulnerability factors, as well as details on the modi operandi used to facilitate their journeys. It also details their exploitation experiences, including cases of abuse and missing migrants. Even though the data set does not show a complete picture, the available information still highlights potential trends and patterns, and increases shared knowledge on these complex issues. It is hoped that CSOs will use this information to make more data-based decisions, and to make data-gathering a greater priority.
The report reveals high migration activity across borders throughout the region, as well as significant amounts of internal movement. Females accounted for around three quarters of cases in which information on gender was made available, while at least four fifths were children. The vast majority of migrants ended up as domestic workers, with another significant proportion working in the commercial sex trade. Physical and psychological abuse were the most common forms of exploitation.
According to the data submitted, by far the biggest risk factor for exploitation was economic stress and poverty. Employment opportunities were the most common reason for migration, and in most cases migrants traveled in the pursuit of potential work opportunities rather than concrete job offers.
Information was also gathered on routes of especially high risk, where organizations had heard of migrants dying or disappearing during their journey. More than 40,000 people have lost their lives during unsafe migration journeys since 2014 according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM)’s Missing Migrants Project, which records incidents in which migrants, including refugees and asylum seekers, have died at state borders or in the process of migrating to an international destination.
The BMM Programme is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and co-financed by the European Union (EUTF). Its period of implementation is from October 2019 to September 2022.
Here’s a round-up of other noteworthy news and initiatives:
More than 50 migrants were found dead inside a trailer about 150 miles north of the US-Mexico border last week – a tragedy that underscores the way in which a lack of legal migration pathways forces people to rely on human smugglers. It was the deadliest U.S. human smuggling incident in memory and, as the residents of San Antonio mourn the tragic loss of life, many recalled their own experience of migrating to the U.S., calling for better immigration practices and protection for asylum seekers.
U.S. President Joe Biden has signed a National Security Memorandum (NSM) to address illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing by distant water fleets in the world’s oceans, and its associated forced labour, human trafficking, and other crimes and human rights abuses.
A report by Indonesian NGOs on Malaysia’s allegedly gross mistreatment of immigration detainees found that some of them, including a man with Down syndrome, had died from a lack of basic care. It comes as a UN expert recently raised concerns about Rohingya Muslims in Malaysian detention centers, which reportedly include child victims of trafficking.
The Philippine government’s campaign against all forms of human trafficking has expanded with the passage of the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act – which makes internet intermediaries such as social media platforms and banking and e-commerce channels liable if they knowingly, or by gross negligence, allow the use of their infrastructure to promote trafficking.
Although a violation of international law, Polish border guards summarily push back asylum seekers attempting to cross the Polish-Belarus border almost daily. However, a Warsaw court has ruled that their actions are unlawful.
In this opinion piece, the secretary general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) writes that the unprecedented level of humanitarian support for Ukraine is a testament to what we are capable of – but also reveals a long-standing need to rethink how humanitarian aid is distributed and how to depoliticise it.
This new policy paper by Walk Free examines the inclusion of modern slavery survivors in program design and implementation, and in the evaluation of anti-slavery and counter-trafficking programs. Survivor inclusion is crucial to developing and implementing interventions that reflect survivor needs, and to ensuring that program evaluations reflect measures of success determined by survivors.
The Freedom Fund has announced a new round of grants to survivor-led organizations under the Survivor Leadership Fund, focusing on South America and open to applications from survivor-led organizations in Bolivia, Brazil and Peru. Applications may be made in English, Spanish or Portuguese, and the deadline is 31 July.
The Monitoring & Evaluation of Trafficking in Persons Community of Practice (METIP) is a group of Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning and research experts who work in the anti-trafficking sector globally. They invite you to a webinar on 12 July for a highly interactive session among MERL specialists to discuss METIP’s new Call to Action, which provides practical steps for implementing equitable and inclusive monitoring, evaluation and research in the anti-trafficking movement.
There are still a few days left in which to apply for Tech Against Trafficking’s (TAT) third TAT Accelerator Program, which will launch in September 2022. Organizations are invited to apply by filling out this form. The deadline for applications is 8 July.
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