A/HRC/41/38/Add.1 33. Despite the harassment, intimidation and human rights violations, most of the migrants whom the Special Rapporteur met had not given up their plans to migrate. For them, the law has made migration riskier, longer and more expensive, and subject to more human rights violations. Indeed, according to various sources, the law has not stopped or decreased migration, but instead has pushed it underground and diverted the migration routes from the Niger to the north, through Chad and the Sudan, or to the Western Mediterranean route. 20 In this respect, the Special Rapporteur observes that official and IOM data do not reflect the number of migrants who move on shifting routes as a consequence of tighter controls. 21 The recourse of migrants to riskier routes also raises questions as to the effectiveness of the law as a means to protect the life of migrants and prevent deaths in the desert. The implementation of the law has also had an adverse impact on the economy of Agadez Region, as it has affected all commercial activity related to migration.22 34. The Special Rapporteur recalls that migration is not a crime and migrants in irregular situations should not be treated as criminals or deprived of their liberty and security. Migrants are human beings entitled to human rights, irrespective of their migration status. Consequently, the Special Rapporteur urges the Niger to amend the Law on the Illicit Smuggling of Migrants and to make it compliant with international human rights norms and standards as well as the ECOWAS principle of freedom of movement. C. Border management 1. Cooperation on border management 35. The Niger is considered by the European Union as a strategic country to combat irregular migration towards Europe, even though traditionally migration in the Niger, as part of migrations in West and Central Africa, has been predominantly regional, temporary and circular, with a lesser percentage of migrants aiming to migrate to Europe. 23 Consequently, the Niger has received considerable funding for border management and migration control, turning it into a virtual external border of the European Union. 36. The Niger is the main beneficiary of the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa: by December 2018 it had received €247.5 million, among other things to assist return and reintegration of migrants, create economic opportunities in transit zones (such as Agadez Region) by proposing durable alternatives to an economy based on irregular migration and combat criminal networks and smuggling of persons by strengthening justice and security sectors and border management. 24 Furthermore, the Niger has received €716 million for the period 2014–2020 from the European Development Fund for security, governance and peace-building projects, among other things. In total, the Niger has received over €1 billion in European Union development assistance for 2014–2020.25 37. The Niger is also a priority country in the European Union Strategy for Security and Development in the Sahel.26 In the context of the externalization of border management by the European Union through third countries such as the Niger, the European Union 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 See Jérôme Tubiana, Clotilde Warin and Gaffar Mohammud Saeneen, Multilateral Damage: The Impact of EU Migration Policies on the Central Saharan Routes (The Hague, Clingendael Institute, 2018). The lack of comprehensive and reliable data on migration, including internal and irregular migration, has been highlighted by the Government as one of the gaps to be addressed. See the national strategy to combat irregular migration, p. 15. See Hall, Selling Sand in the Desert. Molenaar and El Kamouni-Janssen, Turning the Tide, p. 2. According to data provided by IOM during the visit of the Special Rapporteur, 90 to 95 per cent of migration in West and Central Africa is internal to the region. See https://ec.europa.eu/trustfundforafrica/region/sahel-lake-chad/niger_en. See https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/news-and-events/european-union-stepping-cooperation-niger_en. See https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/countries/niger_en. 9