ADVERTISEMENT

Niger passes law to tackle migrant smuggling, first in West Africa

* Law helps judges and police to tackle trafficking networks

* Agadez town in Niger is major transit point

* Crackdown follows mass deaths at sea and in desert

By Abdoulaye Massalaki

NIAMEY, May 12 (Reuters) - Niger has approved a law against the smuggling of migrants in an effort to stem the deadly flow of vulnerable Africans across its vast desert north, many of them headed towards Libya and on to Europe.

ADVERTISEMENT

The law, approved unanimously by parliament late on Monday, translates onto Niger's statutes a United Nations protocol against the smuggling of migrants, allowing judges and police to take action.

Niger's desert town of Agadez is one of the main transit points in the Sahara for migrants leaving poor West African nations en route for north Africa and Europe. Up to 4,000 migrants without travel papers can pass through Agadez every week, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

A spike in the numbers of immigrants attempting the dangerous sea crossing from Libya has sparked alarm in Europe, particularly after some 800 people drowned in a Mediterranean shipwreck last month.

Authorities in Niger promised a crackdown after at least 92 migrants from Niger died of hunger and thirst in the desert in October 2013 after being abandoned by traffickers who were taking them to Algeria.

In an effort to prevent migrants without papers from being brutalised by security forces, the law emphasised that smuggled persons were victims of human rights abuses.

ADVERTISEMENT

"SOWING TERROR"

"The adoption of this law aims essentially to protect the frontiers of our country," said Justice Minister Amadou Marou.

"In these times of uncertainty, where organised cross-border crime is sowing terror in our country, it is indispensable that all those who travel in our country carry their identity documents. This law imposes that."

The desolate, empty spaces of the Sahara in northern Niger and neighbouring Mali are home to drug and arms traffickers, people-smugglers and armed Islamist militant groups, some of them linked to al Qaeda.

U.N. officials said Niger was the first country in the region to pass a law specifically against the smuggling of migrants.

ADVERTISEMENT

"You cannot train the judiciary to combat this crime if there are no laws on the books. So we start with the laws and we take it from there," said Pierre Lapaque, regional representative for the UNODC, which helped draft the law.

Despite past pledges by Niger's government to tackle people-smuggling, local officials in the Agadez region have profited from bribes paid at checkpoints on the route, a Reuters investigation found.

The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime estimated last month that smuggling of migrants was worth up to $323 million a year in Libya, some of which was used to fund terrorism. (Additional reporting and writing by Daniel Flynn; Editing by Bate Felix and Mark Trevelyan)

JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!

Unblock notifications in browser settings.
ADVERTISEMENT

Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:

Email: eyewitness@pulse.ng

Recommended articles

Lagos postpones eagerly anticipated Easter boat regatta indefinitely

Lagos postpones eagerly anticipated Easter boat regatta indefinitely

Third Mainland Bridge reopens in 1 week, formal ceremony later - Minister

Third Mainland Bridge reopens in 1 week, formal ceremony later - Minister

Sanwo-Olu opens 'Sunday market' on Good Friday for Easter shopping

Sanwo-Olu opens 'Sunday market' on Good Friday for Easter shopping

Wike thanks Tinubu for the opportunity to serve

Wike thanks Tinubu for the opportunity to serve

Barrister Bida pens special birthday prayer for President Tinubu, Nigerians

Barrister Bida pens special birthday prayer for President Tinubu, Nigerians

Tinubu’s aide distributes food items to 1,750 persons in FCT, Kwara

Tinubu’s aide distributes food items to 1,750 persons in FCT, Kwara

Court grants senator accused of forging NYSC certificate ₦50m bail

Court grants senator accused of forging NYSC certificate ₦50m bail

BREAKING: Delta monarch declared wanted by military surrenders to police

BREAKING: Delta monarch declared wanted by military surrenders to police

Renowned Canada-based Nigerian playwright, Oguntokun is dead

Renowned Canada-based Nigerian playwright, Oguntokun is dead

Pulse Sports

Nigeria vs Mali: Has Finidi George done enough to land Super Eagles job permanently?

Nigeria vs Mali: Has Finidi George done enough to land Super Eagles job permanently?

I want to emulate Keshi and win the AFCON - Finidi George shares ambitious Super Eagles dream

I want to emulate Keshi and win the AFCON - Finidi George shares ambitious Super Eagles dream

Michelle Alozie: I had to do it because of African referees

Michelle Alozie: I had to do it because of African referees

AC Milan star reveals he was named after Super Eagles legend Tijani Babangida

AC Milan star reveals he was named after Super Eagles legend Tijani Babangida

Give him the job! Super Eagles fans beg NFF to make Finidi George permanent coach after Nigeria's win over Ghana

Give him the job! Super Eagles fans beg NFF to make Finidi George permanent coach after Nigeria's win over Ghana

Super Eagles 2-1 Black Stars: Nigerians praise Iwobi, Lookman, Finidi George after friendly victory against Ghana

Super Eagles 2-1 Black Stars: Nigerians praise Iwobi, Lookman, Finidi George after friendly victory against Ghana

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT