Local governance opportunities for sustainable migration management in Agadez

This is an output from a project that was part of the fifth Applied Research Fund (ARF) on mixed migration flows. The ARF is executed by NWO-WOTRO in close collaboration with the Platform. The call aims to strengthen the evidence-base for security and rule of law policies and programming, addressing the root causes, and the dynamics and consequences of mixed migration flows within and from fragile and conflict-affected settings.

This report explores the effects of migration and the implementation of migration policies in north Niger. The report shows that the Agadez community has become increasingly frustrated with local political authorities who are seen to work to the advantage of the European Union (EU) rather than their own population. This is a troubling development, especially because our survey results show that local state authorities do not inspire high trust levels in their population to begin with. In addition, the report describes how the Agadez region is experiencing an increase in insecurity on various dimensions. These two dynamics suggest that — although the region is relatively stable for now — care should be taken to invest in policies that boost the legitimacy of local authorities by supporting the reinvigoration of the quality and accountability of institutions across service-delivery areas. In addition, care should be taken to address potential radicalisation and conflict dynamics to ensure that the Agadez region remains a beacon of stability in an otherwise volatile region.