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Projects
Beitrag zum EU Trust Fund für Afrika – Sahel and Lake Chad Window
Short Description:
Overall goal
The European Union Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa (EUTF for Africa) was created to address the root causes of instability, forced displacement and irregular migration and to contribute to better migration management.
Expected results
Funding and implementation follows the EUTF’s four Strategic Objectives and the strategic priorities set by the EUTF Strategic Board and ratified in September 2019 i.e. i) returns and reintegration; ii) refugee management; iii) completing progress on the securitisation of documents and civil registry; iv) anti-trafficking measures; v) essential stabilisation efforts; and vi) migration dialogue.
EUTF´s overall impact – the desired end result – should include a more inclusive political and economic environment across the regions, expansion and strengthening of the rule of law, increased economic productivity and social cohesion and new opportunities for local populations.
Target group / Beneficiaries
The Sahel and Lake Chad region of the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa comprises of twelve countries: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Ivory Coast, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, along with neighbouring countries. These countries all have a considerable number of challenges that can be addressed by the EUTF, complementing other EU instruments.
The Austrian contribution can reach 2.075 direct beneficiaries.
Activities
The Board of the EUTF for Africa agreed on the need to prioritise actions based on six priority areas:
• return and reintegration;
• refugees management (Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework)
• completing progress on the securitization of documents and civil registry
• anti-trafficking measures
• essential stabilization efforts in the Horn of Africa (in particular in Sudan, South Sudan and Somalia) and in the Sahel/Lake Chad region
• supporting migration dialogues.
Context
In the Sahel and Lake Chad region, challenges linked to extreme poverty, lack of stability, economic fragility and low resilience remain acute. This is exacerbated by climate change in a region where more than 80% of the population relies essentially on agriculture and pastoral activities. Irregular migration and related crimes such as trafficking in human beings and smuggling of migrants, corruption, illicit trafficking and transnational organised crime are thriving particularly where there is an insufficient presence of governmental authority and public administration. These security challenges have been increasingly linked to terrorist groups and illicit trafficking of all kinds.
The region also faces growing challenges related to demographic pressure, institutional weaknesses and governance, weak social and economic infrastructures, environmental stress and insufficient resilience to food and nutrition crises. All of these factors are root causes of forced displacement and make people flee conflict, seek protection from persecution or serious harm, or seek new economic opportunities to build a better life. As a consequence, migration pressure is mounting, with serious implication both for the countries in the region and the EU.