Niger’s repeal of migrant smuggling law prompts EU fears over curbing immigration

The military junta in Niger, which seized power at the end of July after ousting President Mohamed Bazoum, announced the repeal of the anti-migrant law last Monday.

In a televised statement, the government’s secretariat general said General Abdourahamane Tiani on Saturday signed an order repealing the measure and stipulating that convictions handed down under the 2015 law be revoked.

The EU, meanwhile, said it regretted the decision to scrap the controversial 2015 law, saying that it could lead to an increase in the number of people trying to reach Europe illegally.

"I'm very concerned about the situation now, and there is a huge risk that this will cause new deaths in the [Sahara] desert," European Union Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said.

She said it "would also probably mean more people coming to Libya, for example, and then maybe also trying to cross the Mediterranean to the EU".

The news was however welcomed by Nigeriens, who saw the repealed law as a threat to the local economy.

"It's a law that contravened the free movement of people and goods, so it's been very well received," said Sidi Mamadou, 42, a former smuggler and campaigner for legal migration.

“We're going to get back to work, and if we see any migrants, we'll transport them [to migration destinations]," he said.

‘For us, immigration was a trade’

A crossing point between Africa's Sahel region and the Sahara, Agadez – Niger's largest city in the north – has long been a transit city for migrants from West and Central Africa.

Local businesses based on legal migration had flourished in Agadez following the collapse of tourism due to terrorist activity in the region.

Before the law passed in 2015, cab drivers, restaurants and accommodation for migrants were easy to find, while convoys of exiles that left Agadez every week for Libya or Algeria were escorted by military vehicles to deter possible attacks along the way.

"For us, immigration was a trade, and we made a lot of money from it," Mamadou said.

"We would note the chassis numbers of the vehicles, the names of the drivers, the number of migrants and draw up a roadmap, even the mayor would take a tax on the convoys," said Mamadou, who is a member of a transport union.

Under an Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) treaty, African Union nationals can travel on the continent provided they have an identification document.

More than 60,000 migrants passed through Niger en route to Libya and Algeria in the first half of 2023, a report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) showed.

Ineffective retraining programs

The 2015 migration crisis, however, prompted the EU to act as it sought to curb illegal immigration from the African continent.

In exchange for financing of up to €1 billion, Niger’s government signed the 2015 law in an attempt to put a stop to the flow of migrants travelling through Agadez without documents.

Despite protests and rallies by Agadez smugglers, the 2015-36 Law came into force at the end of 2015.

Dozens of smugglers were imprisoned or fined between 3 and 30 million CFA francs (€4,500 to €45,000).

"One fine morning in 2015, we were told it was illegal and criminal, and the young people were arrested with their belongings," Agadez Regional Council President Mohamed Anacko said. 

The EU also financed vocational retraining programs in Niger. In 2017, the EU provided the EU Trust Fund for Africa with €3.5 million to "mitigate the consequences of reduced irregular migration flows on the local economy in the Agadez region ... with a focus on job creation". 

Despite the funding, the policy did not produce the desired effect. 

“Everyone was able to choose a professional field for the retraining program, but eight years later, it has only benefited 300 people," Anacko said.  

The low participation rate was partly due to the fact that smugglers and transporters were excluded from the programme as their previous activities were deemed "criminal" by the EU. 

First convoys 'as early as next week'

In the meantime, the business of migration in Niger’s Agadez became a clandestine activity. 

To avoid the authorities, smugglers had started taking routes further away from main roads, which are longer, more isolated and therefore more dangerous.  

"Migration became risky, because it was no longer controlled, and people began to die in the desert without anyone knowing," Anacko said. 

According to data published by the IOM in August, no fewer than 570 migrants were reported deceased between January and June 2023 along the migratory routes in the Sahara Desert. 

Agadez's entire migration trade is set to be revived following last week’s announcement.  

"The first convoys will probably arrive as early as next week. We can expect a massive flow of migrants to Europe over the next few months," Mamadou said. 

For the EU, which has a policy of outsourcing border controls to Mediterranean and African countries, Niger’s repeal of the anti-migration law represents yet another setback after Tunisia in October rejected funding it had offered the country to help curb illegal immigation. 

This article was translated from the original in French.