The Management of Post-Gaddafi Trans-Saharan Migrant Crisis by the European Union

Abstract

The Libyan Migrant Crisis has brought to the limelight the dilemma of Trans-Saharan migrants seeking better lives in Europe by making the treacherous journey through the Sahara and across the Mediterranean. This situation has also brought to the fore Europe’s determination to address irregular migration by outsourcing migration management to Libya and other third countries. The EU abdicates its responsibilities to address the crisis through this form of externalization, especially with Libya, a state virtually incapable of carrying out such a task. The study outlines the post-Gaddafi era policies to include return agreements, rescue missions at sea, partnership framework with third countries among others. The analysis argues that the policies the European Union has employed in the Mediterranean are inhuman, cruel and appalling, as they have resulted in the creation of detention centers, a thriving human trafficking industry, and the violation of migrants’ rights in general. Its findings include the fact that the large flows of African migrants to Europe present a quandary for the EU and its adoption of hardline approach to immigration was due to the Arab Spring and the lawlessness that followed Gaddafi’s demise. Additionally, the study finds that in recent times, the decreasing number of arrivals at European ports is because more migrants are dying at sea. The study recommends that the EU must accept migration as a phenomenon resulting from an increasingly globalized world and must seek to accrue benefits through a holistic approach – involving member states, transit and origin states. It further tasks African states to be more proactive in managing irregular migration.