Migrant smugglers are profiting from travel restrictions2020-07-20Travel and movement restrictions do not deter people from fleeing conflict, violence and dangerous and inhumane conditions – they merely drive more people to irregular means. Travel constraints, border closures and reduced travel modes severely disrupted smuggling markets. Migrants continue to travel through key African land migration routes, including across the Sahel and southwards from the Horn of Africa to South Africa. While travel restrictions are necessary to stop the spread of COVID-19, countries must recognise that they are not fool-proof and carry consequences of their own. Ensuring safe, regular passage to vulnerable migrants is fundamental to controlling COVID-19 and upholding migrant and refugee rights.

Source: Libya Today July 20, 2020 08:48 UTC