Forced Migration in the OIC Member Countries:
Policy Framework Adopted by Host Countries
38
Extra-regional migration to North Africa often aided by smugglers
While many West African forced and non-forced migrants move within the region, some look
further afield to countries in North Africa and even Europe.102 To migrate north, West Africans
can take one of three main routes, often facilitated by smuggling networks.
The first of these routes travels the coast through Mauritania and the Western Sahara to
Morocco. While this route is most popular with Senegalese refugees and asylum seekers (as
Senegal borders on Mauritania), they are often joined by refugees and asylum seekers from
Nigeria and the Cote d’Ivoire who can travel to Dakar without visas.103 In Morocco, refugees
and asylum seekers can either choose to stay in the country or attempt to cross into Europe.
Another maritime route popular in the mid-2000’s travelled from the Mauritanian or
Senegalese coast to the Canary Islands of Spain, though increased patrolling has greatly
decreased the use of this route.104
The second is the central Saharan route through Algeria to its coast. This route often
originates in the two smuggling hubs of Gao in Mali and Agadez in Niger, used primarily by
Francophones and Anglophones respectively.105 The routes through Niger and Mali typically
meet in Tamanrasset, Algeria and then move towards the Algerian coast—where some will
stay, while others cross the border into Morocco.106 IOM data gathered between February and
April 2016 suggests approximately 61,000 migrants travelled through the towns of Arlit and
Séguédine in the Agadez region towards Algeria and Libya, of which almost all (over 85
percent) were male.107 The main nationalities who transited through Agadez towards Algeria
were Nigeriens (37 percent), Malians (13 percent), Cameroonians (10 percent) and
Burkinabes (10 percent).108
The final significant route northward travels northeast, often departing from Agadez and
crossing the Libyan border to the transit hub of Sebha in southwest Libya, where most move
north to Tripoli or cross into Tunisia. Between February and April 2016, about one third of
those migrating towards Libya were Nigerians, followed by Nigeriens (21 percent) and
Senegalese (16 percent).109 Libya was a common destination for migrants until the recent
decline in the country’s stability and security situation, though it is still used by many as a
transit point to cross the Mediterranean despite such concerns.
Both forced migrants and those travelling for greater economic opportunity abroad often use
smugglers to facilitate their journeys. In recent years, smuggling has become a highly
professionalized industry of networks spanning the West African coast all the way to
102 Some migrants have also traditionally travelled south to destinations such as Angola and South Africa, but Europe often
remains the most accessible option due to wars in Central Africa. Charrière and Frésia, West Africa as a Migration and
Protection area, 16
103 Visa-free travel is assured through the ECOWAS Free Movement Protocol, discussed below. Arezo Malakooti, Migration
Trends Across the Mediterranean: Connecting the Dots, (Cairo: IOM Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa and
Altai Consulting, June 2015), 37
104 Benattia, Armitano, and Robinson, Irregular Migration between West Africa, North Africa and the Mediterranean, 41-43
105 Malakooti, Migration Trends Across the Mediterranean: Connecting the Dots, 35
106 While reports indicate that some migrants stay in Algeria to apply for asylum or work, the country currently lacks a
national asylum policy and a functioning body to process asylum requests. UNHCR currently carries out this role of
determining refugee status within the country. Ibid.
107 IOM, “IOM Records Over 60,000 Migrants Passing Through Agadez, Niger between February and April 2016,” (news
release, May 27, 2016),
108 IOM, “IOM Records Over 60,000 Migrants Passing Through Agadez, Niger”
109 Malakooti, Migration Trends Across the Mediterranean; IOM, “IOM Records Over 60,000 Migrants Passing Through
Agadez, Niger”