The European Parliament is set to hold a debate on Sudan and Fundamental Freedoms and Human Rights. A draft motion for a resolution on Sudan will be debated, in which the European Union is critical of the situation of human rights in Sudan. The Parliament also asks to be fully informed on the dialogues under the Khartoum Process.
In a bid to stem the flow of migration, The Khartoum process aims at harnessing cooperation between Europe and the Horn of Africa, on issues relating to migration and trafficking. Civil society organisations have expressed concern about this cooperation.
The Khartoum Process was launched by the European Union in 2014. The cooperation envisioned in the Khartoum Process includes anti-trafficking intelligence, stricter border controls and giving aid with the hope of providing employment. The Countries include Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti.
Despite this agreement, the security of vulnerable refugees in the region is yet to be prioritized by the European Union. Some organisations are concerned that the cooperation may do more harm than good, especially with regard to the support to authorities and security forces in the region. The organisation Africa Monitors, for example, has reported the Sudanese government’s involvement in harming and eventually deporting Eritrean refugees, through militia groups.
This concern about the EU’s cooperation with the Sudanese government as well as the wider consequences of the Khartoum Process, was reiterated by members of the British-Sudanese Diaspora community through their open letter to the British Prime Minister. Among other things, the letter was written to “express our deep concern that the United Kingdom, through its chair role in the European Union-Horn of Africa Migration Route Initiative, otherwise known as the Khartoum Process, will inadvertently finance the same Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries currently terrorising and killing innocent civilians in Sudan.”