Migrant Smuggling Data and Research

Mediterranean routes passing through North Africa. As sub-Saharan African
migrants are also joined by North African migrants on these Mediterranean
routes, it is also an origin region.
North Africa is a region characterized by mixed migratory flows and
high levels of irregular migration. The demand for irregular migration, and
consequently smuggling services, is fuelled by a number of factors. This includes
the lack of legal pathways for migration and strict immigration policies in
destination countries, the harsh terrain that needs to be traversed (particularly
the crossing of the Sahara for journeys into the region and the crossing of the
Mediterranean for onward journey from the region), and the lack of a legal
framework for asylum in Libya. Asylum seekers who travel by land to Libya
have been found to systematically travel in groups assisted by smugglers either
throughout the entire journey or in key locations (Malakooti, 2013b). 14
Traditionally, migratory flows to and through the region have been
dominated by sub-Saharan Africans with the addition of some North Africans
who moved to Libya for work, and in more limited cases, to board boats to
Europe. From 2012 onwards, Syrian refugees began arriving in Libya in search
of safe haven. In 2014, the numbers of Syrians on boats to Europe that had
departed from the Libyan coast increased significantly. By 2015, they had mostly
rerouted to Greece via Turkey.
Main routes
Libya is the most attractive country in the region for irregular migrants
because it is a departure point for Europe, while also providing opportunities
for income generation. Moreover, there has been very little control of its
borders after the 2011 Libyan Revolution and particularly after the 2014 political
crisis. The other countries on the North African coast are no longer viable
departure points for Europe because of increased controls, and they also lack
the opportunities for income generation that Libya provides, thereby decreasing
their attractiveness as a destination. Even when migrants and asylum seekers
in Egypt tried to resume direct sea crossings to Italy in 2013 and 2014 (mainly
in response to increasing instability and risks in Libya post-2014 crisis), the
Government of Egypt stepped up its arrest of anyone attempting to depart
irregularly and curtailed the trend (Malakooti, 2015b).
14
Also, the encampment of refugees in Sudan has sometimes led to refugees leaving the camps and the country,
with the aid of a smuggler, in order to establish themselves elsewhere, outside of a camp (Malakooti, 2013a).
The deteriorating socioeconomic conditions for refugees in Egypt has also had the same effect, with refugees
leaving the country irregularly to find protection elsewhere, sometimes via direct boat crossings to Europe
and sometimes to Libya to look for work or to board boats from the Libyan coast (Malakooti, 2015b).
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4. North Africa