ATLANTIC ROUTE and SPAIN: Hundreds rescued along Atlantic route in recent weeks ― EU accused of facilitating abuse of people on the move in Senegal ― Large transfer of minors from Canary Islands to mainland Spain ― New IOM initiative on missing people on the move in West Africa | European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE)

Hundreds of people have been rescued from small boats trying to reach Europe via the Atlantic migration route in recent weeks.
A media investigation has accused the EU of being complicit in a crackdown on people trying to leave Senegal in order to travel to Europe.
Authorities in the Canary Islands have transferred 679 unaccompanied minors to mainland Spain.
The International Organization for Migration has launched a new initiative with the governments of the Gambia and Mauritania aimed at strengthening national capacities to respond to the deaths and disappearances of people on the move in West Africa.

Hundreds of people have been rescued from small boats trying to reach Europe via the Atlantic migration route in recent weeks. On 5 November, the Senegalese navy reported that 132 people had been “intercepted” on a boat in the Saloum Delta (Fatick region) while on 16 November, the Spanish Maritime Safety and Rescue Society (SASEMAR) reported that it had rescued 242 people from two boats off the island of El Hierro (Canary Islands). Elsewhere, on 15 November, the Mauritanian coastguard reported that it had rescued 227 people from a boat off the northwest coast of the country. One of the rescued people, a Senegalese national, died shortly after being transferred to a hospital following their disembarkation in the port of Nouadhibou. They had reportedly been at sea for 10 days. On 26 November, the Mauritanian coastguard also reported that it had rescued another 132 people from a boat that had reportedly left Senegal six days earlier.

A media investigation has accused the EU of being complicit in a crackdown on people trying to leave Senegal in order to travel to Europe. According to the investigation by the Follow the Money platform, EU financial support for migration control in Senegal, including a €30 million allocation in October 2024, is enabling authorities in the country to criminalise people for “acts of solidarity, such as feeding or sheltering people preparing to leave” based on a 2005 anti-smuggling law that “fails to distinguish between organisers, migrants and helpers” and gives police and prosecutors “wide discretion, often blurring the line between victim and perpetrator”. According to an internal document seen by the NGO Statewatch, the EU’s funding will be used for the construction of three new detention centres in Senegal “where people intercepted on their way to Europe will be held for up to 72 hours, receive humanitarian aid, and authorities will interrogate – possibly detain – suspected smugglers and organisers”. Despite assurances from both the European Commission and the Senegalese authorities that the centres are not intended to serve as detention facilities, there are concerns that this will not be the case in reality. According to Leonie Jegwen from the University of Amsterdam, there is a “strong risk” that the centres will “enable a large-scale of detention of people” who try to travel along the Atlantic migration route.

Authorities in the Canary Islands have transferred 679 unaccompanied minors (UAMs) to mainland Spain. The transfer was announced by Canary Islands Minister of Social Welfare, Equality, Youth, Childhood and Families Candelaria Delgado on 20 November, and confirmed by Spanish Secretary of State for Migration Pilar Cancela the following day. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration: “The Government of Spain (…) has complied with the precautionary measures (…) [ordered by the Supreme Court] in its third order regarding the transfer of unaccompanied minors seeking asylum in the Canary Islands to the state international protection system”. The transfer took place shortly before the 21 November deadline that had been imposed on the Spanish government by the Supreme Court. Despite the latest transfer of UAMs, the Canary Islands government has expressed concerns about the ongoing situation on the archipelago. Spokesperson Alfonso Cabello told the Canarias7 newspaper: “Its educational and health resources and the resources of the protection system itself remain strained, because although guardianship has been transferred, the Canary Islands continues to exercise it and we must continue to ensure that these children are in a stable and permanent centre, in centres with the appropriate conditions and complying with the laws and regulations regarding centres for minors under protection”. According to Delgado, following the latest transfer, 200 UAMs were still being accommodated in an old military barracks on the island of Gran Canaria and 170 others in a new reception centre.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has launched a new initiative with the governments of the Gambia and Mauritania aimed at strengthening national capacities to respond to the deaths and disappearances of people on the move in West Africa. According to a press release issued by the IOM on 4 November, the initiative will “leverage IOM’s decades-long expertise in missing migrants data and migration management to strengthen national coordination on missing migrants in both countries”. Announcing the initiative, IOM Regional Director for West and Central Africa Sylvia Ekra said: “By empowering national and local governments and strengthening cross-border cooperation, we are not only saving lives but also restoring hope to families who have waited too long for answers”. Commenting on the Gambian government’s involvement in the initiative, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad Sering Modue Njie said: “Our aim is to prevent the tragic loss of lives and the disappearance of migrants, while ensuring that families receive the answers and closure they deserve”. The IOM has recorded 5,000 missing migrant deaths along the Atlantic route in the past decade.

Related articles