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Quarterly Mixed Migration Update: East Africa & Yemen MMC East Africa & Yemen QUARTER 1 2021 Quarterly Mixed Migration Update: East Africa & Yemen This Quarterly Mixed Migration Update (QMMU) covers the East Africa and Yemen region (EAY). The core countries of focus for this region are Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Somalia, DR Congo, South Sudan and Yemen. Depending on the quarterly trends and migration-related updates, more attention may be given to any of the countries over the rest. The QMMUs offer a quarterly update on new trends and dynamics related to mixed migration and relevant policy developments in the region. These updates are based on a compilation of a wide range of secondary (data) sources, brought together within a regional framework and applying a mixed migration analytical lens. Similar QMMUs are available for all MMC regions. The Mixed Migration Centre is a global network consisting of six regional hubs and a central unit in Geneva engaged in data collection, research, analysis and policy development on mixed migration. For more information on the MMC, the QMMUs from other regions and contact details of regional MMC teams, visit mixedmigration.org and follow us at @Mixed_Migration MMC’s understanding of mixed migration “Mixed migration” refers to cross-border movements of people, including refugees fleeing persecution and conflict, victims of trafficking, and people seeking better lives and opportunities. Motivated to move by a multiplicity of factors, people in mixed flows have a range of legal statuses as well as a variety of vulnerabilities. Although entitled to protection under international human rights law, they are exposed to multiple rights violations along their journey. Those in mixed migration flows travel along similar routes, using similar means of travel - often travelling irregularly, and wholly, or partially, assisted by migrant smugglers. Front cover photo credit: Michael Kirby Smith (2013) Ethiopian migrants outside the Migrant Response Centre in Haradh, Yemen, May 2013. SUPPORTED BY: Quarterly Mixed Migration Update Q1 2021: East Africa & Yemen Quarterly Mixed Migration Update: East Africa & Yemen Quarter 1 - 2021 Key Updates • Ongoing hostilities in Ethiopia’s Tigray region impact displacement in the region: More than 62,000 Ethiopians have fled to Sudan due to the ongoing hostilities in the Tigray region. • Low numbers of refugees and migrants arriving in Yemen along the Eastern Route: New arrivals of East Africans along the Eastern route remain low with only 5,113 new arrivals recorded in Yemen between January and March 2021. This represents an 82% decrease from the 27, 948 arrivals reported during the same period in 2020. • Spontaneous returns from the Gulf to East Africa increase this quarter: 4,868 refugees and migrants were recorded to have returned from Yemen to East Africa this quarter (at least 4,559 arrivals to Djibouti and 309 to Somalia). • Fire in migrant detention facility in Yemen claims lives of at least 60 migrants: At least 60 migrants (believed to all be Ethiopian) were killed in a fire that broke out at a detention facility in Sanaa. Migrants were protesting poor conditions at the facility when projectiles were fired into the center by Houthi rebels. • Killings of Somalis in South Africa sparks protests: In February 2021, more than 200 protestors took to the streets in South Africa’s Port Elizabeth to protest the killing of 4 Somalis in alleged xenophobic attacks. MMC East Africa & Yemen 3 Greenland Iceland Finland Norway Sweden Estonia Latvia Denmark Lithuania Northern Ireland Canada Ireland United Belarus Kingdom Netherlands Poland Germany Belgium Czechia Ukraine Quarterly Mixed Migration Update Q1 2021: East Africa & Yemen Slovakia Russia Austria Switzerland Hungary Moldova France Slovenia Kaakhstan Croatia Romania Mongolia Bosnia and Regional Overview*HerzegovinaSerbia Montenegro Bulgaria Kosovo Georgia Macedonia Uzbekistan Kyrgyzstan Italy Albania Armenia Azerbaijan United States North Portugal Greece Turkmenistan Tajikistan Korea Spain Turkey South Korea Japan Between January 2020 and March Cyprus Syria 2021, 3,976 refugees and migrants Lebanon Iraq Afghanistan China Morocco Tunisia from East Africa arrived in Europe via Iran Mediterranean Sea routes Jordan Israel Algeria Kuwait Libya Egypt Nepal Pakistan Bhutan Bahrain atar estern Saudi United Bangladesh Taiwan Mexico Sahara Arabia Arab Emirates Myanmar Cuba Oman At least 4,868 people arrived from India Mauritania Yemen to East Africa this quarter in Laos Haiti Dominican spontaneous return journeys Jamaica Republic Mali Belie Niger Chad Sudan Thailand Guatemala Eritrea Yemen East African Senegal Honduras arrivals to Yemen Vietnam The Gambia More than 62,000 Ethiopians have fled remain low with Burkina Cambodia Nicaragua