COI-Report-Somalia

EASO Country of Origin Information report — South and Central Somalia — Country overview — 115
5. Migration, displacement and internal
mobility
Article 21 of the Provisional Constitution protects freedom of movement within the country and the right to leave
the country ( 1189 ).
IOM identifies the main migratory issues in Somalia ( 1190 ) :
• ‘Forced Migration: due to conflicts and natural disasters, resulting in IDPs and refugee outflows.
• Irregular Migration: due to poverty and limited livelihood options often resulting in victims being trafficked and
smuggled.
• Mixed Migration: the use of one migration route by several different groups of migrants including asylum seekers,
economic migrants, victims of trafficking and smuggling.
• Traditional and Cross‐border Migration: linked to nomadic cross‐border movement. It is mainly a survival strategy
such as pastoralists looking for pasture and cross‐border trade abroad and within the region.’
The Regional Mixed Migration Secretariat (RMMS) refers to the Yemen Mixed Migration Task Force which indicates
the main push factors for migrants leaving Somalia: lack of opportunities, insecurity and drought/famine ( 1191 ).
Another driver is the traditional search for fresh pastures ( 1192 ).
5.1 Possibility to leave the country
According to IOM, one of the main migration challenges in the horn of Africa is that thousands of migrants from
Ethiopia and Somalia continue to attempt to travel to Yemen and beyond, for both economic and security related
reasons, thereby submitting their lives to smugglers. The main drivers for the movement are economic and
security‐related. The 3 300 km long coastline is one of the most dangerous stretches of water because of piracy.
Lucrative businesses like piracy, drugs and weapons smuggling are interlinked with human smuggling through the
Gulf of Aden ( 1193 ).
The four main migration routes of Somali migrants are the following ( 1194 ):
• Eastern route: via Yemen to Saudi Arabia and possibly further on;
• Northern route: via Egypt (Sinai) to Israel. As from mid-2012, this route has been severely restricted due to Israeli
immigration measures;
• Western route: via Sudan to Libya, which can be the country of destination or transit to Europe via the Central
Mediterranean route (Malta and Italy);
• Southern route: via Kenya (destination or transit country) to South Africa.
An estimated (January 2014) 600 to 900 Somali migrants per month opt for routes to the north, with Libya and Egypt
as main destinations on the one hand, and Yemen and Saudi Arabia on the other hand. In the beginning of 2014,
an increase of arrivals on the Yemeni shores (Gulf of Aden) was recorded ( 1195 ). In April 2014, nearly 1 500 Somalis
arrived on the Yemeni shores. This number was 6 % lower than in April 2013. Somali migrants originated mainly from
( 1189 ) Federal Republic of Somalia, Provisional Constitution, adopted on 1 August 2012 (http://www.constitutionnet.org/files/adopted_constitution_eng_final_
for_printing_19sept12_-_1.pdf) accessed 2 June 2014.
( 1190 ) IOM, Somalia Overview, March 2014 (http://www.iom.int/files/live/sites/iom/files/Country/docs/IOM‐Somalia‐Overview.pdf) accessed 7 June 2014.
( 1191 ) RMMS, Country Profile – Somalia – South‐Central, 2014 (http://www.regionalmms.org/index.phpid=19) accessed 7 June 2014.
( 1192 ) For Information on the regular transhumance routes see e.g.: Tempia, S., Braidotti, F., Aden, H.H., Abdulle, M.H., Costagli, R., Otieno, F.T., Mapping cattle
trade routes in southern Somalia: a method for mobile livestock keeping systems, The World Organisation for Animal Health (http://www.oie.int/doc/ged/
D9652.PDF) accessed 27 June 2014.
( 1193 ) IOM, Somalia Overview, March 2014 (http://www.iom.int/files/live/sites/iom/files/Country/docs/IOM‐Somalia‐Overview.pdf) (accessed 7 June 2014).
( 1194 ) RMMS, ‘Going West contemporary mixed migration trends from the Horn of Africa to Libya & Europe’, Mixed Migration Research Series, June 2014 (http://
www.regionalmms.org/fileadmin/content/rmms_publications/Going_West_migration_trends_Libya___Europe_RMMS.pdf) accessed 7June 2014.
RMMS, Mixed Migration in Horn of Africa and Yemen, January 2014 (http://data.unhcr.org/horn‐of‐africa/download.phpid=1296) accessed 7 June 2014;
UN OCHA, South‐East Africa – Migration Flows, 14 January 2014 (http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Pages%20from%20OCHA_ROSA_
Humanitarian_Bulletin_Jan_2014.pdf) accessed 7 June 2014.
( 1195 ) Regional Mixed Migration Secretariat (RMMS), Mixed Migration in Horn of Africa and Yemen, January 2014 (http://data.unhcr.org/horn‐of‐africa/download.
phpid=1296) (accessed 7 June 2014).