This article presents the key updates on mixed migration from five regions around the world during the second quarter of 2022. Links to the full Quarterly Mixed Migration Updates per region are included below.
Asia and the Pacific | East and Southern Africa | Latin America and the Caribbean | North Africa | West Africa
Asia and the Pacific
Key Updates Quarter 2 – 2022
- Renewed tensions between Afghanistan and Iran increase risks for Afghan refugees and migrants: The Iranian authorities have claimed extremists are entering Iran among Afghan refugees and have strengthened security forces along the border. Iranian police patrols in predominantly Afghan neighborhoods have also increased significantly, and police are arresting undocumented Afghans in the streets, on buses and trains, and in stores and workplaces.
- Rohingya refugees apprehended while crossing to Bangladesh from India: Around 2,000 Rohingya refugees have reached Bangladesh amid refugee raids in India. The Bangladesh authorities have engaged more security forces to stop the new arrivals and arrested dozens of refugees.
- Climate change-induced extreme weather events have displaced millions of people in South Asia: In northeastern India and Bangladesh, at least 100 people were killed and millions displaced by storms, flooding and landslides caused by severe monsoon rains.
- Aid shortage risks compounding a humanitarian crisis for Rohingya refugees in Bhasan Char: Donor reluctance to provide support to Bhasan Char is preventing basic services from scaling up, leaving refugees in limbo. Many have attempted to leave the island for better living conditions.
- Protests in support of refugees and migrants took place across the region: A number of protests organized by refugees themselves and members of the public took place in Pakistan, Iran, Australia, and Bangladesh.
- New measures across the region to strengthen migrant and refugee protection: This quarter saw some improvement in efforts to protect migrant workers, refugees, and asylum seekers across Asia and the Pacific, including in Malaysia, Taiwan, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan.
Thematic Focus: Andaman Sea: As movements from Myanmar and Bangladesh resume, safe routes are needed to avoid another crisis
East and Southern Africa
Key Updates Quarter 2 – 2022
- The Horn of Africa faces sustained drought conditions: Ongoing drought conditions threaten the livelihood and health of individuals and families living in East Africa, driving immobility as well as intra- and extra-regional migration and leaving 18 million people across the region both food insecure and without access to clean water.
- The Ethiopian federal government to discuss a peace deal with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF): More than 2.6 million people have been internally displaced by the Tigray conflict since its outbreak in November 2020.
- UK Court injunction halts the deportation of asylum seekers to Rwanda: The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) grounded the first flight carrying migrants designated for deportation to Rwanda, scheduled to depart from the UK on June 14th. Preparations for a second flight remain ongoing.
- Decrease in East African arrivals in Yemen: 9% fewer arrivals were recorded between April and June 2022 as compared to the first quarter of this year. Poor seasonal conditions and high tides are thought to have contributed to this decline.
- Increase in voluntary returns from Yemen to Ethiopia: Upwards of 1,000 migrants returned to the Horn of Africa this quarter—either spontaneously or through return programs—as a result of the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Yemen.
- Saudi Arabia deported more than 35,000 Ethiopian migrants in April and May: 100,000 Ethiopian migrants will be repatriated in 2022 per an agreement between the countries that took effect on March 30th.
- The percentage of Eritreans arriving in Europe has declined to 3% of all arrivals, from 7% over the same period in 2021. The percentage of Sudanese has also declined to 2% of all arrivals to Italy, from 6% over the same period in 2021.
- This quarter, 679 Sudanese migrants participated in IOM’s voluntary humanitarian return initiative, while UNHCR evacuated 132 East African asylum seekers from Libya to Rwanda via the Emergency Transit Mechanism.
- The majority of the 65 refugees and migrants detained by Moroccan authorities following the Melilla tragedy are Darfuri Sudanese.
- Upwards of 250 East African migrants intercepted along the Southern route: Local authorities in various transit communities continue to report interceptions along the route leading to South Africa.
Thematic Focus: Climate change, food shortages and links to mixed migration
Latin America and the Caribbean
Key Updates Quarter 2 – 2022
- According to the latest update of the Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants (R4V), as of May 2022, 6,133,473 Venezuelans have left the country. Of these, 5,083,998 (83%) are located in Latin American and Caribbean countries. Meanwhile, according to key actors at borders, returns intentions among Venezuelans are increasing, but this has not yet translated into an increase in return movements.
