This article presents the key updates on mixed migration from five regions around the world during the fourth quarter of 2022. Links to the full Quarterly Mixed Migration Updates per region are included below.
Asia and the Pacific | Eastern and Southern Africa | Latin America and the Caribbean | North Africa | West Africa
Asia and the Pacific
Key Updates Quarter 4 – 2022
- Migration options for Afghans are shrinking: Migration and resettlement pathways for Afghans have been constrained by multiple challenges, including restricted mobility within and across Afghan borders, increased crackdowns in Pakistan, the reception crisis in Belgium, and the Canadian sponsorship quota system, among others.
- Andaman Sea crossings rise sixfold in 2022 when compared to 2021: UNHCR has drawn attention to a “dramatic increase” in the number of people – predominantly Rohingya – attempting dangerous Andaman Sea crossings in 2022. Several hundred are feared dead or missing.
- New pathways in the pipeline for Bangladeshi migrant workers: The Bangladesh government has entered into talks with the European Union, Libya, and Russia towards establishing potential pathways for Bangladeshi migrant workers.
- There is a need for better policy and responses to climate-induced human mobility: The increased intensity and frequency of natural disasters driven by climate change has uprooted millions in Bangladesh and Pakistan, yet little progress has been made to address the issue.
- Anti-Torture Act passed and National Screening Mechanism criteria outlined in Thailand: While many remain sceptical over aspects of implementation, the passage of the Anti-Torture Act and the establishment of criteria for the National Screening Mechanism signify positive progress in instituting protection frameworks for refugees and asylum seekers in Thailand.
- Detention conditions in Australia remain dire: Criticism of a new agreement between the Australian government and the Management and Training Corporation – a US based private prison operator – have increased as the government moved to block the UN from accessing detention facilities, particularly sections that provide mental healthcare assistance.
Thematic Focus: Australia’s immigration policies bid for migrant labour while side-lining refugees living under temporary protection
Eastern and Southern Africa | Egypt & Yemen
Key Updates Quarter 4 – 2022
- More than 2 million people in the Horn of Africa are estimated to have become displaced by the drought crisis, while 23-26 million are projected to face acute food insecurity in 2023.
- Increasing Somali movements into Kenya to seek refuge from protracted conflict and the effects of prolonged drought. As of December 2022, an estimated 80,000 had arrived in Dadaab refugee camps.
- In November, the Ethiopian Federal Government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front signed a peace treaty to end hostilities in Tigray. The 2-year civil war has internally displaced millions of people in Ethiopia, and approximately 55,406 remain in refugee camps in Sudan.
- Between 2021 and 2022, arrivals in Yemen along the Eastern Route almost doubled, at 53,401, with 26,663 entering in Q4 2022 alone.
- Between November 12th and December 30th, 23,066 Ethiopians were returned to Ethiopia from Saudi Arabia, including 2,673 women and 724 children.
- An estimated 88,000 Congolese and South Sudanese refugees fleeing conflict and violence arrived in Uganda in Q4, marking a total of 146,000 new arrivals in Uganda in 2022.
- Egyptians represented the most common nationality of refugees and migrants traveling along the Central Mediterranean Route in 2022, with 5,369 arriving in Italy from October – December and 21,301
since January. - The bodies of Ethiopian migrants were discovered in Malawi (25) and Zambia (27) in October and November 2022, respectively, prompting the Ethiopian government to reiterate its commitment to reduce the irregular migration of its nationals and to repatriate those in dire situations abroad.
- The conflict in Northern Mozambique marked its fifth year in Q4, and 945,500 people are estimated to be internally displaced. The number of those displaced across borders remains unknown.
- Serbia abolished a visa-free scheme for Burundians, which had been in place from 2018 – 2022, to align its policies with the European Union.
Thematic Focus: Update on drought crisis and drought-related movements
Latin America and the Caribbean
Key Updates Quarter 4 – 2022
- According to the latest update of the Interagency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants of Venezuela (R4V), as of December 2022, 7,131,435 Venezuelans have left the country. Of these, 5,986,946 (84%) are in Latin American and Caribbean countries.
- Actors at the borders continue to report return movements to Venezuela. Among the factors of Venezuelans leaving their host countries and their motivations to return, are the improved economic opportunities in the country, the difficulties settling in their host countries, and the desire to meet with family and friends.
- Since January 5, Cuban, Nicaraguan, and Haitian citizens are under a new legal pathway to enter the United States. Its parole process mirrors an existing program for Venezuelans announced in October. About, 30,000 people will be able to apply to this program each month.
