ICMPD Director-General Michael Spindelegger joined heads of state and ministers at the Trans-Mediterranean Migration Forum in Tripoli, Libya on 17 July 2024, and called for strengthened collaboration between Europe and Africa to address the complexities of irregular migration.
The best way to reduce irregular migration – including crime, exploitation and human smuggling – is a combination of functioning migration control and the opening of legal migration channels, both embedded in close political cooperation between sending, receiving, and transit countries. Focussing on only one side runs a high risk of failing altogetheremphasised Mr Spindelegger in a statement
Mr Spindelegger joined officials from 28 countries, including European Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Malta Prime Minister Robert Abela, Chad President Mohamed Déby, Tunisian Prime Minister Ahmed El Hachani, and the host of the event, Libyan Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah. Ministers of the Interior, Security, and Migration, along with senior officials specialised in migration affairs, representatives of UNHCR and IOM were also present at the Forum.
In a Final Statement, the officials and representatives of ministries and other international organisations who joined the Forum affirmed their “commitment to enhancing security cooperation to establish measures to strengthen border security, combat migrant smuggling and human trafficking, and reduce the flows of illegal migration.” The ministers also called for follow-up meetings to be organised, to discuss their findings, open new avenues for knowledge exchange, and reach sustainable solutions.
Discussions focused on strategic initiatives in the transition from security-centric approaches to development-focused strategies, creating financial tools to support development in economically challenged countries, and formulating policies based on mutual interests, respect, and shared benefits. It also included sessions on security cooperation, such as enhancing cooperation between Europe and African countries to develop joint security measures to combat irregular migration; strengthening border security operations and improving port management; coordinating search, rescue, and shelter efforts to ensure safe and legal channels for migrants; and developing mechanisms for exchanging knowledge and experience.
Migration is a highly complex and contested subject, and the best solutions are always the ones that bring us together based on a shared understanding, on joint priorities, and in the spirit of respect and partnership. To steer international migration in better and more beneficial ways, closer partnerships between Europe and Africa is essential. Solutions are only effective if they work on the ground and when they benefit the people: those who decide to stay and those who decide to move to another countryMr Spindelegger added
Among ICMPD’s initiatives in the region is the flagship “Training Institute on Migration Capacity Partnerships”, established with the support of Malta, Libya and Tunisia, to capacitate migration management for officials, practitioners and first responders in the region, including NGOs. Courses are certified in line with EU standards but are mainly held by trainers from MENA countries in the field and in local context and languages.
The Mediterranean Migration Forum seeks to tackle irregular migration, a persistent challenge in the region that purely security-based approaches have failed to address. While data and statistics show an unprecedented increase of irregular migration; the escalation is also influenced not only by internal factors like poverty, economic decline and conflicts, but also by international economic, political, and security approaches toward Southern Mediterranean countries.