EU intensifies conflict with Gambia over deported migrants

According to initial plans, the first group of “failed Gambian asylum seekers” were to arrive in Banjul, the Gambian capital, on September 1. But a Gambian foreign ministry official responsible for diaspora affairs told local media that The Gambia’s new position is not to accept deportation requests. The Gambia cited security concerns and the inability to reintegrate as the reasons for its decision.

Gawaya Tegulle, a Ugandan expert on international law, said the move was illegal. He argued that every sovereign state has an obligation to welcome back its nationals to its territory at all times. “Therefore, the action of the Gambian government per se has no place under international law,” Tegulle told DW. “It is illegal even before you start listing the disadvantages of the circumstances surrounding the decision.”

Tegulle also added, however, that he disagreed with Germany’s decision to send hundreds of Gambians home. “We are seeing two bad decisions. I don’t agree that the decision to deport all of these people is legal, ”Tegulle said.

EU considers visa restrictions

The European Union plans to toughen visa requirements for Gambian nationals – a move that could affect the entire African continent. “Looking at history, I suspect that we are approaching sanctions against government officials in The Gambia,” Tegulle said, adding that it was now conceivable that there could be broader visa restrictions from there. ‘EU and other western countries affecting not only The Gambia, but Africans in general.

“There will be fear that because The Gambia is seen as provocative, we may see increased visa restrictions against Gambian nationals and African nationals by the EU and the wider Western community, as there is the fear that there are migrants from these countries and they will not be able to recover them, ”he said.

In Germany alone, there are almost 7,000 Gambians without a right of residence.

Tegulle believes it is unwise for the EU to deport more than 2,000 people to a country struggling with rising unemployment. “Gambians would be more comfortable if their people returned with arms full of gifts of gold and silver,” Tegulle said. Moreover, Tegulle insisted that there was no reason for the EU to treat people like this in the age of globalization.

“They didn’t go to Europe to be sent back to Africa,” he said.

With thousands of Gambians on the verge of being deported from Germany, Yahya Sonko, a refugee activist in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, said German and Gambian authorities should negotiate a deal to resolve the issue. “The Gambia is expected to come up with an official statement that indicates its position on this issue. Then we will use this official position of our government to challenge different courts here, and these people will be free, ”Sonko told DW.

Do politics with migrants?

The Gambian authorities have avoided hinting at the political advantages of this decision. Instead, they say the refusal to accept migrants is due to their remittances to the country’s economy. According to the International Monetary Fund, Gambians in the diaspora returned $ 588 million (495 million euros) in 2020, offsetting the country’s loss of tourism income. Remittances from around 118,000 Gambians living abroad represent more than 20% of the country’s GDP.

Political observers say President Adama Barrow could, however, seek political capital in his decision not to welcome migrants expelled from the EU. The presidential election in The Gambia is scheduled for December.

But for some, like Emmanuel Bensah, political analyst on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union, several factors, including the pandemic, must indeed be taken into account before taking action. welcome migrants.

“The Gambian president cannot be sure of the COVID-19 status of those who are being deported. In addition, The Gambia is a small country and the health system has not coped so well with COVID-19, ”Bensah told DW. According to him, the arrival of migrants could be an additional burden for the country. “The other thing is that the Gambian government since 2017 has become quite unpopular. The euphoria associated with Barrow’s victory as president when ECOWAS stepped in to get rid of [former President Yahya] Jammeh is dead.

The former Gambian leader has been criticized for human rights violations, including the imprisonment of journalists and political opponents.

When Barrow was first sworn in as president on February 18, 2017, Gambians were optimistic the country would usher in a new era of democracy. But Barrow’s decision to stay five years instead of the three he had previously promised has shattered any hope that the small West African nation would see real democratic reform.

Blame the Gambian government

Most Gambians accused the government of abdicating its responsibilities. “This government does not take the plight of Gambians seriously both at home and abroad,” said Smith Omar, a young Gambian from Banjul.

“On the contrary, to the credit of the European institutions, this government has received millions of euros in aid, in particular for the empowerment of young people. But what is the impact of this youth empowerment project? Omar asked, “It’s pretty clear that these projects have failed,” Omar told DW.

“I think they have lost the confidence of the people,” another Banjul resident told DW. “They [Gambia’s government] do it for their own benefit. But that’s not in the best interests of the people who are supposed to be deported.

Is Gambia setting a precedent?

Some fear that The Gambia’s refusal to take in migrants of origin expelled from the EU could become the new normal for African countries.

International law expert Gawaya Tegulle said the recent Gambian decision is not isolated, citing similar incidents involving Sierra Leone, Guinea and Eritrea. He added that in 2016, The Gambia took similar steps, only relenting later after being threatened with sanctions by the West.

But ECOWAS political analyst Emmanuel Bensah disagrees. He thinks that no African country can copy the Gambian example. “Sometimes these cases are rather isolated,” he said, pointing to Uganda which was very active in welcoming migrants from Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover. “With what Uganda has done and is doing even for Afghans, I don’t foresee that this will start a trend in other African countries.”

Bensah also regrets that the standoff between The Gambia and the EU is a test for the diplomacy of this West African country. “The EU will restrict visas for Gambians. It’s not a good sign, ”Bensah said. “But I think if they can appeal such a decision from the EU through ECOWAS, for example, they can get ECOWAS as an honest broker to help roll back some of the restrictions that the EU wants to impose, ”he said.

Tegulle thinks it’s high time the two sides had a frank discussion on the migration crisis. “This is a very delicate question that needs to be rephrased into a broader, deeper and more sincere conversation. This problem concerns human beings who deserve better than they are currently receiving, ”he said.

Omar Wally in Banjul contributed to this article.