- In May, a Venezuelan died at the Colchane border crossing between Bolivia and Chile. He is the 26th victim reported this year in the mountainous area. 11 Haitian women died after a shipwreck close to Puerto Rico. In June, more than 50 migrants were found dead inside a trailer in San Antonio, Texas. At least 5 of 62 people were minors.
- The ”encounters” at the southern border of the United States between people on the move and national authorities continue to increase. From January to May 2022, 1,017,951 “encounters” were reported, an increase of 42% compared to the same period in 2021. As of May, 239,416 “encounters” were reported at the southern border, the highest figure in the last 3 years. 5,078 “encounters” with Venezuelans at the southern border of the United States were reported, an increase of 23.64% compared to April 2022 (4,107 “encounters”).
- In April 2022, the Supreme Court rejected the request of the current U.S. administration to repeal the policy of the Migrant Protection Protocol (MPP), better known as the “Remain in Mexico” program. Under this policy, people who seek asylum at the U.S. border or after being apprehended while crossing irregularly are returned to Mexico while their cases are being processed. As of May 2022, 2,244 people were subject to the MPP, and 65% (1,460 people) were returned to Mexico.
- Shipwrecks and associated deaths by sea continue to increase in the region. Between October 2021 and June 2022, 2,464 boats were intercepted by the United States Coast Guard (USCG). In May 2022, UNHCR warned of the need to protect people that migrate by sea.
- On June 10, 21 countries in the region, including the United States and Canada, signed the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection. The document proposes “changing the way people migrate” based on the implementation of a “humane and hemispheric management of migration,” as well as the “promotion of coordinated humanitarian assistance.”
Thematic Focus: “The Darien jungle is hell… and I don’t recommend it to anyone”
North Africa
Key Updates Quarter 2 – 2022
- As of 20 June, land and sea arrivals to Italy and Spain from North Africa through the Central (CMR) and Western Mediterranean Routes (WMR) increased by 84% compared to the same period in 2021.
- According to UNHCR, so far in 2022, 8,317 asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants were disembarked in Libya following 101 interception and rescue operations during attempted Mediterranean crossings.
- In the second quarter of 2022, 458 refugees and migrants were reported dead or missing in the Mediterranean, of which 396 along the CMR and 62 along the WMR. This marks a slight decrease compared to the same period in 2021.
- The protest movement of asylum seekers in front of the UNHCR office in Tunis ended on 18 June after the longstanding demonstrators were relocated by the UN agency.
- An estimated 37 people died as a result of a 24 June attempt to enter the Spanish enclave of Melilla, according to the Spanish Commission for Refugee Aid.
Thematic Focus: Dangerous locations and risks in North Africa
West Africa
Key Updates Quarter 2 – 2022
- Return of Nigerian refugees: At the beginning of the quarter, approximately 4,000 Nigerian refugees returned to Mallam Fatori in northeastern Nigeria. This return raised questions for some humanitarian actors, who highlighted challenges related to security and access to basic needs in the area of return.
- Resumption of Spain–Morocco relations: a thaw in diplomatic relations between Spain and Morocco which was formalized in early April saw the increase of migration cooperation and enforcement on the part of Morocco, leading to, among other things, a return to deportations of Moroccans and Saharawis from the Canary Islands and increased arrests with significant effect on sub-Saharan African migrants. In this context, at least 37 refugees and migrants were killed in an attempt to enter the Spanish enclave of Melilla on 24 June.
- Côte d’Ivoire cessation clause: On 30 June, the cessation clause ending refugee status for Ivorian refugees took effect. At that point, approximately 96% of the more than 300,000 people who had fled the country over the previous two decades had returned to Côte d’Ivoire. Some 4,717 Ivorians returned during the second quarter (as of 10 June).
- Atlantic Route to the Canary Islands: As of the end of the second quarter, an estimated 9,026 refugees and migrants had arrived in the Canary Islands (Atlantic Route), a 29% increase over the same period in 2021. During the same period, IOM recorded 344 deaths and disappearances along this route.