This is not the first time we are denouncing the so-called ‘partnership’ between Europe and Sudan because it legitimizes Sudan’s militia state and it’s harming migrants and refugees.
In October last year we published two articles, in French: La France et la Belgique permettent-elles au Soudan de repartier d’Europe des opposants ? and La collaboration de Paris et Bruxelles avec le Soudan pour identifier les dissidents in which we explained how France and Belgium worked with Sudanese Officials, and how some Sudanese refugees deported from Belgium were tortured upon their return.
In a recent article on The New York Time, Patrick Kingsley writes:
At Sudan’s eastern border, Lt. Samih Omar led two patrol cars slowly over the rutted desert, past a cow’s carcass, before halting on the unmarked 2,000-mile route that thousands of East Africans follow each year in trying to reach the Mediterranean, and then onward to Europe.
Kingsley quotes Lieutenant Omar: “Sometimes I feel this is Europe’s southern border.” Indirectly, he is also working for the interests of the European Union.
In another article posted on The Guardian, Rebecca Lowe writes:
Britain and the EU are under fire for engaging with a nation with one of the world’s worst human rights records – all in the name of stemming migration […] Politicians, activists, diplomats and NGOs have all voiced concerns about moves by both the UK and EU to normalise relations with Sudan in order to stem migration flows. Sudan is a key transit country for African migrants, and in 2016 was the fifth biggest source of refugees globally.
Lowe adds:
The shift in policy from stick to carrot is designed to tackle the “root causes” of migration through a relationship of mutual trust, according to the foreign office and EU. But critics fear the main motivation is to stop refugees reaching Europe, and such engagement emboldens the Sudanese government, which has one of the worst human rights records in the world. Activists and journalists are routinely harassed, and newspapers shut down. Its president, Omar al-Bashir, is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged genocide in Darfur.
You can read our previous post on that topic for more details:
Sudanese refugees facing deportation amid excessive use of force on peaceful demonstrators in Sudan (January, 2018)
Open letter concerning the crackdown on peaceful protests in Sudan (February, 2018)
Sudan: Some critics freed, others remain in custody (March, 2018)
Europe can turn a blind eye on what is really happening, but the truth is clear and it is time to find a lasting solution to the migrants crisis without allowing countries to ‘legally’ deny human rights and use torture. Migrants and refugees are the victims of these policies and are paying the high price, and ultimately the price for Europe will be even higher with many economic and political consequences. As said by Rebecca Lowe in her post, deals with the devil always unravel…
