The Delegation of the European Union to Sudan announced the arrival of a team of migration experts from Brussels. The pledged development assistance to Sudan on migration is on the agenda, as well as issues related to migration routes through the borders. The discussions are to ensure that the agreed projects comply with the highest levels of transparency, accountability and respect for human rights.

The initial EU assistance is addressing the root causes of migration which includes conflict, poverty and instability in the Horn of Africa.   The pledged assistance will benefit migrants, refugees, displaced people and the Sudanese host communities in the exposed areas.  The focus of recently agreed EU projects in Sudan and the region is on building the capacities of the countries of the Horn of Africa to manage migration and, in particular, to fight against the trafficking of human beings and smuggling of migrants. Further projects support resilience of refugees, IDPs, returnees and host communities and improve access to basic services and food security policy and decision-making through data collection and analysis. The experts will also attend a Khartoum process event on prevention of human smuggling and trafficking.

The European Commission launched an “Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa” at the Valletta migration summit last November. The Fund is made up of €1.8 billion from the EU budget and European Development Fund, combined with contributions from EU Member States and other donors.

The EU Delegation will continue to work with local and international non-governmental organisations including the UN agencies like UNHCR and IOM to ensure the projects will benefit the people of Sudan and protect the rights of refugees in a transparent way.