- The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) has signed a working agreement with Egypt.
- Libyan authorities have suspended the operation of ten humanitarian NGOs after accusing them of facilitating the “resettlement” of people on the move in the country.
- A new NGO report has highlighted abusive practices undertaken as part of Morocco’s immigration control policies that the authors argue could be considered “forced disappearances”.
- The EU has announced that it will provide up to €1.6 billion to the Palestinian Authority in the period 2025–2027.
- Tunisian security forces have launched a large-scale campaign targeting informal camps housing thousands of undocumented people.
The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) has signed a working agreement with Egypt. According to a European Commission (EC) press release, the working arrangement will to “enhance law enforcement cooperation to fight against terrorism, drug trafficking, migrant smuggling, and organised crime”. The agreement is unlikely to have been welcomed by human rights advocates. Prior to the signing, a coalition of NGOs called on the EC to halt the agreement, warning that it risked legitimising illegal practices by Egyptian police and exacerbating human rights abuses in the country. More recently, the executive director of the NGO Refugees Platform in Egypt, Nour Khalil, argued that increased EU-Egypt co-operation raised “serious questions” particularly regarding human rights violations associated with border control and forced deportations, and accused the EU of being “complicit” in them.
Libyan authorities have escalated their attacks on organisations assisting people on the move. On 2 April, the Internal Security Agency (ISA) – an entity that has been widely criticised for human rights abuses – issued a statement in which it announced the suspension of operations for ten international humanitarian NGOs, including ECRE member organisations the Danish Refugee Council and the Norwegian Refugee Council. The ISA has accused the ten NGOs of violating local laws by providing aid that allegedly facilitates the resettlement of “illegal migrants” from Sub-Saharan Africa in Libya, an activity that it described as a “hostile act” which threatened the country’s demographic composition. It also accused them of money laundering, citing a lack of transparency in financial transactions and currency exchanges. The NGO Committee for Justice (CFJ) has condemned the crackdown, not least because it involved serious violations against NGO staff members. “At least 18 employees were subjected to interrogation and intimidation, passports of some were confiscated, and they were forced to sign pledges not to work with any international organization in the future”, CFJ said in a statement.
A new NGO report has highlighted a number of abusive practices in Morocco’s immigration control policies. According to the report, which was published by ECRE member organisation the Association for Juridical Studies on Immigration (ASGI), people on the move in Morocco have experienced arbitrary detentions, internal deportations, restrictions on communication with family and legal counsel, and disproportionate use of force. The organisation noted that these practices had had a disproportionate impact on individuals with international protection status, minors, vulnerable people and people from Sub-Saharan Africa. It also concluded that several elements of these abusive practices, such as deportations carried out without prior notification and the deprivation of communication rights, could be classified as “forced disappearances” according to international standards. Finally, it noted a “correlation” between violations and the process of externalisation of Europe’s borders “supported by substantial European Union funding to Morocco for the control of migratory flows”.
The European Commission has announced a package of financial support to the Palestinian Authority (PA). According to an EC press release, the PA will receive up to €1.6 billion in the period of 2025-2027 to “foster Palestinian recovery and resilience”. An amount of €82 million per year will be allocated to “provide services to Palestine refugees via the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), both in the occupied Palestinian territories and the wider region”. Speaking on the occasion of the first ever High-Level Political Dialogue between the EU and the PA, European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica said: “We want them to reform themselves because without reforming, they won’t be strong enough and credible in order to be an interlocutor, not for only for us, but an interlocutor also for Israel”. Commenting on the EC press release, researcher Ramona Wadi wrote: “The most telling clause in the European Commission’s statement detailing its assistance is found right at the end. ‘This designation shall not be construed as recognition of a State of Palestine and is without prejudice to the individual positions of the Member States on this issue’”. Separately, Palestinian diplomat, Lema Nazeeh wrote in a long thread on social media that the funding package reflected the “contradiction at the heart of EU policy”. “It funds reconstruction. It supports the PA. It speaks of peace. But it does not challenge the actor destroying the foundations of peace – Israel’s system of apartheid, occupation, and siege”, she added.
Tunisian authorities have continued their crackdown on dissidents and people on the move. On 16 April, Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report in which it highlighted the government’s use of politically motivated persecutions to silence critical voices. The report cited the cases of 22 people, including politicians, journalists and activists, who had been detained on charges, including terrorism, in connection with their public statements or political activities. The publication of the HRW report, comes less than two weeks after Tunisian authorities launched a large-scale operation targeting the estimated 20,000 undocumented people, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, Pakistan and Bangladesh, living in informal camps near the port city of Sfax. Although a spokesperson for the Tunisian National Guard claimed that the operation to remove the people was being conducted “peacefully” and “humanely”, some of those who had been affected reported that authorities had destroyed and burned their belongings and food supplies. The same spokesperson, Houcem Eddine Jebabli, added that while some of the people left without shelter would benefit from “voluntary returns”, others had “dispersed into the wild”.
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- EU EXTERNAL PARTNERS: Egypt urged to stop abusing people on the move – Two mass graves uncovered in Libya ― Tunisian authorities accused of ‘state trafficking’ of people to Libya ― Increase in number of ‘interceptions’ by Moroccan authorities in 2024 (February 2025)