This report details current migration and human-smuggling dynamics in the extreme south of Algeria. The study assesses how Algerian authorities manage migration flows and human smuggling along the borders with Niger and Mali.

Although the focus is on migration and human smuggling, these activities take place within the broader frameworks of illicit economies in central Sahara, Algeria’s domestic politics and the regional geopolitical environment. The resulting analysis reflects this.

The report comprises three sections:

• The first offers a brief history of the evolution of migration from sub-Saharan Africa to Algeria, and migrants’ experiences there.
• The second details the practicalities of human smuggling (strategies, prices, modus operandi and routes) in Algeria’s borderlands with northern Mali and northern Niger (Bordj Badji Mokhtar, Timiaouine, Tinzaouatine, In Guezzam).
• The third section assesses how the Algerian authorities address irregular migration, scrutinizing recent policy developments, including the 2015 repatriation deal between Algeria and Niger and its effects. The study concludes with a number of policy recommendations on how Algeria can better cope with irregular migration in the future.
  

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