Strategies to tackle the root causes of human trafficking in the Horn of Africa: Complementing anti-trafficking laws with freedom of movement

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 policy paper argues that the substance of relevant national laws and their practical application contain a number of shortcomings and challenges. This argument is based on extensive empirical research with Eritreans on the move, in which 67 qualitative interviews were conducted in Ethiopia, Sudan and Europe (for the full findings of the research, available from 7 November 2017, see “Tackling the root causes of human trafficking and smuggling from Eritrea: The need for an empirically grounded EU policy on mixed migration in the Horn of Africa.”)

This paper outlines key findings from the research. It then presents a number of shortcomings in law and policy within the region, before making specific policy recommendations.