A/HRC/41/38/Add.1 Annex Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants on his visit to the Niger I. Introduction 1. The Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Felipe González Morales, conducted an official visit to the Niger from 1 to 8 October 2018 at the invitation of the Government. The objective of the visit was to assess the laws, policies, practices and agreements adopted and implemented by the Niger with respect to migration management and border control and their impact on the human rights of migrant women, children and men. The Special Rapporteur also examined the role played by other States and regional and international organizations with regard to migration. During the visit, he met with highlevel representatives of the Government, including the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Justice, representatives of the general directorate for civil status, refugees and migrants, the general directorate responsible for human rights, the national commission and the national agency to combat smuggling and trafficking in persons, and the National Police. In Niamey he met with representatives of the National Human Rights Commission and civil society organizations. He also met with members of the United Nations country team, representatives of the diplomatic community, the European Union Common Security and Defence Policy mission in Niger, and representatives of local and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). In Agadez, the Special Rapporteur met with the Governor, representatives of the regional directorate for humanitarian action and crisis management, the regional directorate for the advancement of women and children, the regional directorate for civil status, refugees and migrants, the regional prosecutor, the regional director of the police, the regional office of the National Human Rights Commission and international NGOs. 2. The Special Rapporteur met with migrant women, children and men, asylum seekers and refugees. In Agadez, he visited an International Organization for Migration (IOM) transit centre for migrants, a camp of Sudanese asylum seekers and a ghetto. In Niamey, he visited an IOM transit centre for unaccompanied migrant children and met with asylum seekers at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) country office. 3. The Special Rapporteur expresses his appreciation for the cooperation extended to him by the Government and for its readiness to engage in an open dialogue on the human right situation of migrants. He thanks the United Nations country team for their support and assistance and also all the migrant women, children and men, asylum seekers and refugees who met with him. II. Background on migration: a brief overview 4. The Niger is a landlocked country between sub-Saharan Africa and the Maghreb. It has an area of 1,267,000 km² and a 6,355 km border shared with seven countries. The Niger is a country of origin (for Nigeriens who migrate to countries of the subregion and the Maghreb), of transit (for migrants from West African countries who migrate to the Maghreb and Europe) and of destination (for nationals of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)). For decades, migration has been a natural phenomenon in the Niger, and migrants are part of its society. In the framework of the Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the Economic Community of West African States relating to Free Movement of Persons, Residence and Establishment, Nigeriens have migrated to Western African countries to study and work, and have received Western African migrants as part of 2