Global migration

Politics & Policy

Third-country deportations expose democratic costs of Africa’s deals with the US

US migration deals with African governments are prompting legal, political and human rights concerns across the continent
Close-up profile of the nose and engines of a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft on a sunny day. Markings on the fuselage identify the 62nd and 446th Airlift Wings. On the tarmac below, a group of civilians and officials in high-visibility vests stand near the aircraft steps.
Politics & Policy

UK copies Denmark’s harsh asylum rules — but at what cost?

Denmark once prided itself on its liberal welfare state and human rights commitments. But it has spent the past decade turning itself into one of Europe’s toughest destinations for refugees
An overcrowded refugee boat capsizes in the Mediterranean Sea. The current economic and political situation in Africa has already fuelled a sharp rise in migration. Last September (2023), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees reported that more than 2,500 people had died or gone missing while trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe in the first nine months of 2023, with many more perishing before they reached the coast. During that same period, 130,000 migrants, many departing from Tunisia or Libya, landed in Italy. These numbers will increase sharply if Africa’s population growth is not coupled with improving economic conditions. Worryingly, the International Monetary Fund’s current forecasts suggest GDP growth of around 4 per cent in Sub-Saharan Africa for the next two years – well below long-term trends. The current influx of mass migration to European countries such as Italy, Spain, and Greece may be only the beginning.
Politics & Policy

UK to cut asylum “golden ticket” with tougher restrictions

Britain will force asylum seekers to wait 20 years before they can apply for permanent residence, up from five years currently, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will announce on Monday
Shabana Mahmood, the UK's Home Secretary
Politics & Policy

Uganda’s deal with the US to take asylum seekers: what is behind it, and what is at stake?

Uganda has agreed to accept an unspecified number of third-country nationals who have applied for asylum in the US, but who cannot return home due to safety concerns
A group of people, mostly women, watch a woman place a steaming saucepan on a stove.
Politics & Policy

African ideas for reforming global institutions by far the best

Africans bear the brunt of the failings of global institutions; they are therefore strong advocates for global governance and financial reform, and for new, bold, sustainable investments
A street scene of Arusha, Tanzania