Migration and asylum challenges in Eastern Africa : mixed migration flows require dual policy approaches

Little is known in Europe on the nature and trajectories of migration flows from and within East Africa and the Horn of Africa. With countries simultaneously hosting and assisting internally displaced persons, refugees, returnees, victims of trafficking, as well as labour migrants, this region stands out for the complexity and dynamism of its migration and asylum reality. This brief aims to provide some basic facts about migration and displacement flows in the region, the main challenges they trigger and the EU and regional frameworks established to deal with them. In so doing, it points to the mixed nature of these flows and to the importance of adopting a multi-tiered approach to respond to such challenges.