EU-Africa summit aims for evacuation of 3,800 migrants risking abuse

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Leaders at an EU-Africa summit called Thursday for the immediate evacuation of nearly 4,000 distressed African migrants in Libya under a new drive to fight slave traders and traffickers.

Wrapping up a two-day summit in Ivory Coast's economic capital, a top African Union (AU) official said there could be as many as 700,000 Africans stranded in Libya, where many have suffered atrocities and even been sold into slavery.

Gabon's President Ali Bongo Ondimba, Cameroon's President Paul Biya, France's President Emmanuel Macron and King of Morocco Mohammed VI talk while they prepare to pose for photographers during the 5th African Union - European Union (AU-EU) summit in Abidjan, Ivory Coast November 29, 2017. /Reuters Photo

He said a fact-finding mission had seen one camp in Tripoli where all the residents, numbering several thousand, were "living in inhumane conditions" and were desperate to return home.

"We have agreed, along with the EU and the UN, to set up a task force for repatriating at least 3,800 people," Moussa Faki Mahamat, head of the AU Commission, told reporters.

"But it's just one camp... the Libyan government tells us that there are 42 in all. There are definitely more than that. There are estimates of 400,000 to 700,000 African migrants in Libya."

The summit, gathering more than 80 nations of the African Union and European Union (EU), had been showcased as a bid to boost development in Africa as it faces a population crunch.

African Union Commission President Moussa Faki Mahamat, Guinea's President and President of the African Union Alpha Conde, Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council President Donald Tusk talk during the closing session of the 5th African Union - European Union (AU-EU) summit in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, November 30, 2017. /Reuters Photo

But it was largely overshadowed by the shock TV footage aired two weeks ago by US network CNN of black Africans sold as slaves in Libya, prompting protests in many countries and demands for action.

Closing the summit, Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara said the "inhumane treatment of migrants" required responses that "match our condemnation," including humanitarian aid, new efforts to fight human trafficking and solutions for the poverty that prompts many Africans to seek a better life in Europe.

'Step in right direction'

In a meeting late Wednesday, the leaders of Libya, France, Germany, Chad, Niger and four other countries agreed on a plan to allow migrants facing abuse in Libyan detention camps to be evacuated within days or weeks, mostly to their home countries.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who called the slave trading a crime against humanity, said Libya agreed to allow access to the camps "where scenes of barbarism" had occurred and have them repatriated.

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a news conference at the French Embassy during the 5th African Union - European Union (AU-EU) summit in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, November 29, 2017. /Reuters Photo

They also offered increased support for the International Organization of Migration (IOM) to help those who want to return to their home countries, said Macron, who called the emergency meeting.

In some cases they could be given asylum in Europe, he added.

To clamp down on the people traffickers in Libya, Macron called for African states to deploy police there, ruling out at least for the time being any French military involvement.

"It is up to African states to operate on their soil and carry out police operations relating to their sovereignty," Macron said in Ghana's capital Accra on the final leg of his trip.

People take part in a parade during the 5th African Union - European Union (AU-EU) summit in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, November 30, 2017. /Reuters Photo

EU sources earlier said UN humanitarian agencies like the IOM had arranged for some 13,000 migrants to return voluntarily to their home countries mainly in sub-Saharan Africa in last year after a deal with Libya.

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Source(s): AFP