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Migration partnerships

ICMPD checks in about what it’s doing in Turkey // Enhanced migration cooperation with Lebanon and Libya // The ‘right to leave’ in an era of externalisation

ICMPD checks in about what it’s doing in Turkey

A presentation (pdf) from the International Centre for Migration Policy Development, one of the EU’s key externalisation implementing partners, sums up some of its work in Turkey.

The presentation describes one of ICMPD’s programmes in Turkey, ENHANCER and ENHANCER PRO, which purports to be a programme for the “Enhancement of Entrepreneurship Capacities for Further Sustainable Socio-Economic Integration”. The presentation includes a map of where in Turkey the two sides of the programme are active.

More broadly, the presentation re-confirms that the ICMPD is involved – to some extent - in virtually all aspects of migration control in Turkey. The intro page of the presentation defines governance priorities in Turkey as: Prevention of Irregular Migration Starting from Source Countries, Effective Border Management, Reinforced Migration Enforcement within the Country, Prevention of Irregular Exits from Turkey, and A Functioning Return System.

In particular, the presentation notes, among other areas, the “contribution of the representation of ICMPD” in an “Effective Border Surveillance System Along the Eastern and Southeastern Border” and notes a future plan for similar representation along western borders.

The presentation also includes the observation: “Turkey does not want to be positioned as a transit or destination country for irregular migrants”.

Enhanced migration cooperation with Lebanon and …. Libya

A presidency discussion paper on Libya and Lebanon (pdf), presented to the SCIFA committee, invites delegates to think about how the EU may “move towards a more structured framework for engagement” with both countries on migration control:

“these countries play a crucial role in preventing third-country nationals from departing irregularly and reaching the EU (…) A comprehensive framework of cooperation and assistance could have added value in this case”

The document presents information on the migratory situation in both countries. This includes several hundred million euros provided to Lebanon in recent years, and mentions that Frontex is negotiating a working arrangement with Lebanon. It also presents analysis of the expected future security and migration situations in both countries and invites delegates to consider how migration cooperation could be extended and formalised.

Though the document acknowledges the “highly challenging environment for refugees and migrants” in Libya, and makes reference to the need for “recognition only of the government in Tripoli” amid engagement with Eastern Libyan forces, it makes no mention of the EU’s existing support to Libyan coastal authorities and militias, support which significantly contributes to that “highly challenging environment”.

The ‘right to leave’ in an era of externalisation

A new book ‘Protecting the Right to Leave in an Era of Externalised Migration Control’, by researcher and adviser Dr Emilie McDonnell, explores how state externalisation projects are denying people the right to leave their countries around the world.

Dr McDonnell provided Statewatch with an excerpt:

“Externalisation has become contemporary refugee policy, no longer exceptional, and the containment of migrants embedded in the global regime.

“Imagine a young Sudanese man desperate to escape the conflict and rampant abuses in Sudan. As a national of an unstable, refugee-producing country, he is unlikely to be granted a visa. Moreover, embassies are closed, he has no passport, and airlines will not board undocumented travellers. He plans to flee to Egypt, but the authorities have tightened their entry requirements. Denied safe and legal routes, he crosses into Chad and then endures a dangerous journey through the inhospitable desert into Libya, where he is met with violence, abuse and exploitation.

“With few alternatives, he boards an overcrowded, unseaworthy boat to cross the Mediterranean towards Italy. The boat may capsize or be pulled back by the Libyan Coast Guard, aided by Frontex, which shared the boat’s location with the Libyans. The man and others on board are taken to an EU-funded detention centre in Libya. Meanwhile, IOM is supporting Libyan border authorities to enhance their capacities.

“This example represents only a snapshot of the myriad possible restrictions on movement a migrant will encounter throughout their journey, imposed by State and non-state actors, from the point of departure and well before reaching their potential destination. The result is a global web of externalisation that has especially harmful effects in collectively containing migrants worldwide. Prima facie, externalisation measures may interfere with and violate the right to leave.”