The Impact of European Border Externalization on Humanitarian Aid and Access in the Sahel Region

The externalisation of migration control has involved extensive outsourcing of migration control powers and resources outside of European territory, as well as shifting responsibilities to transit states and international organisations. Due to the increased presence of international and European organisations in the Sahel region, migrants perceive them to be part of this migration control agenda. Migrants in transit in Niger and Mali linked their lack of trust in humanitarian organisations to perceptions that they work with the police to deport them or seek to prevent them from migrating. The erosion of trust in and refusing of aid makes it more difficult for organisations to provide relevant support and access potential beneficiaries, which in turn increases protection gaps.The policy brief was prepared within the framework of the project "Smart Migration and Asylum Governance" (SMAG). The study was co-financed by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior, Grant no 10 ST AMIF 2319F – 230/20 BS