Quarterly Mixed Migration Updates, July to September 2022

This article presents the key updates on mixed migration from five regions around the world during the third quarter of 2022. Links to the full Quarterly Mixed Migration Updates per region are included below.

Asia and the Pacific | East and Southern Africa | Latin America and the Caribbean | North Africa | West Africa

Asia and the Pacific

Key Updates Quarter 3 – 2022

• Inconsistent responses to Afghan displacement continue to put lives at risk: There remains a lack of consistency in response to a large number of Afghan nationals moving to seek safety and stability despite pledges to receive Afghans made by the US, Australia, and some EU countries.
• Migration surges in Sri Lanka due to economic and political crises: Political and economic crises in Sri Lanka have led many to leave the country. Outward movements have surged with the majority heading to the Middle East, Australia, and India.
• Rohingya refugees are at risk of deportation from India and Bangladesh: Both countries have increased efforts to classify Rohingya refugees as “illegal” and subsequently deport them to Myanmar.
• Mental health concern among refugees in Malaysia: An incident in Kuala Lumpur on 2 August involving a father throwing his three young children off a flyover before plunging to death calls attention to mental health issues among refugees, particularly in the wake of Covid-19 related isolation and vilification.
• Demand for migrant workers is rising in post-pandemic recovery: Countries such as Malaysia and Thailand are facing a shortage of workers in labour-intensive sectors.
• Pakistan floods displaced millions, including Afghan refugees and local Pakistani communities: Climate change-induced floods in Pakistan uproot not only Pakistanis, but also thousands of refugees, including from Afghanistan.
• Australia increases migrant targets in order to fill jobs and attract talent: Demonstrating the benefit of allowing increased migrant access to the labour market, Australia has raised its migrant targets to attract talent.

Thematic Focus: Unable to Leave: Afghans still beyond the border

Read the full QMMU

East and Southern Africa

Key Updates Quarter 3 – 2022

• Drought in the Horn of Africa leads to increased displacement. As of September, 1.1 million people have been forced to flee their homes in search of food and water with further displacement anticipated.
• The UK relocation scheme to Rwanda is being challenged by the British High Court. Representatives and lawyers of the UN do not consider Rwanda a safe third country and explain that the scheme would breach the 1951 Refugee Convention.
• Increasing displacement in Sudan. The country’s economic and political crisis has further deteriorated, and adverse climate events have caused 96,457 to be internally displaced as of September.
• Ethiopia launched a repatriation scheme targeting approximately 12,000 of its citizens in 12 countries along the Eastern and Southern routes.
• East Africans arrive along Mediterranean routes. 1,591 Eritreans, 757 Sudanese and 335 Ethiopians have arrived in Italy; while 424 Somali, 99 Congolese (DRC) and 98 Yemeni have arrived in Greece since the beginning of the year.
• The EU pledges EUR 300 million to support the Egyptian coastguard on its border management to discourage irregular migration from Egypt across the Mediterranean.
• Tunisians increasingly move to Southern Africa. An increasing number of Tunisians prefer migrating to Southern Africa for work, rather than Europe or the Gulf States, because of easier arrival procedures and a high demand for their labour.
• South Africa to end special permits for migrants from Zimbabwe and Lesotho to live and work in the country.
• Increasing migration from Eastern and Southern Africa to the island of French Mayotte. 

Thematic Focus: Burundian returnees and implications for mixed migration

Read the full QMMU

Latin America and the Caribbean

Key Updates Quarter 3 – 2022

• According to the latest update of the Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela (R4V), as of August 2022, 6,805,209 Venezuelans have left the country. Of these, 5,745,664 (83%) are in Latin American and Caribbean countries. According to key actors at the borders, returns intentions among Venezuelans are increasing. However, local actors in Venezuela stated that returns could be temporary, as economic conditions in Venezuela are still unstable.
• On July 22, 2022, the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs modified the general requirements on visas with the publication of resolution 5477: Venezuelans with temporary documents for more than 5 years may now be eligible to apply for residence visas.
• The number of Venezuelans trying to reach Nicaragua from Colombia by sea is increasing. Between August 23rd and 30th, five boats with 54 people on board, mainly Venezuelans, were intercepted by the Colombia National Navy near the Island of San Andrés, Colombia.
• From January to August 2022, 1,631,699 “encounters” were reported at the southern border of the United States, an increase of 23% compared to the same period in 2021 (1,324,649 “encounters”). As of July 2022, 200,195 “encounters” were reported at the southern border, 4% less compared to June 2022 (207,986 “encounters”).
• On August 8, the Migrant Protection Protocol (MPP), better known as the “Remain in Mexico” program, officially ended. The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that individuals are no longer being newly enrolled in the MPP.
• Maritime migration, accompanied by shipwrecks and associated deaths by sea, continues to rise in the region. Between October 2021 and September 2022, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) intercepted 5,392 Cubans (543% more than in 2021, 838 interceptions) and 7,173 Haitians (369% more than in 2021, 1,527 interceptions).

