Musings From Abroad

US Home Commissioner warns Niger coup could increase EU immigration

Published

8 months ago

April 11, 2024

Home Affairs Commissioner, Ylva Johansson, has said that the coup in Niger last year could lead to a rise in people coming to the European Union illegally. This was said just hours before a key vote on changing the EU’s migration rules in preparation for an election in June.

The coup in Niger last year could lead to a lot of people coming to the EU illegally, said Ylva Johansson, the commissioner for home affairs, on Tuesday, just before a key vote on changing the EU’s rules on immigration before an election in June. A military group took over Niamey in a coup in 2023. Since then, they have removed a law that has helped stop people from West Africa from going to Europe. The EU wants to work together more closely with African countries to cut down on illegal immigrants.

“The coup in Niger concerns me a lot … That could, of course, lead to a lot of new migrants coming in a very difficult and dangerous situation,” Johansson told reporters.

United Nations figures showed that so far this year, more than 45,500 people have come into the EU without going through a normal border crossing. Last year, more than a million people, mostly Syrian refugees, came to the group. This is a lot less than the high point in 2015.

Since then, the EU’s 27 member states have been trying to cut down on illegal immigration from the Middle East and Africa by making its borders stricter and limiting refugee laws. This is because, across the continent, people are becoming more against immigration.

The EU signed a new migrant pact at the end of last year as a way to better handle migration. This was done in response to pressure from far-right parties that are expected to do well in the European Parliament election in two months.

The European Parliament will hold a final vote on that package on Wednesday. It cuts down on the time it takes for screening and asylum processes, aims to make it easier for people to be sent back to their home countries, and spells out how member states that are under a lot of pressure can get help. If agreed upon, member states would give their seal of approval in the next few days. They would then have two years to put it into effect.

Johansson thought the vote would go through. The deal was called “a huge leap in the wrong direction” by 161 civil society organizations on Tuesday, who said it violated basic rights by letting children be detained.

“The decision will impact children fleeing conflict, hunger and death for decades. The EU must get it right,” said Federica Toscano from Save the Children Europe.

Related Topics:Featured US Ylva Johansson

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Musings From Abroad

Seeking to expand ties in Africa, Indonesia’s Prabowo attends D-8 economic meeting in Egypt

Published

13 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to the government, Indonesian President, Prabowo Subianto, travelled to Egypt on Tuesday to attend meetings of the D-8 Organisation for Economic Cooperation, a group of eight significant Muslim developing nations.

To enhance collaboration between the nations spanning from Southeast Asia to Africa, the D-8 was formed in 1997 and consists of Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkey. Beginning in January 2026, Indonesia will serve as the group’s chair.

Prabowo said that he would meet with Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the president of Egypt.

“Egypt is our close friend, our strategic partner and an important country in the Middle East,” he said before his departure, adding he would also meet the Egyptian business community.

He would go to Malaysia from Egypt and then return to Indonesia.

Since taking office in October, Prabowo has stated that his administration will uphold Indonesia’s long-standing non-alignment foreign policy.

Since winning the presidency earlier this year, he has been to more than 20 nations, including China, the US, Japan, and Russia.

Musings From Abroad

UN warns Sudan rebels may be getting weapons in Chad from UAE cargo planes

Published

4 days ago

December 14, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Flight data and satellite photographs reveal that dozens of UAE cargo planes have landed at a small Chad airstrip since Sudan’s civil war began last year, which some U.N. experts and diplomats fear is being used to transport guns into the fight.

At least 86 UAE planes have landed at Amdjarass airfield in eastern Chad since the war started in April 2023.

According to flight data and business records examined by Reuters, three-quarters of them were operated by airlines accused by the U.N. of transporting Emirati weaponry to a Libyan warlord.

The UAE, a key Western partner in the Middle East, insists it sends Sudan aid through Chad, not armaments.

The UAE denied “credible” allegations that it was supplying Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group fighting the Sudanese army in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions, via the Chad airstrip in January.

Reuters uncovered footage from Amdjarass this year, revealing two pallets loaded with khaki containers, some labelled with the UAE flag, on the tarmac.

Reuters is obscuring the footage’s date and provenance for fear of reprisals.

Three weapons specialists, two of whom were U.N. inspectors, said the containers were unlikely to convey humanitarian material, generally bundled in cardboard boxes coated in plastic and stacked high on pallets due to its lightweight. The footage shows metal containers packed low on pallets.

One U.N. weapons inspector said the contents were “highly probably ammunition or weapons, based on the design and colour of boxes,” but requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the information.

He stated that right-hand pallet cases are long and slender, suggesting weaponry.

Reuters could not independently verify the containers’ contents. The filming date is being withheld to protect the source.

The UAE government told Reuters it has deployed 159 relief planes with more than 10,000 tonnes of food and medical assistance to feed its Amdjarass field hospital.

“We firmly reject the baseless and unfounded claims regarding the provision of arms and military equipment to any warring party since the beginning of the conflict,” the statement said.

To counter Islamist militants, the oil-rich Gulf kingdom has interfered in crises from Yemen to Libya since the Arab Spring protests of 2011. The UAE views Muslim Brotherhood and other groups as threats to internal stability.

In Sudan’s army, Islamists affiliated with deposed President Omar al-Bashir have long held power.

Senior RSF official Brigadier General Omar Hamdan rejected foreign help. He told Nairobi media on Nov. 18 that Sudanese firms made its guns and ammunition. The RSF declined to comment on this topic.