Brussels, 18/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 18 April, the European Commission gave the green light to granting €280 million from the emergency trust fund for Africa in order to finance 20 measures aimed at helping the Sahel and Lake Chad regions fight the deep-rooted causes of instability and illegal migration. These measures will enable the action plan to be implemented from the EU-Africa summit on migration that was held in Valletta. The measures specifically target the areas of origin and transit of the migrants, as well as the main areas of instability.
“We are focusing in particular on job creation, especially for young people, and the socio-economic reintegration of vulnerable groups”, said European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Neven Mimica.
In the Lake Chad region and the areas affected by the Boko Haram terrorist group, eight measures financed for up to €18 million will contribute to the resilience of women and people who have been displaced, as well as contributing to conflict prevention and management.
In the Sahel region, two measures (€30 million) will support the most vulnerable people and contribute to the socio-economic reinsertion of women in the north of Burkina Faso: - three measures (€63 million), geared to the regions of origin of migrants in Senegal and Mauritania, will aim to create economic opportunities in order to prevent illegal migration and favour returns; - two measures (€37 million) will target the areas of transit in Niger in order to increase employment opportunities and income-generating activities for migrants and local populations; - one measure (€6 million) will be aimed at setting up a joint investigation team in Niger to combat networks engaged in smuggling migrants and human trafficking; - a regional measure (€5 million) will build on the capacities of the countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in the fight against organised crime, trafficking and terrorism by creating or strengthening capacity to collect, pool, manage and share police data; - one measure (€3 million) will contribute to protecting migrant children from exploitation and human trafficking in Mauritania; - one measure (€6 million) will be aimed at strengthening the commitment of the Malian diaspora in Europe to developing Mali's economy; - and one measure (€10 million) will underpin the implementation of the Northern Malian peace agreement. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)