Returning migrants: Europe’s focus, but at what cost?

This policy brief by the Institute for Security Studies argues that Europe's increasing focus on returning migrants to Africa may be counterproductive and damaging if costs are ignored.

• Europe is increasing the scale and scope of its efforts to return migrants to Africa, despite facing resistance from both individual countries and at the continental level.
• Prioritising the return of migrants without considering the associated costs could lead to negative outcomes, such as worsening the root causes of migration or increasing migration flows.

APA

Mbiyozo, A.-N. (n.d.). Returning migrants: Europe’s focus, but at what cost? Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/research/policy-brief/returning-migrants-europes-focus-but-at-what-cost

Chicago

Mbiyozo, Aimée-Noël. Returning migrants: Europe’s focus, but at what cost? Institute for Security Studies, n.d. https://issafrica.org/research/policy-brief/returning-migrants-europes-focus-but-at-what-cost.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mbiyozo |first1=Aimée-Noël |title=Returning migrants: Europe’s focus, but at what cost? |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |url=https://issafrica.org/research/policy-brief/returning-migrants-europes-focus-but-at-what-cost |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mbiyozondreturning, author = {Mbiyozo, Aimée-Noël}, title = {{Returning migrants: Europe’s focus, but at what cost?}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.org/research/policy-brief/returning-migrants-europes-focus-but-at-what-cost}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }