Between July and August 2023, the number of boats that left the coast of Senegal increased by 114%, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Senegal will launch a "great offensive" program to tackle the clandestine emigration of its citizens. The Senegalese Press Agency (APS) recently reported the news, citing Senegalese Minister of Youth, Pape Malick Ndour.

According to the Minister, the program will be implemented based on a "strategic alliance" between public structures providing jobs and employability, local authorities, and players in the youth association movement. The goal here is "to engage in a sustained social response, based on a combined approach to the civic and socio-economic dimensions of the problem of irregular emigration".

The move comes amidst an upsurge in clandestine departures from Senegalese coasts to the Canary Islands, a Spanish territory. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), between July and August 2023, 45 boats left the coast of Senegal, against 21 departures between May and June 2023.

It is worth recalling that last July, Senegalese authorities adopted a first-of-the-kind strategy to “drastically” curb illegal migration by 2033. Similarly, Spain recently stepped up its actions, to regulate migratory flows optimally. In October 2023, for example, the European country deployed a CN-235 Civil Guard aircraft to patrol the coasts of Senegal and Mauritania; six helicopters were also donated.

Charlène N’dimon (intern)