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1. Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia: A Comparative Perspective on Maghreb Countries Migration Cooperation with their West African Neighbours

Author:
Abdeslam Badre, Irene Schöfberger, and Ekaterina Golovko
Publication Date:
06-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
IEMed/EuroMeSCo
Abstract:
In February 2022, the European Union (EU) and African Union (AU) both committed, in a Joint Vision to works towards an “enhanced and reciprocal partnership for migration and mobility”. Meanwhile the EU is still aspiring to carry into effect the pending New Pact on Migration and Asylum, particularly as part of the fourth objective of the New Agenda for the Mediterranean (“jointly address the challenges of forced displacement and irregular migration and facilitate safe and legal pathways for migration and mobility”). The ability to reach these objectives and to re-impulse cooperation with regards to migration management is conditioned by the cooperation schemes between the EU and its Southern partner countries, and between Southern partner countries themselves. The transition North African countries have experienced from emigrant into transit and destination countries from migrant, marks a turning point in the migratory history of the region. North and West Africa’s demands for ensuring safe and humane migration flows and management continue to be challenged by the continuous influx of sub-Saharan mobility. Against this background, there is a growing need to strengthen South-South, North-South and South-North cooperation by harmonising the management of various aspects related to human mobility, such as synchronising national and regional border management; ensuring the implementation of cross-border migration human rights mechanism; enforcing regional and trans-regional diaspora engagement and the involvement of domestic civil society actors in policy legislation processes. These steps need to be taken in order to ensure due protection of the living conditions of immigrants and people on the move in the region. This Joint Policy Study addresses these considerations through three individual contributions structured in four chapters. The first chapter analyses national and regional policy frameworks in place, looking at three Maghreb countries: Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. The second chapter examines the regional and trans-regional relevance of West African diaspora policies. The third part assesses the Algeria-Niger bilateral cooperation in the light of the EU borders’ externalisation process and the last chapter analyses the role of civil society organizations in the policymaking consultations in the Maghreb.
Topic:
Migration, Regional Cooperation, European Union, and African Union
Political Geography:
Algeria, North Africa, West Africa, Morocco, and Tunisia

2. Morocco’s pro-active diplomacy, two years after (re)joining the African Union

Author:
Rina Bassist
Publication Date:
03-2019
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies
Abstract:
Rina Bassist analyzes Morocco's motivations for joining the African Union, and the concomitant evolution of its regional policy.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Regional Cooperation, and African Union
Political Geography:
North Africa, Morocco, and Africa

3. Morocco's Return to the African Union: Strengthening the Continent's Future

Author:
Edward M. Gabriel
Publication Date:
03-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Ambassadors Review
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
From a strategic perspective, Morocco’s decision to join the African Union (AU) 33 years after quitting the bloc illustrates King Mohammed VI’s vision of his country’s role on the continent as a platform for regional economic, political and security cooperation. It followed almost two decades of personal diplomatic efforts by the king to further Morocco’s goal of supporting greater regional and continen­tal stability through common economic and political interests. Although some observers in the United States may have been surprised, the move—announced by King Mohammed VI in the summer of 2016—is a natural next step in his South-South economic diplomacy. Because of that diplomacy, at the African Heads of State Summit in Addis Ababa this past January, Morocco not only gained admission to the African Union, but it did so with the support of an overwhelming majority—39 of 54— member states. Morocco’s desire to play a stronger leadership role is seen by the king as rooted in the country’s historic ties throughout the region, as well as its long-standing outreach to build ties beyond its existing network in francophone and African countries on the Atlantic. For him, the move has a cultural and economic logic, as well as a strategic one. The AU decision also comes at a time when the United States is, according to various news reports, considering repositioning North African countries (except Egypt), as part of the Africa division at the National Security Council and the Africa bureau of the State Department, rather than as part of the Middle East departments. In the Near Eastern Affairs bureau, Morocco policy was not a high priority, mainly because it was a non-problem in a very troubled region. With the new configuration, I hope attention to Morocco will better reflect its role as one of Africa’s top economic and security power­houses, with one of the continent’s most democratic governance structures and most liberal economies, as well as its potential position as the preferred economic gateway to Africa for the United States and other world powers. This could have a profound impact on Morocco’s importance to U.S. policy and raise the value of our longstanding partnership with this key African nation.
Topic:
Security, Regional Cooperation, Culture, and African Union
Political Geography:
Africa, North Africa, and Morocco

4. Silencing the Guns: Mediation practices and contemporary wars

Publication Date:
10-2016
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
From 26 to 27 October 2016, the African Union (AU), in collaboration with the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt, hosted the 7th AU High-level Retreat of Special Envoys and Mediators on the Promotion of Peace, Security and Stability in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt (Sharm El Sheikh Retreat). Co-organised by the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), and the Cairo Center for Conflict Resolution and Peacekeeping in Africa (CCCPA), the retreat brought together a range of senior representatives from the AU Commission (AUC), including the Commissioner for Peace and Security, Special Envoys, Special Representatives and distinguished mediators. Also in attendance were senior representatives of the continent’s regional economic communities (RECs) and regional mechanisms (RMs), as well as eminent officials from the United Nations (UN), European Union (EU), League of Arab States (LAS) and civil society organisations (CSOs).
Topic:
United Nations, International Security, Europe Union, Peace, African Union, and Arab League
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, Middle East, and North Africa