 |
| Cover of the review |
Movements of migrants are
only partially covered by international instruments and while the Algerian
authorities certainly have opportunities to protect this stream of people, no
agreements (bilateral or multilateral) are in force to do so.
We face a new paradigm on migration issues after the
so-called Arab Spring, the political, economic and societal crisis in the
countries of the Middle East and North Africa. In response, security
resolutions adopted by the EU to protect its borders address the countries of
the northern shores of the Mediterranean, reflecting a focus on migration
movements to the north, but the impacts are also felt in the countries of the
southern shore, such as Algeria.
Since the Arab Spring, Algeria has
become a haven for mixed migration flows from Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Syria.
In these flows, there are also refugees in search of a third country. Many analysts
see in these flows only a transit route to the countries of Europe. This
observation is only partially correct, because there are many who find shelter in Algeria. In addition to the arrival of
foreigners, we have also observed a movement of Algerian migrants, long
established in those countries in crisis, to return to Algeria. These
returnees, fleeing insecurity in their new home countries, may have lost all
social ties within Algeria. Other Algerian migrants are known to be ‘trapped’
in some of these countries, regardless of their status there, regular or
irregular.
