Ziguinchor, Jan 7 (APS) – Senegal recorded between January and October 2024, 64 boats carrying irregular migrants, revealed Tuesday in Ziguinchor (south), the Minister of the Interior and Public Security, Jean Baptiste Tina.
“Statistical data centralized by the committee on irregular migration, from January 2024 to October 31, 2024, shows 502 boats, including 64 from the Senegalese coast, arriving in the Canary Islands with 34,162 migrants on board,” said Mr. Tina.
He proceeded with the installation of the regional and departmental committees to combat irregular migration in Ziguinchor, in the presence of the governor of Ziguinchor, Mor Talla Tine.
Administrative authorities, territorial elected officials, department heads and defense and security forces took part in the ceremony.
For Jean Baptiste Tine, “migration as a global and complex phenomenon represents a major challenge for States because of the demographic and economic dynamics that it generates”.
“In the African context and particularly in West Africa, migration takes on a particular dimension. Senegal as a country of departure, transit and destination, finds itself at the crossroads of its migratory dynamics with significant impacts both for the migrants themselves and for politicians,” he underlined.
According to him, “irregular migration, which has become a national and even international concern, is increasingly taking on worrying dimensions with its share of misfortunes, including numerous losses of human lives.”
“This is how the interministerial committee to combat irregular migration (CILMI) was established in order to stem the phenomenon. Placed under my tutelage and supervision, it is the institutional body responsible for coordinating all the actions of the services and structures involved in the fight against this scourge,” explained Jean Baptiste Tine.
He recalled that CILMI has branches at the regional and departmental level.
The Committee “intends to complete the work of territorializing the fight against this scourge in Senegal,” said the Minister of the Interior and Public Security.
The departmental and regional committees, explained Jean Baptiste Tine, are branches of the permanent secretariat of CILMI.
“They ensure that the directives adopted by the committee are applied throughout the national territory by participating in prevention and awareness-raising on the harms of irregular migration,” argued the minister.
These committees also ensure the development, popularization and implementation of projects and programs as part of the fight against this phenomenon, according to Jean Baptiste Tine.
He noted that the Ziguinchor region located in southern Senegal is at a crossroads. “Its geographical location, close to the Atlantic coast and bordering Gambia and Guinea Bissau, makes it a strategic point for migratory movements,” he noted.
“This system will allow us to act in a coordinated and effective manner,” said the Minister of the Interior and Public Security.
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