Roadmap for sustainable migration management in Agadez

A line in the sand - Roadmap for sustainable migration management in Agadez

This report series presents the main findings of a joint Clingendael-EPGA research project on the effect of migration and migration-mitigating measures on economic opportunities and local governance in Agadez.

The synthesis report provides an overview of the migration policies currently being implemented in the region and identifies the EU migration policy’s adverse effects on the local economy, the legitimacy of state authorities and security in the region. It uses these insights to provide tangible policy recommendations that enable security and rule of law policies, including those related to social and economic reconstruction, to address these potential adverse effects.

The economic report discusses in more detail how, given the migration industry’s deep entanglement with people’s livelihoods, the criminalisation of northbound migration has robbed large parts of the population of an important source of income. Any reduction in outbound migration flows through Agadez can be sustained only if alternative income-generating opportunities will materialise in the immediate future. The report offers three sets of recommendations showing concrete ways to leverage the region’s existing potential: to create economic opportunities in the short term, to work towards an enabling business environment and to design support measures in a conflict-sensitive manner.

The local governance report shows in more detail how the Agadez community has become increasingly frustrated with local political authorities who are seen to work to the advantage of the European Union (EU) rather than their own population and how the Agadez region is experiencing an increase in insecurity on various dimensions. Although the region is relatively stable for now, care should be taken to invest in policies that boost the legitimacy of local authorities, such as by supporting the reinvigoration of the quality and accountability of institutions across service-delivery areas, and to address potential radicalisation and conflict dynamics

A common thread running through all three reports is that Agadez has deposits of economic, social and institutional capital that can be leveraged as part of a more holistic and bottom-up approach to migration management that treats the issue of migration as one among multiple challenges facing the region.

Pour la version en français de cette série des rapports cliquez ici.