to neighboring Sudan due to conflict in 5,113 new arrivals Guinea-Bissau Faso Ethiopia’s Tigray region Djibouti Philippines Guinea this quarter Costa Nigeria Somalia Rica Panama Sierra Ethiopia eone Ivory Benin Sri Venezuela Coast Ghana Togo Central South Lanka Sudan Guyana Liberia African Republic At least 5,817 Ethiopians deported French Cameroon from Saudi Arabia to Ethiopia Colombia Suriname Guiana between January and February 2021 Malaysia Equatorial Uganda Singapore Guinea Republic of the Kenya More than 64 people Ecuador Gabon Congo Democratic are reported to have Republic Rwanda died this year on of the Congo mixed migration Indonesia Burundi journeys along the Eastern Route Papua New Tanzania Guinea Peru Brail Angola Malawi Zambia Mozambique Bolivia imbabwe Madagascar Namibia *Information on Botswana the map relates to Australia Paraguay selected updates and does not represent all mixed migration flows within and out of East Swaziland Africa and Yemen. esotho South Africa MMC East Africa & Yemen Uruguay 4 Argentina Chile New Zealand Antarctica Quarterly Mixed Migration Update Q1 2021: East Africa & Yemen Mixed Migration Regional Updates Mixed migration within East Africa Kenyan government orders closure of refugee camps On March 24, the Government of Kenya ordered the closure of the largest refugee camps in the country - Dadaab and Kakuma. Situated in Northern Kenya, Dadaab currently hosts 225,000 people, the majority of whom are from neighboring Somalia. A further 163,000 refugees and asylum seekers live in the Kakuma camp, mostly from South Sudan and others from Ethiopia, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The government gave a 14-day ultimatum to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to disband the camps. In 2016 and 2019, the Kenyan government issued a similar demand on the premise of security concerns. UNHCR says the move would greatly affect the protection of refugees and more so in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and invites the government to dialogue further on the matter. Refugees have also expressed concern over the directive, citing security and safety concerns if they were forced to leave the camps. The decision to close the camps was challenged in court and on the 8 April, the High Court issued a stay order temporarily holding off on closing the camps and called on UNHCR to formulate a plan to close the camps as soon as possible. Launch of Regional Migrant Response Plan In March 2021, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Danish Refugee Council, Mixed Migration Centre, and 38 other humanitarian and development organizations and governments launched a four-year Regional Migrant Response Plan (MRP 2021-2024). The MRP is designed to facilitate coordination and support for vulnerable migrants in East Africa, with a focus on the Eastern Route migration corridor. The launch event included an appeal for USD 99 million for the first year of response (2021), which would provide life-saving support to 563,128 vulnerable migrants whom are stranded and local communities. Ongoing hostilities in Ethiopia’s Tigray impact displacement and migration in the region In November 2020, unrest erupted in the northern Tigray region of Ethiopia killing hundreds of people and displacing over 2 million. The fighting also forced over62,000 Ethiopian refugees and 374 Eritreans to seek safety in Eastern Sudan. The high numbers of Ethiopians fleeing to Sudan, and the remote location of the area in which refugees are being received, has put UNHCR and Sudanese Commission for Refugees under stress to provide adequate services to incoming refugees. In collaboration with humanitarian partners and the Sudan government, UNHCR has opened a new camp, Tunaydbah in Sudan’s Gedaref state, as the Um Rakubah refugee camp nears full capacity. MMC East Africa & Yemen 5 Quarterly Mixed Migration Update Q1 2021: East Africa & Yemen On March 23 2021, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed confirmed the involvement of Eritrean troops in the conflict in Tigray region, after months of denial from both countries. Eritrea later also confirmed its engagement in the conflict. This was the first time the Ethiopian government had acknowledged that “serious crimes had taken place in Tigray” and stated the Eritrean troops would leave the region. However, recent reports of arrivals of Eritreans in “truckloads” in several Tigrayan cities as of April 2021 may signify continued conflict. Before the recent fighting, Tigray was home to an estimated 200,000 refugees and internally displaced people. The fighting has impacted access to basic goods and ability for humanitarian actors to deliver services. Further, inaccessibility poses a challenge in identifying the exact number of those affected as parts in Southern and South
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