EU-IOM Joint Initiative

for Migrant Protection and Reintegration

The North African countries can be countries of origin, transit and destination for complex and mixed migration movements. Algeria and Libya, in particular, have traditionally attracted migrants seeking employment opportunities. Many migration routes from the Sahel and Lake Chad and the Horn of Africa regions converge in countries of North Africa. Additionally, migration movements between North African countries are significant. Dominant migrant protection concerns relate to smuggling and trafficking of migrants, to, through and from the region and across the Mediterranean. Death and abuse en route, detention and the situation of unaccompanied and separated migrant children are of acute concern in North Africa, in particular in Libya.

In view of the dire situations faced by many migrants in Libya, a joint AU-EU-UN Task Force was created at the AU-EU Summit of Abidjan in 2017 to improve conditions for migrants stranded or detained in Libya and support those wishing to return to their countries of origin. The Task Force committed to facilitate voluntary humanitarian return for 15,000 migrants, which has been achieved in March 2018. Under the EU-IOM Joint Initiative this will be accompanied with immediate assistance to migrants based on their needs in countries of the region. The mandate of the AU-EU-UN Task Force has recently been strengthened to also target reintegration assistance and the fight against trafficking in human beings.

Simultaneously, the EU-IOM Joint Initiative and its partners have been scaling up the post-arrival reception and reintegration assistance provided to migrants in their countries of origin to address both short- and longer-term needs upon return.

Moreover, the EU-IOM Joint Initiative will contribute to capacity building activities in the North Africa countries. The programmes Framework Standard Operating Procedures for Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration will be adapted at the national level in the targeted countries defining how to provide the most effective assistance and strengthening local leadership.

The implementation of the EU-IOM Joint Initiative in the North of Africa has not yet started.