The political crisis that has shaken Senegal in recent months with demonstrations and very violent repression no longer guarantees stability to the population. This is the conclusion that the Spanish Commission for Assistance to Migrants (CEAR) seems to have drawn from the current situation in Senegal. As a result, the CEAR claims that the repatriation of Senegalese irregular migrants rescued at sea by the Civil Guard to their country of origin is a serious violation of human rights.

It could be noted a patrol boat of the Guardia Civil rescued a canoe from Senegal with 168 migrants on Thursday, August 24th, 2023 before transporting passengers to Nouadibou, Mauritania for deportation.

The Spanish Government is accused of sending would-be migrants to purgatory in a country where they will be in danger. “The Spanish authorities must guarantee the human rights of people under their jurisdiction. CEAR asks that they be guaranteed access to the application process for international protection and recalls that the current political and social situation in Senegal is very delicate and could put these people at risk,” says this organisation led by Estrella Galán.

In a document shared on its official website, CEAR said that the 168 migrants rescued on August 24th by the patrol boat Río Tajo were under Spanish jurisdiction because they were under the effective control of the Civil Guard.

And for this reason, the European Convention on Human Rights had to be guaranteed “before transferring them and returning them to a country like Senegal so as not to incur a possible violation of international law, as this could be considered as a possible collective return”.

The CEAR stressed in its statement: “Among other issues, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) stipulates that these people have the right to be informed by qualified personnel with the support of interpreters and legal advisers. The High Court is particularly careful to ensure that people are not sent back to countries where their rights and lives could be at risk. In addition, it underlines the importance of access to individualised procedures and effective remedies in which each person’s situation can be identified and assessed individually.”

The Spanish Commission for Assistance to Migrants indicated that “among those rescued, there could be people in need of international protection. Something that the Civil Guard must take into account by informing them correctly, registering their request if necessary and transferring them to Spain so that they can formalise it with the competent authorities”.

“In Senegal, the rights of most people are threatened”

The Spanish organisation whose mission is to assist migrants pointed to the very tense political situation prevailing in Senegal to justify the idea that these 168 people should not be repatriated to their country of origin. “The organisation warns that right now in Senegal, the rights of a large part of its population are not guaranteed due to the growing instability in the country, where thousands of people have been arrested for protesting against the government, including the main opposition leader who is currently in prison,” CEAR said.

CEAR director general attacked the Spanish Ministry of the Interior stating “the Ministry of the Interior must immediately stop this return so as not to violate our international commitments and obligations. The return of these 168 people to a country like Senegal, which is going through a very delicate political and social situation, could lead to a serious violation of rights and be considered a collective return.”

CEAR denounces border externalisation agreements

According to the organisation, this specific case of the 168 Senegalese migrants repatriated is a clear example of the risk that agreements on migration control or the externalisation of borders entail for development cooperation and rights.

“Mauritania has become, in recent years, a strategic partner in stopping the arrival of migrants in Spain and Europe, to the detriment of human rights. However, on this occasion, even the huge sums of money that the African country receives were not enough to open its ports to people rescued in its waters,” laments CEAR.

It deplored that immigration policies “which have proven ineffective continue to be pursued, instead of putting people and their rights at the centre, opening legal and safe channels so that no one is forced to get on a precarious boat and risk their lives in their attempt to reach Europe”.

168 migrants repatriated to Senegal on August 31st

Spanish journalist, Tsema Santana, specialised in migration issues reported on repatriation of the Senegalese migrants who upon arrival were briefly detained in a Dakar police station before being released. “Spain got rid of the 168 people rescued by a Civil Guard patrol boat in the Atlantic. It transferred them to a Senegalese vessel despite being rescued in Mauritanian waters. They were taken on another boat to Dakar and today, a week after the rescue, they are currently in a Senegalese police station. It is likely, from what has been observed in recent months, that some of them were fleeing for political reasons from the police before which they now find themselves,” he wrote on his account X (ex-Twitter).

This colleague who works for the Cadena De Ser and El Pais, indicates that 47 other people on a canoe from Senegal were rescued on Friday, September 1 in the Canary Islands by the Spanish Navy.

And that during the month of August 2023, on average, 91 migrants disembarked per day on the Spanish coast. He points out that there were 33 registered migrants per day for the same period in 2022. In addition, irregular migrants accounted for 25% of arrivals in the country, and 8 out of 10 migrants came in canoes.