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EC Announces $327Mln Plan to Address Migration Causes in Somali Peninsula

December 17, 2015December 17, 2015
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The European Commission announced on Wednesday a 16-point action plan worth almost 300 million euros ($327 million) to address the root causes of irregular migration and forced displacement in the Horn of Africa, the EU executive body said in a statement.

Somali Refugees
Somali Refugees ( photo© AFP 2015/ Mohamed ABDIWAHAB)

The plan includes pillar-action points aimed at addressing migration in the Horn of Africa (Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia) in general, as well as particular actions and recommendations for particular states.

The plan includes efforts to create employment opportunities and better living conditions in specific areas of Ethiopia, facilitate the return of refugees, who are currently hosted in the region and in Europe, to stable areas of Somalia of Somali, improve the reintegration of South Sudanese refugees in host communities of Uganda or create favorable conditions for their return, and support the implementation of the peace agreement in South Sudan and the return of internally displaced persons.

One of the overall objectives of the action plan is to promote sustainable voluntary return and reintegration by building national capacities.
The project aims to investigate and prosecute cases of human trafficking and smuggling and improve border management, as well as developing policies and legislative frameworksThe new plan also recommends the improvement of the recruitment framework for migrant labor. To this end, governments, social partners and other stakeholders should efficiently manage recruitment within the overall labor migration process.
The implementation of the action plan will start in early 2016. The first 10 points of action will be implemented and financed jointly by the European Commission and EU member states, in partnership with African countries, the European Commission said. The other six actions are to be financed under the Development Cooperation Instrument, the EU’s major financial tool for development cooperation in the 2014‐2020 period.

Source: Sputnik