Europe News

European foreign ministers meeting on Thursday to assess the six months since November’s Valletta Summit on migration from Africa must shift their focus to the urgent needs of people fleeing from violence and human rights abuses, said Oxfam and ICMC. As the death toll rises in the central Mediterranean, the EU has increased the amount of money given to many of the same regimes that people are so desperately fleeing from.

With the increase in the number of refugees and migrants trying to enter Europe in 2015, there has been a concurrent increase in suspicion, fears and preconceptions among the citizens and governments of destination countries. By confronting false or misleading statements with strong data, facts and migrant testimonies, this tool, developed by ICMC Europe and the Forum des Organisations de Solidarité Internationale issues des Migrations (FORIM) in coordiantion with CONCORD, aims to deconstruct received ideas by tackling common misconceptions on migration in relation to poverty, development aid and the job market, among others. 

African migration is often perceived as massive, increasing and mainly directed toward Europe. Speakers at this year’s Potsdam Spring Dialogues, including MADE's Sophie Ngo-Diep reminded the audience that African migration is first and foremost intra-continental, and called on African and European leaders to work as equal partners and acknowledge the benefits that migration and mobility can bring to both continents.