Maina wa Njuguna
A few days ago, The EUROPEAN UNION agreed to formulate common regulatory standards across the continent inorder to do away with the HODGE-PODGE laws that currently exist among member countries.
Heavy migration flows from parts of the Middle-East, Sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia have brought lots of consternation at the very least and the rise to RIGHT-WING parties, and politics that aim to curtail if not end migrations to Europe.
LAX ASYLUM LAWS identified as part of major pull factors of ‘bogus’ asylum claims.
The recent departed British Home Secretary Suella Braverman argued that the international refugees rules be rewritten to reduce the pull of migrants.
In her speech to a conservative think-tank, the American Enterprise Institute, Braverman asserted that outdated legal models should be changed to face today’s realities.
“We are living in a new world bound by outdated legal models” urging that uncontrolled migration was “an existential challenge“ to the West.
Suella Braverman
REFUGEE CONVENTION
UN’s 1951 Refugee Convention defines who refugees are, and spells out their rights.
Following First World War (1914-1918) and Second World War (1939-1945) that saw the displacement of millions of people seeking refuge, set of principles were developed over time and culminated to the UN 1951 Refugee Convention.
Since then, additional principles have been added as needs have demanded so.
The core principle of the convention asserts that a Refugee should not be returned to a country where they face serious threats to their life or freedom.
I highly doubt that at the time these instruments were being formulated, that the architects would have envisioned non European residents from the ‘global south’ being the main beneficiaries.
Who would have thought of Sub-Saharan immigrants trekking through the desert, and crossing the Mediterranean Sea to reach South Europe?
Who would have envisioned that Greece 🇬🇷 would be the entry point to millions of undocumented and asylum seekers from the Middle-East, South Asia, enroute to West Europe?
HISTORY
WHO IS A REFUGEE?
Article 1 of the 1951 Convention defines a refugee as someone who “owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of [their] nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail [themselves] of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of [their] former habitual residence, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.” – UNHCR website.
MIGRATION TO THE WEST
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (USA) 🇺🇸
The world’s top choice of destination for asylum seekers is the US.
According to the CATO Institute, the flow of illegal immigrants across the southern border has been on an upward trajectory. FY2021, Border Patrol had 1,659,206 encounters with illegal immigrants and other border crossers along the southwest land border, which grew to 2,206,436 in FY2022, and 2,045,838 in FY2023.
Much of the pull factors are attributed to the strength of the US labor market rather than lax laws.
A new caravan of migrants departs Tapachula, Mexico headed to the US as seen a couple of days ago – December 24th, 2023.
Former President and the GOP Presidential candidate frontrunner Donald J. Trump has made it very clear he wants to overhaul immigration laws that seem too lax and pulling illegal migrants into the country.
In a campaign rally recently in Waterloo, Iowa, Trump said “they dump them on the border, and they pour into our country and nobody said to check them,”. “They’re destroying the blood of our country. That’s what they’re doing. They’re destroying our country.“
The upcoming general elections in the US will very likely feature immigration issues because Trump has made it a major point of contention.
WEST EUROPE 🇪🇺
The European union consists of 32 countries. Over half of Immigrants and refugees settle in Germany and United Kingdom as top destinations.
Italy and France come third and fourth. These four countries have two-thirds (70%) of ‘illegal’ migrants.
Top 10 nationalities of arrivals to Europe
GERMANY 🇩🇪
Germany is the largest economy in Europe, and the 4th largest economy in the world. It comes with no second thoughts as to why it is a top destination for migrants.
The country boasts of good jobs and pays, a clean environment, low crime rates, lots of leisure-time and cultural attractions, good public transport among other reasons. The most important ones are strong economic and welfare system, according to RT Tax.
Unlike many western countries, Germany is rolling out the red carpet for international skilled workers. The country’s population has been wobbling near 0.09% increase and is projected to decline in the coming years. With a fertility rate of 1.53, the country needs an infusion of immigrants if it is to sustain and grow its economy.
According to Macro Trends, Germany refugee statistics for 2022 was 2,075,445.00, a 65.28% increase from 2021. Refugee statistics for 2021 was 1,255,694.00, a 3.73% increase from 2020. Refugee statistics for 2020 was 1,210,596.00, a 5.57% increase from 2019. Refugee statistics for 2019 was 1,146,682.00, a 7.79% increase from 2018.
BRITAIN 🇬🇧
In the last 3 years, over 80,000 migrants have reached the England shores via the English Channel from France through small boats.
This had heightened tensions between the two countries, which have subsided of late. Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson instructed publicly on Twitter, now X France on what should be done to stop migrants from taking the perilous journey and that they consent to taking back migrants that had made it to Britain.
According to Independent newspaper, British taxpayers are footing $9.8 million (8 million pounds) per day to house asylum seekers.
UK is determined to send tens of thousands of asylum seekers to Rwanda in spite of the court’s ruling on the illegality of the move.
ITALY 🇮🇹
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, an anti-immigrant leader has made little progress a year after she took the helm of the government in detering refugees.
Thousands of migrants aboard dozens and dozens of small boats have overwhelmed the tiny Sicilian island of Lampedusa.
Tens of thousands of African migrants fleeing poverty and conflicts have made it to the Italian island from Tunisia’s second city of Sfax.
Only 99 miles separate Sfax, Tunisia with Lampedusa, an Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea making it the safest crossing compared to others. This year about 120,000 migrants have reached Lampedusa by boats.