- After the tightening of the policies of entry to the United States for Venezuelan citizens, the number of Venezuelans trying to reach Panama from Colombia decreased by 98% between October and November 2022, meanwhile, local actors in the field reported an increase in the transit of Haitians and Ecuadorians through the Darien Gap.
- Between October and December 2022, 717,660 “encounters” were reported at the southern border of the United States. This represents an increase of 46% in comparison with the same period in 2021 (518,935 “encounters”). In December 2022, 251,487 “encounters” were registered.
- On December 27, the Supreme Court ordered Title 42 border restrictions to remain in effect until the Court reviews the matter in 2023. Between March 2020, when the measure was put in place, and December 2022, more than 2 million refugees and migrants have been expelled to Mexico under this policy.
- Deaths or disappearances of refugees and migrants on migratory routes are increasing across the Americas. More than 6,000 deaths during migration have been documented between 2014 and 2022, according to the IOM. Most lives have been lost trying to reach the United States, by land and seas. At the Bolivian-Chilean borders, other deaths have also been reported.
Thematic Focus: Title 42 – The Human Cost of an Expulsion Policy
North Africa
Key Updates Quarter 4 – 2022
- Demonstrations in Zarzis: The residents of the coastal town of Zarzis in southeastern Tunisia expressed indignation over authorities’ inaction to deploy search and rescue operations for a boat with 18 Tunisian migrants who went missing in late September. Weeks of protests and a general strike prompted the Ministry of Justice to open an investigation at the order of President Kais Saied.
- Investigation into the Melilla incident closed with no charges: Spain closed its investigation into the incident that in June lead to the deaths of dozens of refugees and migrants attempting to enter the Spanish enclave of Melilla, dismissing the criminal charges against the Spanish officers involved. Meanwhile, Moroccan authorities reportedly continued their policing of refugees and migrants in the country through arrests, forced displacements, and imprisonments.
- UN report finds assisted returns from Libya are not always voluntary: A report on assisted voluntary returns from Libya by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) found that
the limited choices and abuse faced by migrants in Libya jeopardizes the possibility of “truly voluntary” decisions to return to their countries of origin. - Obstructions to search and rescue in the Mediterranean: Several NGO search and rescue (SAR) vessels remained at sea in the Mediterranean for weeks while waiting for a safe port in Europe. A standoff over the Ocean Viking vessel prompted an EU action plan on the Central Mediterranean, while Italy issued a new decree restricting NGO SAR operations.
- Central and Western Mediterranean Route trends: The Spanish Ministry of the Interior reported 31,219 refugees and migrants had arrived irregularly in Spain via land and sea in 2022, representing a 26% decrease from 2021. Meanwhile, UNHCR reported 105,131 migrants and refugees arrived in Italy by sea in 2022, representing an increase of 56% compared to 2021.
Thematic Focus: Search and Rescue in the Mediterranean
West Africa
Key Updates Quarter 4 – 2022
- Regional displacement on the rise: As of the end of December, around 6.3 million people were displaced across the Sahel; an increase of 300,000 persons since the end of the second quarter of the year. Numbers of internally displaced persons remained stable in Nigeria, but increased in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. According to UNHCR, as of the end of November, the West and Central Africa region hosted 1.6 million refugees, an increase of 7% since September 2021.
- Spain – Mauritania security and migration accord: During his third visit to Mauritania, the Spanish Minister of the Interior signed a security accord with the President of Mauritania that, according to the Agence Mauritanienne d’Information, would enable Mauritania to access ‘logistical and technical means’ to combat irregular migration as well as trafficking and other types of organized crime.
- Decrease in Canary Islands arrivals: The Atlantic Route to the Canary Islands counted almost 30% fewer irregular arrivals in 2022 compared to 2021. In total, the Ministry of Interior documented 15,682 arrivals, compared to 22,316 in 2021 and 23,023 in 2020. While overall arrivals to Spain have decreased three years out of the last four, this is the first year since the ‘reactivation’ of the Atlantic Route in 2019 that arrivals to the Canary Islands have shown a notable decrease.
- Expulsions to Niger: During the fourth quarter, multiple waves of expulsion of refugees and migrants took place from Algeria to Niger, with at least 8,223 people expelled, according to estimates from NGO Alarme Phone Sahara (APS). This brings the total number of people expelled in 2022 to at least 25,328. According to APS, one migrant death was recorded during these expulsions, which they termed “chaotic.”