Thematic Focus: Crossing the Darien Gap or facing the open sea

Read the full QMMU

North Africa

Key Updates Quarter 3 – 2022

• Aftermath of Melilla: Following the deaths of dozens of refugees and migrants attempting to enter the Spanish enclave of Melilla on 24 June, there have been a variety of prosecutions of migrants as well as investigations into the incident.
• Increased cooperation between Morocco and the EU: Just days after the Melilla incident, European Commissioner for Home Affairs met with the Moroccan Minister of the Interior in Rabat. They announced a “new operational anti-smuggling partnership.” In August, the EU finalized an agreement to support the government of Morocco with 500 million euros over 2021-2027 – an increase of nearly 50% (343 million) from the previous period – to prevent irregular migration.
• Interceptions at sea and returns to Libya: According to UNHCR, as of 4 October 2022, 16,733 refugees and migrants were disembarked on Libyan soil following 160 interception and rescue operations during the year. A 30 August report of the UN Secretary-General published in August 2022 stated that “Returns to Libya often violated the principle of non-refoulement,” with migrants facing a variety of human rights abuses upon return to Libya. The report also underscored that “The United Nations stands ready to assist in the development of a predictable regional disembarkation and solidarity mechanism on both coasts of the Mediterranean.”
• Expulsions from Algeria: During the quarter, multiple rounds of expulsion of refugees and migrants took place from Algeria to Niger, with the NGO Alarme Phone Sahara (APS) estimating that at least 4,747 people were expelled from Algeria to Niger during August and September.
• Central Mediterranean Route trends: UNHCR reported 43,287 arrivals in Italy from 1 July – 30 September 2022, a substantial increase compared to 22,826 arrivals in July – September 2021. Tunisians and Egyptians constituted the top nationalities, representing 22% and 21% of arrivals, respectively.

Read the full QMMU

West Africa

Key Updates Quarter 3 – 2022

• European migration cooperation with Niger: Mid-July in Brussels, Niger and the European Union launched an operational partnership to combat migrant smuggling. Amongst other objectives, this adaptive partnership aims to build on the model of the Joint Investigation Team and implement new sensitization campaigns on the dangers of irregular migration. On the same day, a working arrangement between Frontex and EUCAP-Sahel was signed in the presence of the Minister of Interior of Niger. Another working arrangement between Frontex and Niger remains under discussion. Meanwhile, in Niamey, the International Center for Migration Policy and Development (ICMPD) signed a Seat Agreement with Niger, which will help to “define and strengthen the relationship between ICMPD and the government of Niger” and will assist in the development of ICMPD’s interventions in Niger.
• Pace of Canary Islands arrivals slows: According to the Spanish Ministry of Interior, 12,506 people had arrived irregularly by sea in the Canary Islands from 1 January – 30 September 2022. This is a 5% reduction in arrivals so far this year compared to the same period in 2021. Notably, this quarter marks a deceleration in the pace of arrivals, as arrival figures at the end of the second quarter 2022 were 26% higher than in 2021, and at the end of the first quarter they were 71% higher than in 2021.
• Expulsions to Niger continue: The NGO Alarme Phone Sahara estimated that at least 4,747 people were expelled from Algeria to Niger during August and September. About half of those who were expelled were Nigerien nationals, and the rest held different sub-Saharan African nationalities, primarily hailing from Mali, Guinea and other West African countries.
• ECOWAS mission to Niger: In late September, ECOWAS sent a high-level delegation to Niger to look into the situation of migrants stranded there – many of whom had been expelled from Algeria – with the aim of proposing “an appropriate recovery and reintegration plan for these migrants.” The delegation issued a series of recommendations, denouncing the frequent expulsions from North Africa to Niger, and underscoring the necessity for better management of migration between ECOWAS and Maghreb states. The visit follows a period of migrant protests in IOM’s Nigerien transit centers.

Read the full QMMU