Migrant crisis in the East Africa region

Abstract

The article examines the policy of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda and Eritrea in the context of the possibility of a coordinated response to the challenges of migrant crises. Large-scale and stable migration ties have developed between the countries that form the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in East Africa, and common principles of migration policy are being implemented, which indicates the formation of a unified migration system. The movement of migrants within the framework of the latter occurs along four major international routes: Horn of Africa route (between Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea and neighboring countries of East Africa); Eastern route (from the countries of East Africa through Djibouti, Somalia and Yemen – mainly to the oil-producing countries of the Arabian Peninsula); Southern route (through Kenya, Uganda to South Africa); Northern route (through the countries of North Africa – to Italy and Spain; another branch runs through Egypt, Israel, the Arab countries of Asia and Turkey). The main weak point of the overall policy of the IGAD countries is that not all countries in the region have ratified the full set of intra-African agreements in the field of migration. It has been established that the migration crisis in the East Africa surpasses the European one in its scale and impact on the countries of the region and can lead to negative consequences on a global scale if the world community does not use the available resources – political and financial – to solve the whole range of problems that caused the crisis.