Human traffickers, france president proposes military action.
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Human trafficking is a criminal offence. It’s not for us
just to denounce the problem, but to act, attacking collectively these
networks of human traffickers because they operate from the Sahel all
the way to Libya and they have connections which enable them to operate all the way to the Mediterranean,” explained Macron.
In an exclusive interview with FRANCE 24 on the sidelines of the 2017 African Union – European Union (AU-EU) summit in Ivory Coast, Macron said he would be having further meetings with EU and AU representatives to propose taking police and military action against traffickers.
Slavery and human trafficking dominated the AU-EU summit, which came just two weeks after US network CNN aired footage of African migrants being sold in Libya.
The video sparked a massive outcry with several African leaders calling on the international community to take urgent measures to put an end to the practice.
Macron stressed that when he called for police and military action, he did not mean “waging war” on Libya, a country that has suffered from a brutal civil war since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi.
Human traffickers 'connected to terrorist networks'
Macron also pledged France’s commitment to the G5 Sahel Force - an initiative involving Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Mauritania – to tackle illicit activity in the vast, remote region straddling North Africa and the Sahara.
“These human traffickers are connected to terrorist networks and sometimes they are the same people that wage war on us and create victims in the Sahel and Sahara, and indeed we have to offer protection to the victims of all this trafficking,” said Macron.
He noted that the EU, along with the UN, will be working to tackle migrant slavery by targeting the problem at its source. “We will be identifying people before they get to Libya to see who can claim protection and avoid the crossing of the Mediterranean. Then, what we propose…is to facilitate the return of Africans who are now in Libyan camps and take them back to their countries in Africa, because these Africans stand no chance of gaining asylum because they can return to their countries and some countries have been cooperating with us,” Macron explained.
African, European leaders gather for summit
Macron was speaking in Abidjan, the economic capital of Ivory Coast, where more than 80 African and European leaders gathered for the EU-AU summit focused on promoting jobs and stability for Africa's exploding population, with some calling for a new "Marshall Plan."
The two-day summit in Abidjan opened as the EU following the twin shocks of unprecedented migration and terrorist attacks.
It comes as China, India, Japan, the Gulf Arab states and others also compete for influence on a continent where the 28-nation EU remains as a whole the biggest economic and political player.
Millions of Africans on the move
European Parliament President Antonio Tajani told parliamentarians from both continents before the summit that there was little time to find ways to meet the needs of an African population set to more than double by 2050 to around 2.4 billion people.
"Africa will have to create millions of jobs to accommodate the new arrivals in the job market," Tajani said in Abidjan.
Millions of Africans have already been on the move within the continent to seek jobs or flee conflict but also across the Mediterranean, mainly via Libya to Italy.
The EU this year began to reduce the flow through cooperation with the Libyan authorities following a more comprehensive deal with Turkey, which has sharply cut the flow of those fleeing the Middle East to Greece.
African 'Marshall Plan'
More that 1.5 million people from the Middle East and Africa have entered Europe in the last two years and EU officials fear new and even greater influxes in the future.
EU officials said the migrant influx, which sparked political divisions across the EU, as well as frequent Islamist attacks in Europe have been a wake-up call to tackle the root causes of why people leave their homes.
The EU has already set up multi-billion euro funds to promote Africa's economic development while deepening counter-terrorism cooperation with African countries where Islamist militant groups are spreading.
The multi-billion dollar Marshall Plan launched by the United States after World War II is widely credited for helping Europe achieve its current prosperity and stability.
In an exclusive interview with FRANCE 24 on the sidelines of the 2017 African Union – European Union (AU-EU) summit in Ivory Coast, Macron said he would be having further meetings with EU and AU representatives to propose taking police and military action against traffickers.
Slavery and human trafficking dominated the AU-EU summit, which came just two weeks after US network CNN aired footage of African migrants being sold in Libya.
The video sparked a massive outcry with several African leaders calling on the international community to take urgent measures to put an end to the practice.
Macron stressed that when he called for police and military action, he did not mean “waging war” on Libya, a country that has suffered from a brutal civil war since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi.
Human traffickers 'connected to terrorist networks'
Macron also pledged France’s commitment to the G5 Sahel Force - an initiative involving Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Mauritania – to tackle illicit activity in the vast, remote region straddling North Africa and the Sahara.
“These human traffickers are connected to terrorist networks and sometimes they are the same people that wage war on us and create victims in the Sahel and Sahara, and indeed we have to offer protection to the victims of all this trafficking,” said Macron.
He noted that the EU, along with the UN, will be working to tackle migrant slavery by targeting the problem at its source. “We will be identifying people before they get to Libya to see who can claim protection and avoid the crossing of the Mediterranean. Then, what we propose…is to facilitate the return of Africans who are now in Libyan camps and take them back to their countries in Africa, because these Africans stand no chance of gaining asylum because they can return to their countries and some countries have been cooperating with us,” Macron explained.
African, European leaders gather for summit
Macron was speaking in Abidjan, the economic capital of Ivory Coast, where more than 80 African and European leaders gathered for the EU-AU summit focused on promoting jobs and stability for Africa's exploding population, with some calling for a new "Marshall Plan."
The two-day summit in Abidjan opened as the EU following the twin shocks of unprecedented migration and terrorist attacks.
It comes as China, India, Japan, the Gulf Arab states and others also compete for influence on a continent where the 28-nation EU remains as a whole the biggest economic and political player.
Millions of Africans on the move
European Parliament President Antonio Tajani told parliamentarians from both continents before the summit that there was little time to find ways to meet the needs of an African population set to more than double by 2050 to around 2.4 billion people.
"Africa will have to create millions of jobs to accommodate the new arrivals in the job market," Tajani said in Abidjan.
Millions of Africans have already been on the move within the continent to seek jobs or flee conflict but also across the Mediterranean, mainly via Libya to Italy.
The EU this year began to reduce the flow through cooperation with the Libyan authorities following a more comprehensive deal with Turkey, which has sharply cut the flow of those fleeing the Middle East to Greece.
African 'Marshall Plan'
More that 1.5 million people from the Middle East and Africa have entered Europe in the last two years and EU officials fear new and even greater influxes in the future.
EU officials said the migrant influx, which sparked political divisions across the EU, as well as frequent Islamist attacks in Europe have been a wake-up call to tackle the root causes of why people leave their homes.
The EU has already set up multi-billion euro funds to promote Africa's economic development while deepening counter-terrorism cooperation with African countries where Islamist militant groups are spreading.
The multi-billion dollar Marshall Plan launched by the United States after World War II is widely credited for helping Europe achieve its current prosperity and stability.
